When cleaning stains from the carpet, the most common question among people is- Can we use hydrogen peroxide? Does hydrogen peroxide bleach carpet?
The Internet is filled with information on cleaning carpets and the solution to use to clean the carpet. However, what works for them might not work for your carpet. That’s why it’s important to understand the products and then experiment with your carpet.
Without further ado, let’s begin our guide on understanding what exactly hydrogen peroxide is and whether you can use it on the carpet or not.
What Is Hydrogen Peroxide?
Hydrogen Peroxide is a chemical compound that has been used in the medical field for decades. It acts like an antiseptic that prevents the risk of infections in wounds and cuts.
It also helped doctors to sterilize their surgical and medical equipment. As the world is evolving, it is discovered that hydrogen peroxide has high oxidizing properties, which allows it to be a good cleaning agent.
It is also a natural disinfectant and eliminates common household germs and bacteria from almost any surface.
Hydrogen Peroxide comes in different concentrations, but the best percentage to clean your house is 3% and 6%. These concentrations are easily available in stores.
What Happens When You Bleach The Carpet?
Bleach is harmful to your carpet, just like eating too much candy is to your teeth. Bleach damages the bottom of your carpet.
Even if your carpet has chemical-tolerant fibers, the bleach can migrate to the roots of the carpet and eradicate the color along the way.
Does Hydrogen Peroxide Bleach Carpet?
There’s no doubt that hydrogen peroxide is an excellent cleaning agent, but the fact that it is a bleaching agent is noteworthy.
As we discussed above, bleach can completely ruin your carpet, so a bleaching agent is the last thing you want to use on your expensive carpet.
However, a 3% grade of hydrogen peroxide is commonly used in households and is considered safe to use for cleaning. But still, you don’t want to take any risk with the carpet, so it is advisable to test a small portion of hydrogen peroxide in an inconspicuous area of your carpet.
If everything goes well, then you are ready to use it on your carpet.
How To Remove Carpet Stains Using Hydrogen Peroxide?
It’s an easy procedure to clean the carpet using hydrogen peroxide. However, every stain is different and needs to be treated differently.
Below are a few steps to clean different types of stains using hydrogen peroxide:
1. Remove Food Stains From The Carpet
Food brings joy, but it also brings tragedies of food stains. It is bound to happen that someone will drop the food on the carpet or drop coffee on your freshly cleaned carpet, and you end up with cleaning those stubborn coffee stains.
Foods also contain sauces which can be a challenge to remove from the carpet.
What You Need:
- Water
- Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner in a spray bottle
- Kitchen towel
- 1 Spray Bottle
Follow The Steps:
1. Spray the hydrogen peroxide on the stained area on the carpet. Remember to cover the whole stain with the cleaner.
2. Let it sit for 30 minutes if the stain is not really old. If the stain is very old, then leave the cleaner for 60 minutes.
3. Now fill an empty spray bottle with water and spray it all over the stain.
4. Wipe away the water using a clean kitchen towel.
5. If the stain is cleaned, let it dry for at least 2-3 hours.
6. After allowing it to air dry, use the vacuum to dry the area completely.
2. Remove Pet Stains From Carpet
Pets are adorable and a part of the family, but they are also the chief troublemakers. And if your dog is currently in training then there will be a lot of mistakes that will happen on the carpet like pet urine.
And, removing the stain of pet urine from the carpet is not easy as the stain comes with a foul smell.
What You Need:
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Water
- Kitchen Towel
- 1 Spray Bottle
- 1 Pair Of Gloves
Follow The Steps:
1. First things first, it is advisable to wear gloves as pet fecal or urine contains a lot of germs.
2. Spray the hydrogen peroxide cleaner all over the stain and cover the whole stain with the liquid.
3. Leave it for 60 minutes. Fill the empty spray bottle with clean water.
4. After 60 minutes, spray the water on the area.
5. Clean the residue with a kitchen towel and let it dry for 3-4 hours.
3. Using Hydrogen Peroxide To Disinfect The Carpet
Hydrogen Peroxide is used to disinfect different types of surfaces. Whether it be wood or metal, it can be used on any surface. It is even used in textile industries to disinfect articles such as clothing, bedding and carpets.
You can also use it to disinfect the carpet and make it safer.
What You Need:
- 100 ml Hydrogen Peroxide
- 100 ml Water
- 1 Spray Bottle
- Kitchen Towel
- A Funnel
Follow The Steps:
1. Wash the spray bottle with soap. Rinse it with water properly and let it dry.
2. Make a mixture of 100 ml hydrogen peroxide and 100 ml water using a funnel.
3. Tightly secure the bottle cap and shake it gently. Make sure that they the completely mixed.
4. Spray this solution on the carpet. make sure you cover every corner of it.
5. Use the kitchen towel to dry the excess liquid.
6. Leave it to air dry for 1-2 hours and repeat this process once every week to disinfect the carpet.
Why Hydrogen Peroxide Is Safe To Use On Carpet?
Hydrogen Peroxide has different properties, such as disinfecting the carpet, removing the toughest stains, and many more.
Here are some of the properties of hydrogen peroxide:
1. Antimicrobial Properties
Hydrogen Peroxide has been used as a disinfectant for ages due to its antimicrobial properties. It has agents that slow down the microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi such as mold and mildew.
By slowing down the microorganisms, it reduces their capacity to multiply and reduces the number of microbes in your carpet. This results in making your carpet safe for kids and toddlers.
2. Bleaching Properties
Hydrogen Peroxide is a bleaching agent. It has the potential to remove the stains from the carpet flawlessly.
It is even used in textile industries to remove the natural color of fibers and yarn. So, if you are working on a white carpet, then hydrogen peroxide is your savior. It will not only remove the toughest stains but also make the carpet more whiter and better looking.
3. Oxidizing Properties
The powerful oxidizing property of hydrogen peroxide makes it the best cleaning agent. It is an unstable compound that releases hydrogen positive and hydrogen negative radicals.
These radicals then react with the stain and cause their bonds to break. This makes the stain leave the surface and makes it easier for you to remove it.
How Long To Leave Hydrogen Peroxide On The Carpet?
Every carpet is made from different materials. Some are woven with wool fibers, while some are made from nylon and olefin fibers.
How long to leave the hydrogen peroxide on the carpet also depends on the color of your carpet. Colors are also made from different products, which makes them react differently with peroxide.
In addition to the carpet material and color of the carpet, the size of the stain is also an important factor that affects the time. The bigger the stain, the more time it requires. But generally, it takes about 30 to 60 minutes to clean the stain using hydrogen peroxide.
Effective Method To Clean The Carpet Stains
If you are still skeptical about using hydrogen peroxide to clean the carpet, then instead, you can use the below method to clean without any risk of damaging the carpet:
1. Using a stiff brush, scrub the carpet and remove the dirt that the vacuum couldn’t.
2. Vacuum and remove the remaining debris from the carpet.
3. Use carpet shampoo and scrub it onto the carpet gently.
4. Let it dry for a while (overnight, if possible)
5. Lastly, vacuum the carpet one last time and remove any dust particles left.
What Happens When You Mix Baking Soda And Hydrogen Peroxide?
As we know, both baking soda and hydrogen peroxide are great cleaning agents, but what will happen if we mix these two to clean the carpet?
Well, it’s simple: Hydrogen Peroxide is a weak acid, and Baking Soda is a base compound. When we combine both elements, it creates an abrasive substance that can be used for cleaning.
There is an exothermic reaction which releases carbon dioxide gases. This reaction helps break down the grease and organic stain molecules to make them easier to remove from surfaces.
5 Ways To Use Baking Soda And Hydrogen Peroxide
Using baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is a non-toxic way to clean. This solution can be used to not only clean the carpet but also to clean many surfaces in your house.
They can also be used separately to clean, remove odors, disinfect surfaces, and many more. Given below are 5 ways to use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to clean various commodities in your home:
1. White Yellowed Laundry
Hydrogen Peroxide is a mild bleach that works an excellent job to whiten the yellowed white laundry.
Before adding water and any detergent, add one cup of hydrogen peroxide to the washer drum. You can also place it in the automatic bleach dispenser given in the washer, from where it will be dispersed in the wash cycle easily.
2. To Sanitize Beauty Equipments
Whenever you use tweezers, manicures, pedicure tools, or curlers, they come in contact with body soil and bacteria. To clean them:
- Pour a small amount of hydrogen peroxide into a bowl
- Then, submerge the tools for 15-20 seconds.
- Thoroughly rinse them with warm water.
3. Remove Carpet Odors Using Baking Soda
Baking soda can help you clean the carpet and remove any odors from it.
- Firstly, vacuum the carpet to loosen up dirt and debris.
- Liberally sprinkle the baking soda powder on the carpet.
- Leave it overnight or for 2-3 hours, and vacuum the carpet.
This will remove the lingering odors from the carpet.
4. DIY Grout Cleaner
- Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide, and 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid in a small bowl.
- Then, by using a sponge, apply the solution to the grout and leave it for 10 minutes.
- The next step is to scrub the grout using a grout brush and rinse the residue with a stream of water or a clean cloth.
5. Degrease Baking Sheets
Combine baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to remove grease and baked-on grime on baking sheets.
- Liberally sprinkle baking soda on the baking sheets to make a thick layer of 1/8-inch.
- Spray the hydrogen peroxide onto the sheet to make the baking soda damp but not soupy.
- Leave the mixture on the baking sheet for at least 8 hours or leave it overnight.
- Then lift the sticky mess using a plastic scraper or a spatula.
- Use the coarse side of the sponge to wipe any clinging particles.
- The last step is to wash the baking sheet in hot, soapy water and let it air-dry.
Conclusion
Hydrogen Peroxide is no doubt the best cleaning product out there on the market. It is easy to use and requires only a few things to work its magic.
It is a cheaper and better option than most carpet cleaning products. However, the fact that it is a bleaching agent should not be neglected.
This makes it important to first try the product in a hidden part of your carpet, and if it doesn’t harm your carpet, then VOILA!! now you have a new, cheaper, and easily available product to clean the carpet effectively and efficiently.
We hope this article has cleared all your doubts on does hydrogen peroxide bleach carpet.
FAQs
Can you mix hydrogen peroxide with vinegar?
No, hydrogen peroxide and vinegar should never be mixed together. Mixing them together will create a peracetic acid, a corrosive and lung-irritating substance.
Is hydrogen peroxide safe to use on colored carpets?
Using hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of higher than 6% will bleach out the carpet color dyes. The most common household hydrogen peroxide is diluted to a 3% grade which is a safer option to use.
What happens if you accidently drop hydrogen peroxide on the carpet?
Hydrogen peroxide could bleach some of the color from the carpet, depending on the kind of dye. But this is unlikely with a 3% peroxide.
Daleyza knows a lot about carpets! She has worked with carpets for over 7 years and can help with things like putting them in, keeping them clean, and replacing them. She really likes carpets and spends most of her time learning about new ways to work with them. When she’s not learning about carpets, she enjoys reading books. She’s really good at helping people choose the right carpet for their homes and making sure they’re happy with it. If you want to know more about carpets, Daleyza is the person to talk to!