Your dog peed on the floor, the cat threw up a hairball in the corner and your kiddo spilled his ketchup onto the freshly cleaned carpet, what are you supposed to do?

You’ve been trying to get the chemicals out of your home because you’ve learned (hopefully from me) how they make you feel sick every day because they’re so toxic. Now, you need to clean the carpet but the only options available are filled with ingredients you can’t even pronounce!

You’re in quite a pickle. There’s a healthy solution though!

That exact scenario happened to me very recently.

We had just moved into our new home and had the carpets cleaned by a company that doesn’t use any chemicals. However, dogs have a nose that knows and he smelled that there had been a dog at our house previously so he marked his new territory. I was livid! Like I needed more work when I had an entire house to unpack and settle into. Oh, I forgot to tell you, he did it more than once! *Sigh*

I’m a stickler for using zero chemicals in my home because I have learned through my healing journey just how dangerous they are to my health. I knew I needed to get the stain out and I knew it had to be done with something that wouldn’t hurt my health or my family or animals health. Thankfully, I found a solution that fit my criteria. It worked so well, that I wanted to share it with you!

Harmful Chemicals in Carpet Cleaning Solutions

Finding something safe and non-toxic to clean my carpets is like trying to find a food that tastes like it did in the Garden of Eden.

As is customary for store-bought cleaning solutions, they were all chock-full of chemicals that claimed to clean, yet destroy the body at the same time.

I was seeing ingredients like:

• Naphthalene which is a solvent to dissolve dirt and is derived from coal tar. It is dangerous to our Central Nervous System and is carcinogenic.
• Butyloxy Ethanol which causes liver damage and direct harm to our kidneys and Central Nervous System.
• Sodium Polyacrylate which is toxic to the liver.
• Fragrance which comes from a vault of over one thousand chemicals and usually up to 100 are combined to make a scent. It causes hundreds of health problems – asthma, allergies and brain problems are among the top problems.
• Hydroxycitronellol which is a fragrance used to mask. It is a known allergen and immune system toxicant.
• Amyl Cinnamyl alcohol which is toxic to the immune system and an allergen. It’s also rated a 7 on EWG. 10 is the worst.

It just doesn’t sit well with me to use these chemicals in my home in the name of cleaning. The long-term health effects are devastating.

There had to be a better way!

How I Cleaned My Carpet in a Healthy, Non-Toxic Way

Since my dog peed several times and that was the worst of the stains, I knew I would need more than just manpower to get the smell and the stains out. I started searching for a carpet cleaning machine that could do the job.

What I needed in a Carpet Cleaning Machine

• Powerful suction that actually removes the water and other liquid from the carpet and carpet pad
• Ability to clean large areas as well as small areas with a smaller tool
• Good reviews
• An affordable price-point
• Not too heavy so could lift it up and down four flights of stairs
• Durable and long-lasting for many uses
• The ability to use my own cleaning solution
• Easy cleanup
• A reputable brand
• One that would get rid of the stain and the smell

The Carpet Cleaning Machine That Worked Fantastically

After reading a TON of reviews and learning the ins and outs of what makes a carpet cleaning machine great and not so great, I chose >>this<< machine.

 

Pros & Cons of this Bissell Carpet Cleaner

The Bissell ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet Pro Full-Size Carpet Cleaner

Pros

• Easy to assemble. I only needed a Phillips screwdriver and it only took about 15 minutes
• Comes with a hose attachable stain trapper tool that is used immediately after a liquid is spilled. It sucks the excess liquid up into an attached cup before using another tool to clean the carpet
• Comes with a hose attachable 3-in-1 stair tool that cleans edges, full stairs and corners too
• Comes with a hose attachable wide base, pet stain tool that has brush bristles and plastic nozzles to squirt solution deep into the carpet. I used this one the most!
• A smaller, handheld suctioning brush tool is included as well
• Includes a handy mesh bag to keep all the extra tools and directions in
• Easy to push and pull on the carpet
• By purchasing an additional tool, it cleans bare floors too, not just carpet
• Can be used to clean area rugs
• Easy to fill clean water/solution tank
• It was easy to clean up. Though there are several steps, their instructions were easy to follow and everything cleaned up nicely
• Dirty water will never overflow because of a float stack in the tank they include
• Has clean shot technology where you can squirt cleaning solution directly from the upright carpet cleaner or the hose tools
• Has a powerful suction and truly does remove the liquid from the carpet and pad. It only took a few hours to dry afterward
• Is small enough to be stored in a closet

Cons

• Depending on the size of the stain, it can take many passes to get it thoroughly clean and remove the odor. Honestly, I would say this is true for any machine though.
• The only other negative I found when using this carpet cleaner was that there was no ability to turn the main cleaner roller brush off. Since I used the handheld tools attached to the hose the most, I wanted to turn the big brush off so it wasn’t swirling on my carpet the entire time I was cleaning with the hand tool. I ended up using the bottle of provided (toxic) solution to prop up the front of the cleaner so the brush wasn’t rubbing my carpet the entire time. It was a bit of a jimmy rig but I do wish they would have provided a button to click to make the big brush stop rotating.

The Simple, Chemical-Free DIY Carpet Cleaning Solution I Used

Finding a powerful carpet cleaning machine was only part one of the solution of my carpet cleaning woes.

Even though I found a great machine that I know I will use time and time again because it worked so well, I still had to determine what solution I was going to use to clean with.

You see, this powerful carpet cleaning machine came with the typical chemical-laden cleaning solution which included a lot of the unhealthy ingredients I mentioned above. I wasn’t about to use that junk. In fact, I eventually just threw it all away unopened.

I decided to create my own solution using the following three ingredients:

1. Hot filtered water
2. Purify Essential Oil
3. OnGuard Essential Oil

What I love about this carpet cleaning machine is that I was able to use my own solution. I just filled the clean water tank to the fill line with hot water. Then, I added 10 drops of each of the essential oils. Now I know it seems counterintuitive to place oil on a carpet. However, we are talking minuscule amounts in comparison to the water being used. I used them because of their odor-stopping power as well as the antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.

*Of course, you’ll need to test a spot on your carpet to make sure that your carpet is ok with these oils. 

If you find that you’re uncomfortable using the solution above or you use it and it doesn’t do the trick for you,

I have another solution you can use. It’s called Biokleen Bac-Out.

There are a few caveats about using this product though:

1. It’s rated B at EWG, Generally, I only like to use products rated with an A. However, in comparison to a lot of the other carpet cleaning solutions out there that are rated C, D & even F, this one is a better choice. The reason it is rated B is that the fourth ingredient it contains is Laureth 7 which has contamination concerns. Meaning, often this ingredient can be contaminated with 1,4-Dioxane which is toxic.
2. The second to last ingredient BENZISOTHIAZOLINONE gets rated a 6-7 out 10 (being worst) on EWG because it can be an allergen and potential toxicant to immune system. However, there is limited data on that.

Even with trying to keep chemicals out of my home, I have used this product for really bad stains and smells that have been on the carpet for a long time and are being stubborn. I justify it because being that Laureth is the fourth ingredient and Benzisothiazolinone is the second to last, there are most likely only very small amounts of them in the product. That being said, I would probably not ever clean my entire carpet with it.

Pros and & Cons of the DIY Carpet Cleaning Solution

Pros

• 100% non-toxic
• Smells amazing
• Kills bacteria and fungus
• Gets rid of odors 

Cons

• May not work for all carpets
• You, as the user, need to be comfortable using it on your carpet.

Is This Carpet Cleaning Machine Worth the Investment?

While this carpet cleaner is not the least expensive one out there, I know that the cheap man usually pays twice. There are carpet cleaners that cost a lot more money and, after our thorough research, we felt like this mid-line price range for a well-made, reliable machine was the way to go.

For our family (of boys and animals) we also felt that the cost was justifiable because it’s guaranteed that it would not be the only time we would need to clean our carpets. We also loved the idea of having a carpet cleaner that we could clean all of our carpets within a non-toxic, inexpensive way when needed.

Additionally, we didn’t want to have to rent a cumbersome machine that’s cleaned who knows what for a minimum $30 each time we needed to clean the carpet. Filling out the forms, giving ID, being responsible for the rental just seemed like too much of a hassle. Plus, the rental machines are huge and heavy.

If you have kids and/or animals and think you will need to clean your carpets or spot treat them, more than 6 times in the years you are in your house, then getting this effective cleaning machine is worth the investment.

Next Time You Need to Clean Your Carpets in a Healthy Way

Be mindful of the products you are bringing into your home. Examine the labels on the products you are considering. To stay healthy or get healthier, it is crucial that you eliminate toxic chemicals in your home to help your body function the way that God intended it too. A great place to start to learn about the chemicals you need to avoid is my free toxin guide. You can get it >>HERE<<

Hopefully, I have offered you a practical and healthy solution for the next time you clean your carpet! I can’t tell you how happy I was to know that I was able to get the dog pee stains and smell out of my carpet without using chemicals and with a machine that actually did what it said it would.

PS. If you want to eliminate ALL toxins in your home cleaners, then I strongly recommend using this practical and affordable tool!