How Do You Get Vinegar Smell Out Of Carpet? (In 4 Easy Steps!)

Cleaning your carpet can be fun unless you’ve accidentally poured in some additional vinegar for the finishing touches. As much as adding vinegar may benefit your carpet cleaning finishing, an additional amount can not only produce vinegar smell but can also cause wicking.

To get the vinegar smell out of the carpet you can use several remedies that include: using baking soda, thorough vacuuming, blotting the vinegar, and using coffee grounds. A combination of those methos will be the most effective against vinegar smell. This guide will put light on how to deal with excessive vinegar smell coming from your carpet. If you want to know how to deodorize a carpet, then click here.

Is White Vinegar Good for Cleaning Carpets?

The first question that arises is why to even used for carpet cleaning? Other several methods can be used for carpet cleaning such as vacuuming, steam cleaning, dry cleaning, etc. However, using vinegar has its perks, which is why it is often used in DIY carpet cleaning methods.

For starters, the very reason for the smell of vinegar is that it is used to remove odors from your carpet. Sometimes, pet urine stains don’t get washed during the cleaning process. Even if they are, the fibers being drenched in urine tend to maintain the smell even after cleaning.

To remove this smell, vinegar is sprayed on the carpet. Vinegar is an excellent deodorizer and can be used to remove the smell from your carpet overnight. Moreover, it can also help remove stains, which is why it is used even after cleaning.

Removing Smell Of Vinegar From Your Carpet

The reason why the vinegar smell keeps on coming from your carpet is because of the excessive amount of vinegar that has been sprayed over the carpet. Even a small amount is enough for the removal of odor but if an excessive amount is sprayed over the carpet, it can become dense and settle down in the fibers.

With the settling of the vinegar within the carpet, it keeps it wet, attracting dirt and bacteria. Moreover, this also invites mold and leads to mold infestation, ruining your carpet even after proper cleaning.

The first thing to do is to keep caution while spraying the vinegar solution over your carpet. Do this and your problem will never arise. However, if in case you’ve accidentally sprayed a lot, then move on to cleaning it out.

This can be done by following these measures:

Step 1: Absorb the Extra Vinegar with a Washcloth

The first thing to do is to blot out excessive vinegar. Blotting is an excellent technique that is used to extract moisture as well as rinse off stains from the carpet. Blotting involves the use of a slightly wet washcloth and gently pressing over the stained area. The cloth when coming in contact with the stain rinses it off with every press.

This protects the carpet fibers from being damaged if scrubbed. It’s an effective technique used on dry carpets.

For removing vinegar, check if it’s still wet. If it is, then no need to dampen the cloth. Just take a clean washcloth and blot the vinegar residue out. Repeat the process a couple of times to extract the maximum amount.

Step 2: Remove the Extra Moisture with Baking Soda

The next step is to use baking soda. Just like vinegar, baking soda is also used for the removal of moisture and odors from the carpet. In this case, it can also be used to remove excessive vinegar as well as remove its smell.

The process is simple, just sprinkle baking soda over the areas with excessive vinegar and let it sit for about an hour. Baking soda will do the trick and extract vinegar from the carpet, making it odorless. If you feel that the smell hasn’t gone, then repeat the process and keep it overnight again.

Step 3: Clean the Baking Soda Remnants with a Hoover

The last step is to remove the baking soda holding the excessive vinegar. Vacuuming here is essential since leftover baking soda can attract dirt and keep on moisture over the carpet. With traffic over the carpet, baking soda with accumulated vinegar can collect dirt while being pushed deep within the carpet.

This will invite bacteria as the carpet won’t get dry, ultimately leading to mold infestation. Make sure to vacuum it well and repeat the process if the desired results aren’t achieved.

Step 4: Spread Waste Coffee Grounds

Another trick that you can use is to spread coffee grounds on the affected area. Coffee grounds have been found to extract smoke and cigarette smell from carpets, walls, cars, etc. Using coffee grounds can help remove the smell in no time. While doing so ensure to keep the area airy so that the odor cannot accumulate back and is shoved outside.

How to Clean Carpet Stains with Vinegar Correctly?

Now that you know how to remove the smell of vinegar, it’s time you consider things before even using vinegar. Remember, it’s important to know what you’re considering for DIYing your carpet cleaning. It will only benefit you and your carpet in the end.

– Hiding Vinegar Odor

To prevent the smell of vinegar later, it’s recommended that you mask it before even applying it to the carpet. This can be done while preparing the vinegar solution to apply to your carpet. The main remedy here is to add essential oils to the solution.

For making the spray, you can use:

• Half cup vinegar
• 1-quart water
• Five drops of essential oils (lemon, rosemary, eucalyptus, tea tree leaves)

While making the solution, make sure to mix the ingredients so that the scent of vinegar can be masked. Once done, you can spray a little amount on the carpet to test it out. If you don’t feel the pungent smell of vinegar coming, then it’s good to go. If the smell is still there, then try adding more essential oil to minimize the smell.

– Getting Rid of Vinegar Odor

If for instance, the smell of vinegar keeps on coming even after adding essential oils (which it shouldn’t) then it’s time to neutralize the smell. This is the same process for the removal of the smell by using baking soda. However, the application is not limited to just carpets, it can also be sued for furniture, sinks, toilets, showers, etc.

All you need to do is to spread adequate baking soda over the affected place. The components of baking soda react with vinegar to form acetic acid. On completion of the reaction, you can see water and salt appearing over the spot, which indicates that the vinegar has been extracted

Conclusion

It is compulsory that you keep notice of the elements that you’re using during your home carpet cleaning processes. You can also take a look at the methods used by some of the best-carpet-cleaners-near-me to see how DIYing is done right. Happy cleaning!