Juggling fulltime work and kids

Carpet is something that can make a house feel like a home. It will feel comfortable and soft underneath your feet and help to keep you warm in the winter months. But carpets can be high maintenance. This can put some people off from choosing carpet for their home when actually, they could make life much easier for themselves by simply having an action plan when it comes to carpet cleaning.

The worst thing that can happen is that a stain will appear, whether from a new puppy treading dirt into the home or your little one accidentally squirting ketchup over the floor, and not being able to react in good time. In these situations, what you need is an emergency carpet cleaning kit on hand. These are the key things you should put in your emergency kit.

A spray bottle. To make an effective cleaning solution, you often have to combine two or more ingredients together to create the most powerful cleaning agent. You'll need a receptacle such as a bottle. A spray bottle is also a good idea because you will be able to control the dispersion of the solution evenly on your carpet.

White vinegar. With an emergency stash of white vinegar in your home, you'll be able to take care of a lot of stains and spills. Vinegar is acidic, and it will break down grease and bacteria. Make a solution of equal parts lukewarm water to white vinegar and apply this to the affected area immediately, and the solution will cut through stain completely. It can even work with oily stains because of how powerfully vinegar works with grease.

Bicarbonate of soda. Add a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda to the vinegar and water mix and you will end up with an even more powerful cleaning solution. Bicarbonate of soda is a mild alkali, which means that it can help dirt and grease to dissolve in water. It is also great for lifting strong, unpleasant smells out of carpet, so if you are in the process of training a kitten not to pee on your carpet, you won't be too fazed by any accidents that happen if you have bicarbonate of soda in your emergency kit. Be sure to replace your bicarbonate every six months for the most effective results.

A cloth. It's a bad idea to scrub away at most fresh carpet stains as you will be spreading the stain into the carpet rather than removing it. But it can be useful to have a cloth at hand. When you make the solution, simply spray it on, leave it for fifteen minutes, and then wipe it off gently with a damp cloth.

Both vinegar and bicarbonate of soda are also non-toxic and completely natural, so you won't have to worry about the effect they have on your health, or the health of your kids and pets.