How To Clean Carpet With Borax: The Ultimate Guide

If you have borax at home but don’t know ‘how to clean carpet with borax?‘ Then we got you covered. Borax is an excellent and widely used laundry product. It is also effective for carpet cleaning especially when it is time to remove stains. Follow our simple steps of cleaning carpets with borax.

What is borax?

Borax is the salt of boric acid available in the market or, super shops at an affordable price. It is a well known cleanser and whitening product for floors and household items like clothing’s, bed sheets, carpets, utensils, kitchen appliances etc. People have been using it from early 19^th century especially for laundry. Also it is chlorine and phosphate free which makes it safer to use.

Borax to clean carpet:

Borax can be an effective home supply for DIYers when it is time to clean your carpets. Though it is not considered for carpet deep cleaning still it is really effective for treating fresh spills, removing stains and even cleaning the whole carpet. It also effectively removes the bad smells from carpets and act as a natural deodorizer.

In this article we will provide you the best strategies with borax to clean carpet. We have categorized the carpet cleaning strategies with borax into 2 types-

• Cleaning Fresh Spills And Stains With Borax
• Cleaning Old And Stubborn Stains With Borax

Cleaning Fresh Spills And Stains With Borax:

It’s always good to clean up the stains from your carpet while they are fresh. Because with time, the liquid spills like red wine, coffee, tea, juices, human and pet urines might leach through the carpet into the underlay and the floor underneath. So, start absorbing the liquid instantly using paper towels.

Supplies needed:

• Paper towels
• Pieces of clean clothes (cotton)
• Borax
• Spray bottle
• Cold water
• Rubber gloves
• Heavy books
• A spoon
• Vacuum machine

Methodology:

1. Clean up the fresh spill:

First, clean up the fresh spills from your carpet using paper towels. Blot up the liquid as much as possible. Instant blotting will stop spreading and leaching of the liquid through the carpet fibers and prevent leaving stubborn stains on your carpet. Use as much as paper towels needed for maximum absorption.

2. Soaking up the spot with ice/cold water:

Now, quickly soak up the spot with sufficient cold water through a spraying bottle. Using a spraying bottle will help you to prevent over saturation while soaking.

3. Applying borax:

After soaking, sprinkle sufficient borax on all the targeted spots to be cleaned carefully. Then use a damp cloth soaked in cold water to cover the spot. It will help the borax to sit deep in the carpet fibers and loosen up the dirt and stain. For better result you can gently press the damp cloth by a spoon with its curved side. Then wait for 10 minutes.

4. Clean up the residues:

After 10 minutes, take off the damp cloth from the carpet and blot the spot again with paper towels. Do this until the paper towels absorb no more residues or, spilled liquid from the carpet. After that, again spray enough cold water to rinse the spot and blot up the spot with paper towels to remove all the remaining borax.

5. Placing a heavy object:

Place some paper towels to cover the treated spot and set something heavy like a book, bricks or, you can simply step on them. After placing the heavy object leave them this way for an hour or, more. This will absorb the remaining liquid.

6. Drying the spot:

Finally, use a hot air drier to dry up the treated spot. If you don’t have a drier then wait and let it dry naturally with the help of blown air. When the carpet is completely dry, vacuum the spot carefully and you’re done with your cleaning.

Cleaning Old And Stubborn Stains With Borax:

Sometimes people don’t notice accidental juice spills and pee stains on the carpet and with time they become old and stubborn to get rid of. People don’t use borax for carpet deep cleaning, but it is an effective natural cleaner for treating fresh and old stains. It is a strong laundry product because of its strong alkalinity (P^H of borax is 9.5). Such strong alkalinity enables it to breakdown oily and fatty substances. Also it is chlorine and phosphate free which makes it safer to use.

Supplies needed:

• Paper towels
• Borax
• Vinegar
• Table salt
• Spray bottle
• Cold water
• Rubber gloves
• Vacuum machine

Methodology:

1. Vacuuming the whole carpet:

Before starting the cleaning process carefully vacuum up the whole carpet to remove the dust, loose dirt and debris.

2. Soaking up the stains with cold water:

Now, quickly soak up the spot with sufficient cold water through a spraying bottle. Using a spraying bottle will help you to prevent over saturation while soaking.

3. Applying borax:

Prepare a paste with vinegar, table salt and borax (1:1:1). Now apply this paste on the old stains to be cleaned. Rub the spot with the paste gently. It will help the borax to sit deep in the carpet fibers and loosen up the dirt and stain. Then wait for 15 minutes or, until the spot dries up completely.

4. Clean up the residues:

Now vacuum up the dried residues from carpet carefully. Repeat this whole process if necessary for better result. And you’re done with cleaning stubborn carpet stains using borax.

Health hazards with borax:

You have to store the borax in a place which is not accessible by your kids and pets. Otherwise it will cause health hazards.  

• Inhalation of borax will cause dry and sore throat.
• Contact of borax with eyes will cause blurred vision, redness, pain and even corneal damage.
• Oral ingestion may cause abdominal pain, headache, vomiting and even diarrhea.

Related Questions:

Is borax good for cleaning carpet?

People have been using borax from early 19^th century especially for laundry. It is well known as a cleanser and whitening product for floors and household items like clothing’s, bed sheets, carpets, utensils, kitchen appliances etc. It is not considered for carpet deep cleaning, but an effective natural cleaner for treating fresh spills and old stains. Also it is chlorine and phosphate free which makes it safer to use.

How long borax takes to sit on carpet?

After applying/sprinkling sufficient borax on all the targeted spots, you have to use damp clothes soaked in cold water to cover the spots. It will help the borax to sit deep in the carpet fibers within 10 to 20 minutes and loosen up the dirt and stain. For better result you can gently press the damp cloth by a spoon with its curved side.

If you don’t rinse and cover the spots with damp clothes and avoid pressing the damp clothes by a spoon or, a heavy object, then it may take hours to sit the borax powder to on the carpet fibers.   

Can you clean carpet with borax and detergent?

Yes, you can clean carpet with borax and detergent. Borax is a great whitening and laundry product. If you use a combined solution of borax and detergent, then you can clean the old and stubborn stains from your carpet easily. All you need is to follow the right procedure.  

Which cleans carpets better, borax or baking soda?

Both borax and baking soda are great carpet cleaner. But, borax is stronger than baking soda. Because its alkalinity is stronger than baking soda (P^H of borax is 9.5 & P^H of baking soda is 8). Such strong alkalinity made borax as an effective and appropriate cleaning agent in certain situations. On the other hand, experts say borax is a harsher cleaning agent for carpets and rugs.

Which is better, borax or vinegar?

Borax can clean stains and deodorizes carpets, but not recommended for deep cleaning them. On the other hand, vinegar is used for disinfecting, deodorizing, spot treating and deep cleaning carpets. So, we can tell vinegar is better than borax for carpet cleaning. 

Is it safe to vacuum up borax?

Yes, it is safe to vacuum up borax after it has dried up completely. Usually borax is applied on the carpet stains after dampening or, rinsing the spots to be cleaned. In wet condition, borax can easily loosen up the dirt and debris trapped in the deep carpet fibers. So, you have to wait until all the residues dried up. Then you can easily vacuum up all the dirt residues including borax.

How do you spread borax to carpet?

After soaking the spots to be cleaned, sprinkle sufficient borax on them. Then use a damp cloth soaked in cold water to cover the spot. It will help the borax to sit deep in the carpet fibers and loosen up the dirt and stain. For better result you can gently press the damp cloth by a spoon with its curved side. Then wait for 10-20 minutes or, more until all the residues dried up completely. Now you can easily vacuum up all the dirt residues including borax.

Is borax safe for pets and babies?

No, borax is not safe to your pets and kids. That’s why; you have to store the borax in a not accessible place by your kids and pets. Otherwise it will cause health hazards like dry and sore throat; blurred vision and corneal damage; abdominal pain, headache, vomiting and even diarrhea etc.

What should you not mix with borax?

Never mix borax with acids or acidic solutions. Because, borax is basic in character with a P^H of 9.5. that’s why, it will definitely react with acids and cause serious damage to your carpets and health.

Why does borax clean so well?

Borax is a stronger cleaning or, laundry product because of its strong alkalinity (P^H of borax is 9.5). Such strong alkalinity made borax an effective and appropriate cleaning agent in certain situations like removing old and stubborn stains from the carpets. Borax can breakdown oily and fatty substances.

Final touch:

So, we believe that people who find it tricky and gross and don’t know ‘how to clean carpet with borax?’ is no more a bigger problem. In fact, it was never been that hard if people have already followed a similar process like that. And now this article has cleared all the probable and necessary questions of the DIYers.