This homemade carpet cleaner solution cleans carpet stains left from food, accidents, pets, and life’s little messes. And with a cost of $1 per gallon to make, this secret formula is gonna save you a TON of money!
This is the original homemade carpet cleaning solution recipe – all others out there are just simple copycats.
This formula was created by my amazing sister – who tried & tested out many different products on her carpets and came up with this recipe. She’s the best.
This one is guaranteed to become your favorite and you’ll make this diy carpet cleaner recipe over and over again, year after year like I do.
Watch My Video: How To Make Homemade Carpet Cleaner Solution
But Does It Really Work?
I have four messy kids and a big dog. My carpets are downright gross much of the time. I am also one of the worlds biggest cheapskates and hate having to rent one of those Rug Doctor machines for shampooing AND pay $20 or more for carpet cleaning solution.
But I’m telling you, this carpet cleaner solution diy recipe is tough on stains. And when I say tough…I mean crazy TOUGH on stains! This stuff is even stronger than those store-bought expensive ones.
Its cleans clean carpet stains left from food, spills, pets, and life’s little accidents. And yes, it will get rid of pet odors too, and leave your house smelling amazingly awesome. It’s a Rug Doctor copycat recipe, only better.
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.
How Much Does This Homemade Carpet Cleaning Solution Cost To Make?
It’s ridiculous how much money the store-bought carpet cleaning solutions cost. I mean, $20-$30 per bottle of concentrate? And sometimes you need several of those bottles if you’re shampooing your whole house. It’s too much.
This ultra concentrated carpet cleaning diy solution with Oxiclean (or Dollar Store knock-off), liquid Tide laundry detergent, LA’s Totally Awesome cleaner, and Downy fabric softener only costs $1 per gallon to make vs $20 for 1/2 gallon of Rug Doctor solution.
You will save so much money using this DIY carpet shampoo recipe instead. Plus these ingredients can easily be found at your local Dollar Stores.
PRICE BREAKDOWN:
For my homemade carpet shampoo recipe I spent:
$0.97 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)
$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.
The Rug Doctor concentrated formula runs around $19.59 for a 1/2 gallon.
Yeah, that is some serious SAVINGS folks!!! Wow.
It’s Super Concentrated
This diy carpet shampoo 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.
You will mix together your ingredients and add them to a gallon of hot water. THIS becomes the concentrated solution.
Even though it seems like a small amount of ingredients, a little goes a long way. 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. I’ve used this carpet cleaner solution for my Bissell machine with no problems.
OTHER GREAT DIY CLEANING RECIPES
- All Natural Carpet Cleaning Solution Using Vinegar
- DIY Carpet Cleaner Powder Dry Shampoo
- Homemade Armor All Car Cleaning Spray
- DIY Liquid Hand Soap recipe
- Make Your Own Swiffer Wet Pads
- Homemade Laundry Detergent
SUBSTITUTIONS & FAQ
WILL THIS SOLUTION WORK ON ANY CARPET CLEANER MACHINES?
I’ve personally used this recipe with Rug Doctor rental machines, my SpotBot hand held machine, and with my upright Bissell carpet cleaner machine. Never had any issues. And I’ve had my machine for over 6 years, with no problems. It really is the best carpet cleaning solution for machines of all types.
That being said I suggest you 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.
WILL THIS WORK ON UPHOLESTRY? RUGS? IN MY CAR?
I have used this solution on my carpets, rugs, 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. It’s powerful enough to remove stains yet gentle on fabrics.
AND of course, always test a small area of carpet or fabric for colorfastness before you do the whole project.
CARPET CLEANING SOLUTION SUBSTITUTIONS
I get a lot of questions about substitutions for this recipe. Especially for the LA’s Totally Awesome Cleaner, which some people can’t find or is not available in their stores.
But before I go any further, I will say that this homemade carpet cleaner solution recipe is the BEST and most perfect way to make it. If you sub other ingredients I can’t for sure say your solution would work as well or remove stains as well.
- Liquid Tide Laundry Detergent – You can substitute the liquid inside of the Tide pods, just poke a hole in it and measure the 2 tbsp. You can also substitute other liquid laundry detergents if desired.
- LA’s Totally Awesome Cleaner – this USA made product is so amazing and can usually be found at dollar stores. I haven’t tested it myself yet, however the Mean Green cleaner might be a good substitute.
- Oxiclean – substitute the generic dollar store brand for the more expensive name brand.
- Downy Liquid Fabric Softener – You can use any fabric softener you prefer as a substitute.
Now if you need to have an all-natural homemade carpet cleaner for shampooer recipe that is non-toxic, organic, scent-free or dye-free I have another recipe using vinegar to clean carpets. It’s not quite as tough on stains, but is a great alternative.
DOES DIY CARPET CLEANING SOLUTION EXPIRE?
If I have any solution leftover after shampooing, I just add it to an empty gallon container, label it and store with my other cleaners.
Store it in a cool and dry place and it will stay good for 6 months or longer.
WILL THIS WORK ON PET URINE & ODORS?
Yes, this recipe is the best carpet cleaning solution for pets! It’s worked it magic on my pet odors from urine, pet stains and years of accidents. You may need to shampoo it a few times depending on how bad it is, but it’s worked amazingly well on all my pet accidents.
HOW DO I USE THIS TO PRE-TREAT STAINS?
I like to pre-treat my stains by using a 50-50 mix of the concentrated solution and water. You can add it to a spray bottle or just use your fingers to dab a bit of it on the stain. Let it sit for 5 minutes then shampoo over it. Repeat if necessary.
FINAL CARPET RINSE OR NO?
After shampooing your carpets with this homemade carpet cleaner solution should you then do a pass over your carpets with water only?
This is a personal preference as most die-hard carpet cleaners out there say that if any cleaning product is left on our carpets, it will attract more dirt and you’ll end up with dirty carpets. So if you’d like to take that extra step, feel free.
I personally like the smell and softness the downy fabric softener leaves behind and my carpets haven’t had stains come back in the same places. The solution is so diluted down that I’m not worried about it. So I don’t do the extra rinse personally myself.
But it’s totally up to you to do what you feel is best here.
DISCLAIMERS
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.
Homemade Carpet Cleaner Solution
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp liquid Tide laundry detergent
- 1/4 cup LA's Totally Awesome cleaner
- 1 scoop Oxiclean (3 tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon Downy fabric softener optional
- 1 gallon hot water
Instructions
MAKING THE SOLUTION
- In a small bowl, combine the liquid Tide, Awesome cleaner, Oxiclean and Downy if using. Stir together with spoon until well combined.
- Add mixture to a gallon of hot water, stirring gently so you don't make bubbles. Stir slowly and gently until all Oxiclean particles are completely dissolved.
- Use immediately in your carpet cleaner machines or pour into a gallon-sized container with a lid. Label outside of container: Concentrated Carpet Cleaner.
HOW TO USE SOLUTION
- Before you begin carpet shampooing, make sure that your carpet has been thoroughly vacuumed.
- It's a good idea to 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.
- 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, fill your reservoir with hot water. Then pour 1/4 cup of this concentrated solution into your water filled reservoir. (**The ratio I use is about a gallon of hot water to 1/4 cup of this concentrated cleaning solution.)
- 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!
Notes
Add leftover concentrated solution it to an empty gallon container, label it and store it in a cool and dry place. It will stay good for 6 months or possibly even longer. PRE-TREATING STAINS
Make a stain pre-treat mixture by using a 50-50 mix of the concentrated solution and water. You can add it to a spray bottle or just use your fingers to dab a bit of it on the stain. Let it sit for 5 minutes then shampoo over it. Repeat if necessary. FINAL CARPET RINSE NEEDED?
This is a personal preference as most die-hard carpet cleaners out there say that if any cleaning product is left on our carpets, it will attract more dirt and you’ll end up with dirty carpets. So if you’d like to take that extra step, feel free. I personally like the smell and softness the downy fabric softener leaves behind and my carpets haven’t had stains come back in the same places. The solution is so diluted down that I’m not worried about it. So I don’t do the extra rinse personally myself. But it’s totally up to you to do what you feel is best here. 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.
Happy cleaning everyone! And happy saving money too.
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Norma Mccarley says
Would Dawn dish soap be able to replace Tide?
Karrie says
No you’d need to use laundry detergent as a substitute.
JoAnn Schalk says
I have been mixing the solution for 5 minutes and the Oxiclean will not dissolve
Karrie says
Was your water warm?
Craig Hyatt says
Gonna give this a shot in my wife’s dental office. I’ve using Zep at $10/gallon and we use a ton of it. I was searching for a dissolvable powder, pod, concentrate, etc. and came across your recipe. Thanks!
Michelle Zee says
This is such a neat and effective solution, that we use in our business as well. So I can vouch for it from a commercial point of view. Glad to see this is shared to the public. We also find a pet-friendly alternative is a blend of castile soap, white distilled vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and a touch of lemon/sweet orange essential oils. Love the blog, keep up the great work!
Joseph Vargas says
I have the Hoover machine too that has the seperate reservoir for the cleaner. It also has the auto rinse feature that mixes the cleaner with water when you pull the machine toward you and then dispenses just water when you push the machine away. On my machine the water tank hold about a gallon. That’s a half gallon for the wash and a half gallon for the rinse. The cleaner reservoir hold 2 cups. So to get the mixture of a quarter cup of cleaner to 1 gallon of water you would have to add an eight of a cup of concentrate to the cleaner reservoir then fill the rest of the way up with water.
Monty says
I found with experimenting that eucalyptus wool wash instead of plain laundry liquid gave even softer better smelling results
Michael says
Amazing solution.
I tested this home made solution in the Bissell on my parent’s 12yo carpet before I utilised it on ours, as they were looking at replacing their carpet. They have said it looks almost new again, and won’t be replacing it.
I found the Bissell uses about 100mil of Bissell’s or homemade solution per fill, and each bedrooms took about 6 fills. I utilised the home made solution using Australian available versions of the ingredients that cost about 5 cents per fill, where the Bissell solution would cost about $3AUD per fill. I purchased 3 different types of Bissell solution and spot spray, and from what I could tell, the home made appeared to work similar (e.g on one black ink spot I used Bissell’s and other black ink spot used home made, and results looked the same). The home made solution for the 3 rooms cost me about a total of $1 for 2 litres, where as the Bissell would cost $60 (3 x 750mil bottles).
Thanks again for the amazing solution
JT says
Hi Michael,
Fellow Aussie here 🙂 Which products did you use to in place of these?
And thanks for the price breakdown!
Megan says
Have you ever heard of anyone putting Scotchgard in the mix? I don’t think it would hurt to add a little
Sarah says
Fantastic!
Thank you
Ann says
It works well on my old apartment carpet, really brings it back to life. Bright and clean & removed high traffic dirt. Used a bissell carpet cleaner that does better than professionals.
Gema G says
I was a bit hesitant in making this homemade carpet cleaning solution. I have to say I was blown away by the ease in making it and the effectiveness of the recipe. Not only was it easy to make, but it cleaned my very old and dingy carpet back to life! I used it in my Hoover extractor, which has a separate compartment for the solution which made it super easy to use. I will definitely be using this solution and say good bye to the store-bought forever!
Ann says
Agree 100%
I use a bissell machine & this homemade cleaner is awesome. I get better results than from a professional & won’t hire one again.
M. says
It works so good! I had been using the cleaner that came with my Bilssel steam cleaner and I always thought it smelled funky. Plus, I must have tried to clean the red slime my son got on his carpet at least 3 times and it barely faded. One time using this exact recipe and it is just a pink spot!!! I’m so impressed. It smells really good too. I love it so much that I made some and put it in a spray bottle for pre-treating stains on the laundry. It works especially good on my son’s underwear and pants when he’s had a pee accident 😐I highly recommend this solution. Many thanks!
Cory R. says
Beyond expectations. Got all the ingredients plus a couple extras at my local dollar tree. Spent less than $10 on everything, including a container. Used the sample solution that came with my new Hoover PowerDash Pet as a test on my carpet last night and it did a good job. I went back over the same spot with this solution and then the rest of my carpet, worked way better than the “store bought” solution and even picked up a lot that the store bought left behind.
SHAROD KNOWLES says
Thank you! Wonderful.
Karen says
Is there a British substitute for the la totally awesome cleaner?
John L Kenny says
I use very very hot water (like you were making coffee) to mix the OXYCLEAN and dissolve it before adding the other ingredients. So much easier.
Guillermina Perkins says
Great idea , I’m going to use ether from my coffee pot 😂
Brice says
What is the ph level of your solution?
June says
Hi
What woul the British equivalent of the ingredients be please x
Karrie says
If you click on “metric” under the ingredients it should do the conversions for you!
Jill lewis says
Can this be used in a machine where u put the cleaning solution in a separate tank than the water goes?
Shelli V. says
Rated this based on the ease of making, the smell, and the availability and cost of ingredients. I havent used this yet, but I LOVE the smell and all the things i mentioned above. The textile rinse i was using in my machine was SO expensive. And now i can clean the carpets as often as id like with this solution! I will comment again with how it worked out for me when i use it today but for now i wanted to comment how awesome this is!
Also, i did not have LA totally awesome on hand, but i did have concentrated simplegreen, and used that instead. It seems to be great, and when i comment again i will be sure to follow up on the results having used simplegreen instead!
Kelly scoglio says
Hi!! I love this diy recipe! Always looking for cheap effective ways to save money! I havent had the chance to use it though, although I did make it. I was wondering if this would work in machines where there is a separate reservoir for the cleaning solution? In my machine, you don’t mix the solution into the main tank. It goes in a separate reservoir on the side and the machine automatically measures and adds the solution to the water. I wanted to know if this was gonna be safe to use for my machine before I go ahead and so it!! Thanks for ur help!!
Karrie says
Yes this should work in that machine as well.
Jane Dean says
I also have a Hoover smart wash Automatic carpet cleaner. It has a separate reservoir for the cleaning solution and a separate water tank. Would I fill up the cleaning solution reservoir to the top with the concentrated solution? My machine automatically adds the solution to the water when cleaning. Thanks for your help. Jane Dean
Karrie says
Yes I’m pretty sure that’s how you’d add it in your type of machine to make it work.
LisaGibbons says
This stuff is really amazing. I was very worried about cleaning the carpets but now I have a wonderful solution of how to clean carpet. Thanks for sharing these amazing tips. Keep sharing such valuable tips. I have a question will these tips work fine for getting mildew smell out of carpet?
Karrie says
Hi, I haven’t actually tried getting mildew out but I’m thinking with several passes it might get most if not all of that smell out.
Phu says
How much of this solution do you add to your spot clean?