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 Some machines warranties are no longer valid if you don’t use a certain type of cleaner with the product.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
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.
Brian Regitko says
June 8, 2019 at 7:46 amCan I use this recipe with a Hoover? I just bought it and I do not want to invalidate the warranty. Will it hurt the machine?
Karrie says
June 10, 2019 at 10:23 pmAlways check your specific machine to see if it will invalidate the warranty. If you lost it already you can usually look it up on the manufacturer’s website. 🙂
Lanora says
June 7, 2019 at 8:39 pmAny word on this working for pet urine odor? I have just cleaned with the Bissel machine and used the pet urine odor product, plus rinsed and the carpets still smell! There are actually no stains and they look beautiful, but there is still a urine odor.
Karrie says
June 10, 2019 at 10:24 pmI’ve used it on some small pet stains, but I’ve not used it on severe pet stains. If you try it out and it works please come back here and share!!
Kash says
June 3, 2019 at 1:20 amHi! Just wondering how much is “one scoop” for the Oxiclean. Thank you!
Karrie says
June 10, 2019 at 10:27 pmIt’s 2-1/4 tablespoons. 🙂
David says
June 2, 2019 at 9:24 pmI have same question as Raymond had on May 27th but saw no answer. Will it work with a steam cleaning carpet machine? I also have a Hoover!
Karrie says
June 10, 2019 at 10:29 pmYes I use it on a steam cleaning carpet machine – but always check your machine’s warranty. 🙂
Mike says
June 2, 2019 at 8:30 amHi Karrie,
One of the biggest drawbacks of using store bought commercial carpet cleaners is that they can leave a sticky residue, especially if your machine doesn’t perform optimally. What has been your experience with this recipe as it pertains to this problem? What has been your experience with this as it pertains to the more natural formulas?
Thanks.
Karrie says
June 10, 2019 at 10:30 pmI haven’t had any issues with residues being left behind. The downy leaves the carpet nice and soft!
Peter says
May 30, 2019 at 8:34 pmCan i use kirkland ultra clean laundry detergent instead of Tide?
Karrie says
May 31, 2019 at 8:51 amYes you can, but Tide does clean really really well so I use that in my main recipe.
Cynthia says
May 30, 2019 at 2:59 pmDoes anyone know how many tablespoons “1 scoop” of Oxi is? I’ve seen both 1 oz and 4 oz when trying to find the answer online. Thanks so much.
Gen says
June 8, 2019 at 1:40 pmI also am wondering how much is “one scoop” of oxiclean as there are different size scoops!
Karrie says
June 10, 2019 at 10:21 pmIt’s about 2-1/4 tablespoons. 🙂
Rebecca Benson says
May 30, 2019 at 10:51 amI need to rinse the rug after this, right?
Karrie says
May 31, 2019 at 8:54 amI typically don’t but if you want you fill your dispenser with water afterwards and do an extra pass over it feel free!
Raymond says
May 27, 2019 at 8:43 amWill it work in a steam carpet cleaning machine l have a Hoover
DOROTHY says
May 20, 2019 at 11:19 pmHI I AM CANADIAN AND HAVE NEVER HEARD OF AWESOME CLEANER , WHAT IS IT AND IF WE DO NOT HAVE IT WHAT CAN I REPLACE IT WITH, PLEASE REPLY TO MY EMAIL AS I AM A SENIOR AND NOT COMPUTER SMART, THANK YOU
Karrie says
May 22, 2019 at 11:50 amHi Dorothy,
Awesome Cleaner is this special degreasing stuff… not really comparable with anything else I’ve ever found… its only $1.00 at our dollar stores in the US.
Here is a link to Amazon Canada so you can see what it looks like (but I wouldn’t pay that price for it…that’s ridiculous) AWESOME CLEANER ON AMAZON.CA
If you have someone in the US that could mail you a bottle it would be a lot cheaper!
Charli says
May 27, 2019 at 7:34 pmI buy it at Walmart. Maybe your Canadian Walmart’s have it too.
Amber says
May 26, 2019 at 5:48 amWe have Awesome Cleaner here in Canada. It is sold at DollarTree stores for $1.50!!! Which is very cheap. It works so great for so many things. I love Awesome Cleaner myself and have recommended it to quite a few people
Sue Ann says
May 16, 2019 at 7:40 amI just used this recipe on my very dirty cream colored rugs. OMG, they look brand new and I only had to go over each section one time. Believe me, they were filthy as that is where my dogs have “accidents”. I have used a variation of this recipe many times, but never added the Tide. That really made a difference.
Deb says
May 14, 2019 at 10:59 amHi, I used this homemade carpet cleaning recipe however it did not leave my house smelling great. Has anyone else had this situation, and if so, how did you resolve it?
Dee Thompson says
May 12, 2019 at 12:18 pmI’m so excited to try this. I’ll be heading to the dollar store after this reply! 😊
Question, can you use this concentrate as a spot cleaner too?
Mahaloin advance and hope your mother’s day is going amazing!
Aloha Always, Mrs. D. Thompson
Karrie says
May 13, 2019 at 7:24 amHi! You can, however do a test spot first as its really powerful concentrate!
Jamie E McCord says
May 8, 2019 at 5:45 pmDoes it matter what kind of Tide? I have the yellow bottle kind. I think it’s called simply tide.
Karrie says
May 8, 2019 at 8:17 pmNope, any kind of liquid tide will do!
Helen Kaye says
April 26, 2019 at 11:45 pmYou can add vinegar to the tank along with the cleaning solution to prevent excessive foam from filling your waste tank. No need to buy foam reducer if you hire a carpet cleaner . About half a cup to the tank would do.
Cathy Ferrari says
April 18, 2019 at 1:03 amCan you tell me what that cleaner is that you get from he dollar store? I’ve never heard of it and we don’t have it in New Zealand. Everything else I know and can get the equivalent. I’ve got a seriously stained area on my carpet where puppy liked to pee before figuring out the toilet was outside.
Karri says
April 24, 2019 at 12:29 pmDo you have Nellie Mae there? I used the Oxidizer product from them. If not, just look for an “oxidizer”.
Sue Ann says
May 16, 2019 at 7:37 amIt is called Awesome. I buy the concentrated bottle and have been using it to clean everything for years. It works great and leaves a nice clean smell.
Dawson Burgman says
January 23, 2019 at 10:07 amAt home remedies are the best! Great tips!
Ambria says
December 31, 2018 at 12:49 amThis is a “GREAT” diy solution seriously was so upset I have 3 girls under 8 and 5 dogs….2 huskies and 3 little dogs which if anyone owns a shitzu or girlies know the struggle of NEVER being potty trained even when they are. For some reason dogs chose my two youngest girls room as an alternative to the outdoors 😭 I had scrubbed and cleans and nothing was working until this!! THANK YOU. Happy mommy happy house.
Expert Clean says
April 15, 2019 at 6:29 amI totally agree with you. I am an expert and this is one of the most helpful articles I’ve read lately. Great work guys and good luck Ambria 🙂 .
Sarah Kite says
December 19, 2018 at 10:31 amWonderful tips!! Thanks for sharing!