Making Mealtime Meaningful: Discover how we're giving back with the 12T Cares program →

Keeping our carpets clean on a regular basis is no easy task. That’s why so many of us fall behind. When you have pets and children to look after, the process of keeping them clean can feel near impossible. The carpets take an absolute beating and they keep right on ticking. Now, we can all do our part to make sure that our carpets remain fresh and clean for the foreseeable future.

Best of all, it’s really cheap to keep carpets fresh. No one wants to spend the money to have their carpets cleaned professionally and rightfully so. It’s a huge expense that most of us are not going to take on (unless we are looking to save our security deposit). Even if you decide to rent the materials and handle it on your own, the process is quite expensive.

So, to get started on this cheap carpet cleaning hack, all you need are a few ingredients that can be found at any local dollar store for less than $5: Baking soda and distilled vinegar.

Photo: Pixabay

The method can be used on any form of carpeting and it is as foolproof as it gets.

Simply add plenty of baking soda to the surface in question. Don’t be stingy. Grab a spray bottle and mix the distilled vinegar with some water and spray it all over the baking soda on the carpet. Once the mixture starts to bubble up, let it sit for a few hours longer.

The solution should resemble a form of paste by the time you are done. If not, spray some vinegar and water on top of the baking soda. Then, you can use a scrub brush to clean the carpet even deeper and use a vacuum to remove any and all residue that’s left.

Don’t make the mistake of relying on expensive cleaning tools that are filled with all kinds of hazardous chemicals. Your carpets and your occupants are going to be thanking you profusely for taking the time to use this amazing hack.