7 weird-but-wonderful carpet cleaning tips experts reveal will keep your flooring in fabulous condition – try tricks with shaving foam, ice and rakes

Like any other soft furnishing in your home, carpets need regular cleaning to keep them looking their best. It’s arguably more important due to the fact they are so difficult to replace.

You can’t exactly pick them up and throw them in the washing machine, however, so brushing up on some top carpet cleaning hacks can go a long way in keeping your floors clean without investing in a large cleaning machine that takes up unnecessary storage space.

Here, professional cleaners and carpet experts have shared their top hacks for deep cleaning a carpet, from ice to shaving foam, to help you keep your floor coverings looking like new for longer.

Carpet cleaning hacks

With these seven simple hacks, it will be easy to clean a carpet without a machine, helping you save money for more exciting things.

1. Create a quick response stain station

One of the best things you can do for your home is set up a stain station. This is a portable cleaning caddy with products and tools that can be used to remove all sorts of stains from items you can’t easily move around, such as cleaning upholstery and carpets.

Tim Conn, founder and president of commercial cleaning specialists Image One USA explains, ‘Acting quickly prevents the stain from setting, while having a kit ready ensures you don’t waste precious time searching for the proper supplies when an accident happens.’

For carpet cleaning, the main things you’ll need in a stain station are liquid dish soap (preferably dye-free, such as Palmolive pure and clear dish soap from Amazon) and white cleaning cloths, available from Walmart.

Karen Cady, program manager at The Carpet and Rug Institute says, ‘Mix a DIY cleaning solution combining 1/4 teaspoon of a liquid dish-washing detergent per one cup of lukewarm water.

‘After blotting spills with a dry, white absorbent cloth or white paper towels, apply a small amount of the solution to a white cloth, and work it in gently – do not rub – moving from the edges of the spill to the center to prevent spreading. Allow the solution to remain on the spill for a few minutes. Be patient. Blot. Complete removal may require repeating the same step several times.'

Once the stain is removed, rinse the area with cold tap water to remove any residue left from the spot removal solution and blot with a dry cloth until all moisture is removed.

2. Use ice to remove indents

If you didn't take steps to prevent furniture marks in carpets and rugs, don’t fret. Ice could be all you need to bring the fibers back to life.

Tim Conn says, ‘Furniture can leave deep indentations when left on carpets. Place an ice cube on the indentation left by furniture and let it melt. Once the carpet fibers have absorbed the water, fluff them gently with a spoon or your fingers and let them dry.

‘The moisture from the melting ice helps the carpet fibers regain their original shape, giving your carpet a fresh, even appearance.’

Punteha van Terheyden, head of Solved, has tried this hack. She says, 'It really works. We usually move our sofas a bit when we do a deep clean in the living room and I didn't like the dents the feet left. I used this ice hack and it worked a treat. It's also great for uncurling the corners of rug that have become a trip hazard.'

3. Remove odors with baking soda

One of the best ways to make a rug smell nice is to clean with baking soda. This quick, eco-friendly hack helps to neutralize odors without the need for scrubbing or harsh chemicals.

Tim Conn continues, ‘Sprinkle baking soda generously over the carpet and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Let it sit overnight for tougher, stronger odors. Vacuum thoroughly to restore freshness. Baking soda is a natural odor neutralizer that absorbs smells without introducing harsh chemicals, making it great for safely cleaning homes with pets or kids.’

You can also clean a carpet with baking soda to tackle spills. When you first spill a liquid on your rug or carpet, douse the mark with baking soda as soon as possible and before it dries. The fine powder will help absorb some of the liquid, making stain removal a little easier later.

4. Use a rake to remove debris

If you need to make carpet fluffy again, or are tired of matted hair getting the best of your best vacuum cleaner for carpets, consider using a rug rake (available at Amazon) or a shower squeegee to help lift debris and fluff up the fibers.

The rubber grip on the rakes and squeegees cling to debris like hair (making them a cleaning essential people with pets need) and pull them from the fibers, agitating the carpet fibers to make it fluff up at the same time. It takes more energy than simply vacuuming, but the results are undeniable.

5. Try shaving foam for tough stains

It sounds ridiculous, but you can use shaving foam to clean carpets. The idea is that the foam soaks thoroughly into the fibers to break down grease, making dirt easier to remove – especially if a stain is water-based, such as spilled drinks or pet mess. All you have to do is saturate the stain, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, blot it away and rinse with water. Just remember to use shaving foam (such as Gillette Foamy Classic Shave Foam, from Walmart) rather than gel for the best results.

There are several other surprising things you can clean with shaving foam, too, including cleaning a mirror with shaving foam, tried and tested by our Solved News writer.

6. Use ice to remove spilled wax

Sara Aparacio, home cleaning expert from Homeaglow says, ‘Apart from carefully removing any liquid excess wax from atop of the carpet with a dull spoon or knife, it’s best to let the wax harden and dry before attempting to remove it.

The easiest way to remove wax from your carpet is to apply cold and then heat. Using cold to help make the wax brittle and heat to help lift the stain.

Apply wrapped peas or ice to the wax and leave it there until it is ice cold. When you check, it should feel brittle and crack if you press it.’ Sarah uses the following steps to remove wax completely from carpet fibers:

1. Use the scraper to pick from under the stain upwards, lifting the wax out of the fibers and helping it crumble to wax further.
2. Use a vacuum cleaner to pick up the crumbled wax.
3. Apply the ice again and repeat the process of icing, crumbling, and vacuuming until you can’t get any more wax out of the carpet fibers.

She continues, ‘Next, you’ll need an iron, at least several pieces of parchment paper (available at Walmart) or white fabric towels, some white vinegar (also from Walmart), and a spoon.

1. Add the towel or paper to the wax stain. It’s often best to have a damp towel to help lift the stain and avoid damaging other areas of the carpet with the heat.
2. Run the iron on the towel for 10-15 seconds at a time, moving it to avoid applying direct heat in one spot for too long. It’s important to ensure you don’t apply direct heat to the carpet. Always have a towel or some layer between the heat source and the wax, as you could end up with an iron or heat burn as well as a wax stain.
3. Lift the towel and check that you’re picking up the wax. Replace the towel with a clean one and repeat the process.
4. As the wax lifts, you can use a spoon to help scoop some of it out of the carpet's fibers, making it easier to catch with the towel.
5. Spray some white vinegar on the area to help lift the stain.
6. Continue ironing towels, being careful not to push the iron into the carpet and spread the wax.

7. Leave mud to dry

The number one golden rule of stain removal is to treat a stain as soon as it happens, so it might seem strange to hear that you should actually leave mud stains to dry when getting mud out of carpet.

Aggie MacKenzie, host and cleaning expert with Flooring Hut says, ‘Leave mud to dry overnight. This way, you can vacuum off the worst in the morning, then take a damp cloth with plain water to remove any residue.’

Remember when you are using any cleaning hack or new product to test it on a small, inconspicuous area first (such as in a far corner, or inside a closet) to avoid a common rug cleaning mistake. This way, should the hack damage the fibers, it will not be visible day-to-day.