6 Household Products You Should Avoid Using On Your Carpets - Part 1

Your home’s carpets are no stranger to spills and accidents. These things happen, especially if your flooring and carpeting have young children or pets to contend with. At the end of the day, though it’s “just stuff” and “these things happen”, you still want to ensure that your carpets are getting the proper care that they deserve.In a pinch, a lot of various chemicals and household products may seem like a smart solution. Don’t let your panic or frustration compromise the life of your carpets or the health of those who walk on them. Some can be trusted, but others not so much. In this first part of a two-part series, we’ll talk about a half-dozen common household products that should never meet your carpets!

#1 Bleach

Bleach can work well at dealing with stains, especially for linens and socks that have been stained or discoloured. That said, this is only safe within the confines of your high efficiency washing machine.It has to be used with extreme caution for its intended uses, and avoided altogether as a DIY solution in a pinch. Though household bleach (made up of sodium hydroxide) is not corrosive or toxic, that’s no guarantee. It can still cause serious problems for your loved ones and your carpets.Bleach is reactive with other chemicals, which can lead to the release of chlorine gas. Chlorine gas is of course a chemical weapon that can cause serious respiratory and skin reactions. Aside from this, it can also cause permanent damage to carpet pigments. The only thing worse than a stain? A biohazard patch prompting carpet replacement.

#2 Laundry detergent

Though modern laundry detergents work well at removing dirt from a wide range of materials, your carpets can’t be one of them. Some detergents can be used in the cleaning and conditioning of rugs, but they aren’t the sort you’ll find at your local grocery store. Besides, we don’t know of any carpets with a rinse or spin cycle!Though it may remove the dirt or stain in question in the short term, you’ll likely be left with an soapy and sticky mess. And when it’s sunken into your carpets that will be rather hard to remove. That coupled with the powerful scents and fragrances that can cause skin irritation in most detergents makes it ugly. For a myriad of reasons, it’s easy to see why laundry soap is a no-go.

#3 Hairspray

This one is a bit surprising - we certainly had hoped it wouldn’t catch on the way that it has. Hairspray was never formulated with anything other than hair in mind. It’s smelly and formulated with things that are impossible to pronounce and spell. Whether it’s effective for hair is one thing, but it’s damaging to the surrounding environment.Ironically enough, some hairspray can even cause carpet stains. This is due to pH levels and ingredients in carpets reacting with the sprays. In our experience, it doesn’t make much sense to use anything to remove stains that itself can also cause stains. Save your hard-earned money and time by avoiding this one at all costs.In our next episode, we’ll chat more about a few common offenders that can damage or stain carpets you can find around the house! In the meantime, while giving some thought to who to trust with your next carpet cleaning job, make sure to check out Aquamist.We’re a local team of professionals with more than 20 years of experience keeping carpets clean and carpet owners happy! Our cleaning products are environmentally-safe, responsible, and Green Guard certified as industry-leading.