You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
I don't have a carpet machine and cannot handle the weight of rented ones because they are too heavy for me to unload when I get home and reload when I am ready to take them back to the store.
I bought a can of Resolve which did quite good, but had a limited range and at $4.00+, it is very expensive. Does anyone have a favorite carpet cleaner, even if home-made?
I have some of the cleaner used in the commercial machines. Can I dilute that and spray it on?
There's a lot of really good carpet cleaners out there. Foam carpet cleaning is a good method if you don't want to rent a cleaner and get all the products for it. It is a little less effective than doing a professional machine shampoo job though. But it still works!
Shaving lotion. Any kind. Barbasol is cheap and works as good as any other. Sponge it in and use clear water to get it up. Don't use too much, though. I put it on a paper plate and use just a small amount at a time with a wet sponge. Any capet cleaner will leave residue that will attract more dirt when it dries. Sad, but true. If your vacuum cleaner has a hose that attaches to a blower end, use that with the crevice tool to dry the spot and press clean towels over the spot until it is completely dry. If you don't have the dryer option, just blot or even step on toweling until it is as dry as you can get it. Then put something around it..so no one steps on the spot until it is completely dry.
I read where brake cleaner is used, too, but, I would be careful with that.
For grease, the spray-on stuff in the blue and white can with the bristle top works well. You have to let it dry and can use the blower to dry it. It's a small can and I forgot the name of it.
The worst thing to get out of a carpet is tar. You bring it in on your shoes and unless you take them off, you will get a traffic stain. Strong petroleum based cleaners work, but, they also remove the protective coating on the carpet, so, get a can of Teflon or other good brand of fabric guard and use it. Be sure to let it dry.
The small hand-held steamers you can buy for $70 would be good for spot cleaning, too. Steam and blot. This would be especially good for coffee and juice.
Here is the recipe I use for 'Windex' that costs less than $1 to make a whole gallon and it works. It used to be on the back of the ammonia bottles.
1/2 cup ammonia-any kind- sudsy, lemon, or plain
16 oz rubbing alcohol
1 teaspoon liquid dish detergent-any kind
fill with cold water to make one gallon
I add the ammonia and detergent last, and finish filling with water if needed. Use an empty bleach or milk container and LABEL it. Put in a LABELED sprayer and use for anything you'd use windex on.
In the commercial cleaning business for nearly 30 years, this recipe has probably saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
I think Consumer's Union did a report on window cleaners and then made up their recipe and it reads just like yours.
Using shaving cream was quite a surprise, though
