How To Clean Carpets Without A Vacuum Cleaner

There are many reasons why one will decide to find out how to clean carpets without a vacuum cleaner.

For some people, the noise that a good number of vacuum cleaners are associated with is a huge turnoff. While some others just cannot afford.

Whatever the reason, though, there are a number of alternatives to using a vacuum cleaner depending on what cleaning you need to do.

This is especially evident considering that people were using carpets before the invention of vacuum cleaners and still managed to keep their carpets clean.

So, let’s find out how they did it, shall we?

Dry Cleaning

Hand Picking

If you’re going to be doing without a vacuum cleaner, you’ll have to get used to hand picking debris.

Now, with a vacuum cleaner, it is actually more effective to pick up large debris before taking a vacuum cleaner to your carpet.

However, without a vacuum cleaner, you’ll pick up more than just the large debris. Pick up as much as your fingers can and try to do that as soon as you notice the mess.

Carpet Sweepers And Brushes

Now, while these are not exactly the same thing, they have the same function, which is why we are discussing them together.

So, the carpet sweeper is brush-like but with way softer bristles. Plus, it usually comes attached to a stick.

The carpet sweeper might not be the best at removing ground-in dirt but it sure does a good job of clearing up the surface.

On the other hand, the brushes have tougher bristles (be careful not to get those that will damage your carpet) and could take care of ground-in dirt.

That said, some brushes do not come attached to a stick. So, you might have to stoop to take care of your carpet.

Here’s a quick visual representation of what we’ve said:

Lint Rollers

These used to be popular in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and they are still really functional. Lint rollers are good at removing the more than occasional lint and moss and could even take care of pet hair.

Shaking And Beating

With a carpet, neither of these methods would be effective because they both involve removing the carpet from where it is. However, this would be perfect for an area rug.

First off, you’ll have to have swept said rug before you shaking or beating. Also, the shaking and beating have to be done outside because of all the dust and sand you’ll be letting loose.

That said, shaking is exactly what is; shake the carpet as vigorously as you can. This will get out a lot of the sand. However, it might not be very effective for a deep cleaning.

Beating, on the other hand, does the job really well. So, place the rug on a platform, preferably stomach level, and beat the carpet like crazy. Just keep beating until no dust is coming off the carpet.

This is a really tiring method but it gets the job done really well.

That said, if you have asthma or a compromised respiratory system, this method is not for you.

If there is anybody in your home that does and that person is not you, be sure that they are not around wherever you decide to shake or beat out your carpet.

Duct Tape (Or Any Kind Of Tape)

This is an interesting one. To remove pet hair, you could consider placing duct tape over the spot and pulling it off. The hair should come off on the tape.

Again, this is really tiring considering how much ground you’ll have to cover and how small duct tape is.

Washing

If you want to take things a step further and wash your carpet, be prepared for back breaking work. So, you’ll need a bucket, a scrubbing brush (make sure that the bristles are not too tough) and carpet cleaner.

Stain Removal

However, before you get to scrubbing the entire carpet, the first thing you want to do is to spot clean; that is, take care of the stains first.

You could use commercially sold stain removers or make your own. Vinegar is usually a part of most people’s homemade stain removers. Just be sure to steer clear of bleach because it will damage your carpet.

That said, before going ahead to clean your entire carpet, do a spot test. Test the stain remover on a part of the carpet that is not really visible. If things check out, you can go ahead and use it where necessary.

Now, when you’re getting out stains from your carpet, you want to dab and not press in. Pressing in will get the stains even deeper making it more difficult to come off.

When you’re done scrubbing, rinse that spot out by dabbing with clean water.

Then, consider placing a couple of paper towels on the spot and placing something on it to hold it in. Those paper towels should soak up all the water from that spot.

On the other hand, you could just leave it to air dry. However, place a furniture over it so that you can be sure that nobody will go there.

Overall Cleaning

If you are dealing with an area rug, you can take it out and wash it outside. However, with a carpet, you’ll have to do the scrubbing right there. And yes, you’ll be scrubbing.

As a result, it makes sense to do it one room at a time. So, scrub one room with your brush using soapy water and then rinse out with clean water and a clean rag.

When you do this, you might be tempted to wear dirty clothes because it is a dirty job. However, it is actually better to wear clean clothes because the dirty clothes could make those places that you have cleaned dirty.

Anyway, because of all the water involved, drying is an important aspect of washing carpet.

You want your carpets to dry in 48 hours, tops, because anything more and you are probably already breeding mold which isn’t a good idea.

As a result, we are generally more comfortable with professionals doing the more comprehensive kind of cleaning, especially when it has to do with water. However, it is all up to you.