Keeping carpeting clean can be a major task depending on the wear and tear it gets and the kind of traffic that is treading on the carpet. Regular vacuuming of the carpet is important to get up the normal dirt and grit that comes from walking on it all of the time, but it is a good idea to have some tricks to use to get the carpet clean in unusual circumstance.
Take the case of motor oil that get spilled somehow on the carpet. This can easily happen when you are working on the car or lawnmower in the garage, and you accidentally track some motor oil in and you leave the stains on the carpet.
The first thing you can do is to scrape any excess motor oil off of the carpet with a butter knife. Be sure not to press to firmly, as you might damage the fibers in the carpet.
Next, just sprinkle some baking soda directly onto the area where the oil stain is. If you don’t have any baking soda, use some corn starch. Then let this sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Now you can apply a few drops of dry-cleaning solvent onto a clean cloth and then apply the cloth directly to the oil stain. In this way you will be able to tell if this procedure is actually working. Then, blot the oil stain with a clean cloth.
If the oil stain is still present, mix 2 cups of warm water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar along with one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Put this solution onto a sponge, and work the solution into and oil stain residue that remains. Then just rinse the area with cold water and let it dry, and when it is dry, the oil stain should be gone.