The Best EVER Homemade Carpet Cleaner Recipe for Machines

I have four messy kids and a big dog. My carpets are downright gross much of the time, and I have really struggled with finding the time to keep those carpets clean. I am also one of the worlds biggest cheapskates and hate having to rent one of those Rug Doctor machines for shampooing. Not to mention that fancy-smanchy $20 bottle of carpet cleaning solution too. Then of course after spending all the money you get to only have the carpet cleaner machine for 24 hours which means a whole day of non-stop-sweaty-hard work shampooing. Not fun at all.

While I can’t help you with the work or the shampoo machine I can help you save money on the carpet cleaning solution!

Woo hoo!

You see, I have been making this super secret recipe for homemade carpet cleaner for about 4 years now. This formula was created by my amazing sister Tiffany – who tested many different homemade recipes and came up with this one. It works like a charm in my Bissel shampoo machine and makes your house smell amazingly awesome!

Disclaimer: make sure and read your instruction booklet that comes with your carpet cleaning machine for warranty information. Some machines warranties are no longer valid if you don’t use a certain type of cleaner with the product. AND of course, always test a small area of carpet for colorfastness before you do the whole floor.

Ingredients for my secret homemade carpet stain remover and cleaner are items you can find even at your local Dollar store! A little package of Tide laundry detergent, some oxiclean (or dollar store knock-off), Awesome cleaner, Downy fabric softener and some water.

PRICE BREAKDOWN:

The Rug Doctor concentrated formula runs around $19.59 for a 1/2 gallon.

For my homemade recipe I spent:
$.97 for the Tide packet (of which I used maybe 1/2 of, so $.50)
$3.97 for the Downy (of which I used $0.15 worth if that)
$1.00 for the Awesome cleaner (of which I used $0.15 if that)
$1.00 for the Oxiclean cleaner (of which I used .20 if that)
==> Grand total $1.00 for a GALLON of concentrated mix solution for carpet cleaning machines.

Yeah, that is some serious SAVINGS folks!!! Wow.

Now… I know what many of you are thinking.

These aren’t natural ingredients.

And I know most of my recipes have been more natural, and non-toxic for the most part. But I wanted to be honest and tell you that I use this one myself because it WORKS! It gets the stains out and when I have 24 hours to shampoo, I can’t afford to mess around with a homemade carpet cleaner recipe that doesn’t get the stains out.

Now if you really need to have an all-natural homemade carpet cleaner recipe that is non-toxic I will tell you I have tried out using vinegar, water, and some essential oils and it works very nicely too. Maybe not as amazingly awesome as this recipe above, but if the toxins are a worry for you this recipe for all natural homemade carpet cleaner solution works well.

But this is my absolute go-to recipe for homemade carpet cleaner for my Bissell machine.

Every time. 

Here is a dark stain that was in my son’s room. Now you see the spot.

Then you don’t. Boom!

Best ever homemade carpet stain remover.

I love the way this cleaner works. And when you add in that teeny bit of Downy fabric softener it leaves your carpets sooo soft too.

By the way, this recipe makes a CONCENTRATED MIX just like the fancy $20 Bissell solution where you only add in like 1/4 cup of the solution to a gallon of water. So add in only a little bit of this solution each time you add water to your carpet cleaning machine. Or better yet just follow the instructions per your machine. Here is the recipe!

Homemade Carpet Cleaner for Machines — My secret recipe!

DIY Concentrated Carpet Cleaning Solution

This concentrated homemade carpet cleaner recipe for machines will give you the cleanest carpets around while saving you money! Great for stain removal too! 

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Keyword: homemade carpet cleaner

Author: Karrie

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Liquid Tide Laundry Detergent
• 1/4 cup Awesome cleaner dollar store brand
• 1 scoop Oxiclean I used generic dollar store brand
• 1 teaspoon Downy Fabric Softener optional
• 1 gallon Hot Water

Instructions

MAKING THE SOLUTION

• In a large bowl or pitcher, combine the liquid Tide, Awesome cleaner, Oxiclean and downy if using. Stir together with spoon until well combined. 
• Slowly pour the hot water into the cleaning solution gently, so you don't make too many bubbles. Stir slowly and gently until all particles are dissolved.  
• Pour into a gallon-sized container. Label outside of container: Concentrated Carpet Cleaner

HOW TO USE SOLUTION

• Before you begin cleaning, make sure that your carpet has been thoroughly vacuumed.
• Read the directions that came with your carpet cleaning machine for how much cleaner to add as some reservoirs are smaller than others. For typical carpet shampoo machines, pour 1/4 cup of this concentrated solution into your carpet shampoo machine reservoir. Then fill the rest of the reservoir with hot water. (**The ratio I use is about a gallon of hot water to 1/4 cup of this concentrated cleaning solution.)
• Test this homemade carpet cleaner on a less visible area of flooring to make sure it's safe for your carpet and wait at least 24 hours for the test spot to dry to see the results.
• Then you can run the machine over your entire carpet, making sure to show special attention to stains or spots. Wait least 24 hours for the carpet to dry and you're done!  
  

I have used this solution on my carpets, in the interior of my cars and even on couches. It works great and gets out the stains, which makes this mama very very happy.

Happy cleaning everyone! And happy saving money too.