There are many reasons why you'd want to whiten your carpet. General home maintenance, spring cleaning, when the children or pets track dirt and mud or when liquid such as wine, chocolate or juice spills on it are just a few examples. Follow the tips below to know how to whiten carpet properly.
How to Whiten Carpet - Restoration Tips
How are White Carpets Made?
Contrary to popular belief, a white-colored carpet isn't created by not doing anything to the carpet fibers, but by applying a white dye to complete the effect.
When you add whitening agents such as bleach into the picture, your carpet's current color is lost and it assumes as buff, tan or beige hue. From there, you can apply any colored dye according to your preference, including white.
Keep in mind that when cleaning your rug or carpet, not just any standard bleach product should be used. To prevent permanent fiber damage to the carpet, a milder agent, i.e., hydrogen peroxide or something similar may be employed. This keeps the silk filaments, wool threads, cotton fibers and synthetic yarns intact while removing dirt, dust and any attached color.
Bleach washing is one of the best ways to whiten carpets and remove stains and colorants from the rug material, but how do you do it without damaging your rug?
Whitening Your Carpet
Sweep and Prepare
The first thing you should do is complete a thorough sweep of your carpet to eliminate traces of dirt and dust. You can take the rug outside and beat it with a long stick to dislodge particles and substances that might interfere with the whitening process. For carpets, make sure you vacuum over the area you would like to whiten to ensure that no dust or dirt is left when whitening the carpet.
Afterward, prepare the solution in a large bucket, which consists of the following:
-5 gallons of water
-1 tbsp soda ash
-1 tbsp powdered laundry detergent
Stir until all the ingredients are mixed in properly. Using a sponge, apply the solution over the surface of your rug, then rinse with lukewarm water.
Bleaching the Carpet
Prepare in a small bucket 6 pints hydrogen peroxide, half a cup of soda ash, 1 tsp powdered laundry detergent and 2 quarts of lukewarm water. Mix them all in to achieve a consistent mixture, then transfer some of them onto a plastic squirt bottle.
Spray the solution over the whole surface of your carpet and reload as needed. Make sure all the fibers are soaked with the solution. Make more if you're cleaning a large carpet. Then, leave your rug to dry. Depending on the fabric or thickness, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a whole day.
Perk It Up
Prepare 1 gallon of water and mix in a cup of distilled white vinegar. Use a push broom and apply the solution over the surface of the carpet to deactivate bleaching agents and perk up the fibers at the same time.
Repeat and Apply
Repeat the process until you're happy with the results. Apply white dye as instructed in the package. You're done!
Conclusion
Whiten your carpet using these easy steps and you'll have a pristine, white rug or carpet that looks classy and good as new. Remember to use a milder bleaching agent that has zero chlorine to preserve the fabric and material.
