Before you pull out the big carpet cleaning machine with harsh chemicals to tackle carpet stains, try this super simple best stain remover for carpet homemade recipe that is proven to be the easiest way to remove tough carpet stains. Oh, and the best part it is that this DIY carpet cleaner is quick and easy.

Stain remover for carpet - Carpet stain remover diy using essential oil and hydrogen peroxide and a scrub brush.
This is a super easy stain remover for carpet…

DIY Carpet Cleaner that is a Stain Remover

We found the magic stain remover for carpet for tough stains even with tough odors.

Our van floor was nasty – the carpet was covered with stains. I needed to find the best way to remove those gross stains that took the least amount of effort on my part!

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The thing with carpet stains on the floor in the car is they could be literally anything if there are kids and pets involved producing a wide variety of stains: oil stains, fruit juice messes – grape juice and apple juice are my kids favorite, chocolate stains, urine stains (don’t judge me…), carpet spills of everything you can imagine from blood stains to pet messes! Every single one of these are tough stains!

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Homemade Carpet Stain Remover

I can’t remember where I first got the recipe, but we shared it here on Kids Activities Blog over 5 years ago and it remains one of our most popular articles because it allows you to clean carpet stains without spending a ton of money (actually it is super cheap) and it really works on dirty carpets and even old stains and stubborn stains while giving the best results.

2 Ingredient DIY Carpet Cleaning Solution

All you need are two simple ingredients plus water and a tiny bit of elbow grease for tough stains. One is a common household item, hydrogen peroxide & the other one of our favorite essential oils, lemon oil! The peroxide breaks down stains and the lemon oil helps release sticky particles.

Oh, and if you are in a hurry, you can leave out the essential oil which makes it a 1 ingredient homemade cleaning solution ! <–can you call it a solution when it is that simple?

What is Hydrogen Peroxide?

Hydrogen peroxide is a colorless liquid at room temperature with a bitter taste. Small amounts of gaseous hydrogen peroxide occur naturally in the air. Hydrogen peroxide is unstable, decomposing readily to oxygen and water with release of heat.

NIH

There are commercial product, commercial cleaners and commercial carpet cleaners used by professional cleaners that contain hydrogen peroxide at concentrations from 5% up to 90%. Today we are going to make a simple DIY recipe to make your own carpet cleaner for carpet stains.

Which Essential Oil?

As you may have noticed on Kids Activities Blog that many of our homemade solutions have natural ingredients like essential oils. We love essential oils for many things including carpet cleaner solution. We usually use lemon essential oil, but the good news is any of your favorite essential oils is great in this combination of ingredients. You can control the amount in the DIY carpet cleaner recipe to your liking.

Some favorite essential oils to try instead or in addition to lemon essential oil: Purification, Thieves, Citrus Fresh, Tea Tree Oil and Lavender.

Homemade Carpet Cleaner Solution Supplies

How To Make DIY Carpet Cleaner

Step 1

Start with a dark colored bottle. Clear or semi-translucent bottles will break down the hydrogen-peroxide neutralizing the cleaner.

Fill the dark colored bottle with 1/3rd Hydrogen Peroxide

Step 2

Fill the remaining 2/3rd of the bottle with warm water .

Step 3

Add 5-10 drops of lemon essential oil depending on the size of the bottle and how strong you want the homemade cleaners lemon scent.

Step 4

Shake lightly.

Test Your DIY Carpet Cleaner Solution to Treat Stains

  1. The first step is to choose a hidden section of carpet (inconspicuous place) the first time you use your homemade carpet shampoo recipe to spot test to make sure you won’t be bleaching or changing the carpet color.
  2. Choose a small area of carpet (or area rugs) and spray area with the solution recipe to the carpet fibers and blot with a clean cloth (white towel or white cloth) or paper towel.
  3. Check back once it has dried for color fastness. We have not had a problem with this best carpet stain removers recipe, but our house generally has light carpet .

We add this word of caution because everyone’s rugs are different and will react differently with hydrogen which can bleach things and the last thing you need is a bigger carpet mess! Results may vary with how fresh stains might be or what type of stain you have on your hands.

You can add more water to dilute it if you’re worried.

this peroxide carpet cleaner really works these are before and after of carpet stains
The before and after is astounding! This Peroxide carpet cleaner is amazing!

How To Use Homemade Carpet Cleaner

  1. Liberally spray the are of the carpet stain with the cleaner mix.  
  2. After the mix has set for a minute or so, use the scrub brush or old toothbrush to loosen the carpet fibers.  The yucky stuff moves to the surface.
  3.  Use a clean rag and wipe the carpet, blotting out any excess liquid.
  4. Repeat a couple of times with your homemade cleaning product until your carpet is clean.
  5. You can also use this cleaning mix on upholstered furniture.

It turns out they also sell Hydrogen Peroxide already in a spray bottle, on Amazon! You can approximately 10 drops of lemon oil to this size container. Shake lightly to mix!

Yield: 1

DIY Carpet Stain Remover for the Toughest Stains

FB - 2 ingredient carpet stain cure

This is our favorite of all homemade carpet cleaners and works great on stubborn spots and is a great odor remover while being super easy to make because it has just 2 ingredients.

Prep Time 3 minutes
Active Time 5 minutes
Total Time 8 minutes
Difficulty easy
Estimated Cost $5

Materials

  • hydrogen peroxide
  • lemon essential oil
  • water

Tools

  • dark colored bottle spray bottle
  • (Optional) funnel

Instructions

  1. Fill bottle 1/3rd full of hydrogen peroxide.
  2. Fill bottle with warm water.
  3. Add 5-10 drops of essential oil.
  4. Shake lightly.
  5. Test the stain treatment solution on a test place in an inconspicuous area of your carpet as a spot test by applying the solution and then blotting with a clean cloth and check back once it has dried for color fastness.


To Clean a Carpet Stain

  1. Liberally spray the carpet with the cleaner mix.  
  2. After the mix has set for a min or so, use the scrub brush or old toothbrush to loosen the fibers.  The yucky stuff moves to the surface.
  3.  Use a clean rag and wipe the carpet, blotting out any liquid.
  4. Repeat a couple of times until your carpet is clean.
  5. You can also use this cleaning mix on upholstered furniture.

More Easy & Natural Cleaning Ideas from Kids Activities Blog

How did your DIY carpet stain remover turn out? Were you able to use your homemade carpet cleaner to remove the stubborn stains at your house?



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18 Comments

  1. I love that this carpet stain remover is made with two basic household ingredients. I can’t stand the overly chemical smell that comes from most store-bought carpet cleaners. Can’t wait to try this!

  2. I’m surprised to find a carpet stain remover with so few ingredients. Plus, it’s ingredients that I already have on hand! Who knew?!

  3. I’m looking forward to trying this DIY carpet stain remover. I have some ugly stains that need rescue. Plus, I love that it only requires 2 ingredients!

  4. I’ve never considered using hydrogen peroxide for a diy carpet stain remover! I am hesitant due to the bleaching capabilities, but I’ll be sure to test it out first. If it does work, it’ll be a sanity saver, for sure!

  5. We have children and dogs in this house, so our carpet has seen its fair share of messes! I hope this carpet stain remover is the solution to my mess. It doesn’t get any easier than this solution!

  6. I have never even though to try making my own diy carpet stain remover before, and I have all of these ingredients! Could I use any essential oils that I want, to switch the scent up?

  7. Wow these tips are great! We recently had to call some professional carpet cleaners too, but I hadn’t ever thought of making my own cleaning solution! I will definitely be trying this out for some spot cleaning in the future. Thank you!

  8. Thanks for sharing your recipe! I recently had my carpets professionally cleaned and my carpets haven’t looked this clean since I moved in. I will definitely be trying out your tips on future stains.