Expert Q&A for How to Clean White Carpet

Preventative cleaning is the best way to keep your carpet clean. Vacuum once or twice a week. Be sure to clean up stains as soon as possible. Vinegar and water is a great go-to stain remover for white carpet. For a more thorough cleaning, you should get your carpets professionally cleaned or rent a steam cleaner or carpet cleaner at least once every couple of years. A professional cleaner will likely do a more thorough job than a rental unit.

Assuming your rug is small and does not have a rubber backing, you can put the rug in your washing machine. If your rug has stains on it, you should work on the stains prior to putting the rug in the washing machine. To remove stains, you can mix equal parts vinegar and water with 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent. Work the solution into the stain and blot the stain until it is removed. You may need to let stubborn stains soak with the solution for 20 minutes prior to blotting with a rag.

If you have small stains you are trying to remove, you can use apply white vinegar to the stain and rub the area with a sponge and blot it dry. Alternatively, you can mix in laundry detergent to the vinegar to make a stronger solution. With white carpet, be sure to vacuum regularly and steam clean your carpet once every couple years, at least!

To maintain your white carpet, it is recommended to vacuum at least once or twice a week. For a more thorough cleaning, you can rent a steam cleaner from a hardware store. Typically you will lay the water down when you push the machine. Then, be sure to slowly pull the machine over the carpet to extract as much water as possible.