Baking soda has many useful purposes. Among these is using baking soda as a carpet cleaner and deodorizer. Baking soda is both inexpensive a well as widely available. It’s safe for you and your family, the environment, and for your carpets too.

How to clean carpet with baking soda

Regarding carpet cleaning, there are numerous applications of this useful powder. It can be used both as a cleaning agent as well as to remove odor and to deodorize without using harsh chemicals. Whether used on it’s own, or combined with other solutions like vinegar, this article will cover a wide range of uses for baking soda on carpet.

Baking soda to remove carpet odor

Perhaps the most straight-forward use of baking soda is to help deodorize carpet with baking soda.

Use it as a carpet deodorizer

To deodorize your carpet, you can simply sprinkle baking powder on your carpet prior to vacuuming it. You don’t need to overdo it. A light sprinkling should be enough to provide a nice refreshing deodorizing effect.

Removing baking soda from the carpet

When removing the baking soda from the carpet, simply vacuum the dried powder.

You’ll want to make sure you have a decent vacuum cleaner. In general, we recommend a quality vacuum that uses a bag. A bagged vacuum almost always provides better suction than one that doesn’t.

Your vacuum should also have a “beater bar” on it. This spinning brush agitates the carpet fibers. This loosens dry soil which allows you to vacuum more deeply and effectively.

removing baking soda from carpet with a vacuum cleaner
Using baking soda and vinegar to remove pet urine from carpet

Pet Odor Treatment

Baking soda can be effective in helping eliminate minor pet odor treatment. The good news is that baking soda is inexpensive and is an easy thing to try on a pet stain before calling the pros. You aren’t going to damage the carpet or set the stain in such a way that a professional can’t then remove it. So give this method a try and see if it works before you call the pros.

Pet stain carpet cleaning with vinegar and baking soda

  • The first step to cleaning up a recent pet urine stain is to remove as much urine as you can with an old towel (that you can then throw in the wash) or a stack of paper towels. Attempt to blot as much as you can. If this is a dried stain, ignore the first step.
  • Next mix an equal part white vinegar and baking soda to create a watery paste.
  • Apply the paste liberally to the carpet and then use a sponge to remove as much as possible.
  • If you have a wet/dry vac, use it to remove as much of the solution as you can.
  • Wait for the area to dry and then vacuum it.

There are plenty of resources online stating the baking soda and vinegar is a magic cure-all to remove pet urine and pet odor. Unfortunately, this is not entirely accurate. Usually this only works for minor pet urine carpet stain issues.

For more significant pet odor problems, you’ll need to call a professional for help removing the urine and odor from carpet. If you’re still curious as to why pet odor can be so hard to remove, this article explain removing dog urine from carpet in depth.

Removing general pet odors

Baking soda works great for general pet odor deodorizing. For example, if your car smells like your dog, sprinkle some baking soda onto the carpet and upholstery and allow it to sit for 20 minutes before vacuuming it up. This can work in the living room or on your pet’s bed as well.

Baking Soda on Wet Carpet

Wet carpet drying is a place where you should not rely on baking soda. When your carpet is wet enough that you need to do something about it, you don’t want to try and absorb the water with baking soda.

Carpet and pad that stays wet for more than 24-48 hours is going to be an invitation for mold and mildew growth. Baking soda is not going to have a significant enough drying effect. It’s not going to work at drying the carpet.

Suck up the water and move air across the area

Instead you’ll want to use a wet vac to remove as much water as possible. Then you’ll want to set up a fan to move air across the area. If this is more than just a little bit of water (like if your water heater bursts), you’ll likely need to have the moisture extracted and dried out by a professional.

In the long run, this will be a lot cheaper than improperly DIYing it. You don’t want to have to replace mildew covered carpet and pad.

Absorb odors 

We don’t recommend using baking soda to actually dry the carpet. However, as the wet carpet is drying, it’s not a bad idea to sprinkle some baking soda on top to help absorb odors. Once it’s dry, vacuum it up. As previously mentioned, a light sprinkling can be useful as a deodorizer.

Flood extractor removing water from carpet
Baking soda on wet carpet

Will Baking Soda Stain Carpet

Usually baking soda is safe to use on your carpet. It shouldn’t stain the carpet, nor will baking soda bleach the carpet. However, out of an abundance of caution, it always makes sense to spot test any solution on your carpet or upholstery in a hidden area.

Be aware, however of the amount of baking soda you’re using. Don’t dump the product on the carpet as you’ll have more work to do removing it. Instead, lean towards a lighter application to allow your vacuum to effectively suck it back up.

About MSS Cleaning

MSS Cleaning is a quality carpet cleaning company in Denver Colorado. We provide carpet cleaning services and advice up and down the Colorado’s Front Range. From Castle Rock and Castle Pines up to Boulder and beyond. If you need carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, or carpet repair services in the Denver Metro Area, give us a call or book an appointment with us online.

Or Call: 1-720-233-0761