Bi-carb soda is not really a carpet cleaning saviour. Many people tout its uses, but if you try to use it on any real odour problems, it doesn’t work that well. As far as carpets go, you should never use baking soda on your carpet, even though every website will tell you to. There are a few reasons for this.
First, bi-carb soda is a carpet deodorizer, not a cleaner. So if your carpet smells from pets, kids, dampness, or just plain living, sprinkling bi-carb soda on it will neutralize the odors temporarily and to some extent, but will not clean anything. As well, since it does not clean anything the odors will be back again in a few days. What you are supposed to do is sprinkle the bi-carb soda over the carpet and let it sit for a few hours, then vacuum it up. However, if your vacuum isn’t working right in the first place, it won’t get the baking soda either. Then you will be stuck with the old dirt, plus some new particles from the baking soda, which will still be left behind in your carpet.
Which brings us to our second point. Your carpet smells and is stained because you may not be cleaning it right. Sprinkling bi-carb on a dirty carpet is like a person putting perfume on instead of taking a shower. They are still just as dirty, but now they smell like human sweat and flowers. Yuck!
The reason why people write so much about bi-carb and its cleaning properties is because it’s just something to blog about, but they probably don’t even use it themselves. This is because what bi-carb actually does, even when it is vacuumed properly, is form a bond with the other dirt. This encourages even more dirt and odours to stick to that, leaving your carpet even dirtier than before. If you keep putting more bi-carb on top of that, you will soon have carpets full of dust and dirt that will only come out with a professional cleaning.
So this is our third point. Vacuum your carpets twice a week and you will eventually reduce the amount of dirt in them, which will also reduce the odors and stains. It is important to invest in a good vacuum cleaner in order to do this. However, this doesn’t mean spending a lot of money. Take some time to do some online research and then wait for someone to have a sale on the vacuum you think is best for you. Then use it twice a week. Also, before you purchase the vacuum cleaner ask about the return policy. If the vacuum cleaner doesn’t work, then take it back and look for another brand. Think about it. How many times have you used a vacuum cleaner a few times, not been happy with it, and never taken it back?
Really, get a good vacuum cleaner and some spot remover for your carpets. Then vacuum twice a week and put the bi-carb back in the refrigerator – where it will do a perfect job of absorbing food odours.
