Can You Use Carpet Cleaner On Clothes In The Washer?

When you think about it, carpets have a lot in common with our clothes. They’re often made from the same materials like wool, cotton or polyester. So is it possible that you can use carpet cleaner in the washing machine to wash your clothes?

This article looks at whether it’s possible to use carpet cleaner in the washing machine, the effect it has on clothes and much more.

Can I Use Carpet Cleaner In My Washing Machine?

We looked into the active ingredients in clothes detergents and carpet cleaners. To our astonishment, we discovered that they use the same or very similar ingredients.

For any detergent to clean it has to contain surfactants, these long tailed molecules are composed of two parts. The head of the molecule is attracted to water and the tail is attracted to dirt and grease etc.

This means the stain is lifted from the material by becoming trapped in a bubble which is then washed away and dispersed in the water.

The thing is, laundry detergents are more concentrated than carpet cleaners because they’re designed to be used on a large number of clothes at one time. They are also used in far more water than a carpet cleaner uses.

We would say that if it was an emergency and you’d run out of laundry detergent, washing your clothes in carpet cleaner as a one off would be fine.

But we wouldn’t recommend it as a long term solution.

Why Shouldn’t I Use Carpet Cleaner In The Washing Machine?

Carpet cleaners are designed to work on carpets, not in washing machines. This means it isn’t going to be as effective at cleaning your clothes in the washing machine.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use carpet cleaner to clean your clothes. As a matter of fact, carpet cleaners are a great way to remove stains from clothes.

They’re most effective on fresh stains, but can work wonders as a soak to remove many stains including;

• Grass
• Oil
• Blood
• Wine
• And Many More

Using Carpet Cleaner To Remove Fresh Stains On Clothes

To remove fresh stains from your clothes all you need to do is;

1. Mix 60 ml (2 fluid ounces) of carpet cleaner in 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of water.
2. Pour into a spray bottle.
3. Spray directly onto the stain.
4. Leave the solution to soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Then rinse to remove all traces of the stain.

Using Carpet Cleaner To Remove Dried In Stains On Clothes

For dried in stains all you need to do is;

1. Mix 60 ml (2 fluid ounces) of carpet cleaner in 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of water.
2. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
3. Spray directly onto the stain.
4. Leave the solution to soak for 30 to 60 minutes.
5. Then rinse out the item to remove all traces of the stain.

These methods should only be used on well made, high quality materials that are strong enough to withstand the concentrated chemical soaking.

Before using either of the above methods we recommend doing a spot test on an inconspicuous area of the material first.

Can I Wash Carpets In The Washing Machine Using Carpet Cleaner?

Machine washable carpets, rugs and pet beds often get stained to a point that regular laundry detergent just can’t clean. Try adding  carpet cleaner to the prewash cycle when washing rugs or pet beds.

This will help to loosen up those stubborn stains just enough for the regular detergent to remove during the main wash.

What Are The Advantages Of Using Carpet Cleaner In The Washing Machine?

Using carpet cleaner in the washing machine isn’t ideal on a regular basis. However it does have a few benefits which include;

• The Removal Of Stubborn Stains
  Carpet cleaners are designed to remove stubborn stains from carpets and rugs. They’ll do exactly the same for your clothes too.
• Washing At Higher Temperatures
  Carpet cleaners are designed to be used using hot water, which means you can wash your clothes on a hotter than normal wash.
• Less Soap Suds
  Carpet cleaners are designed to produce less soap suds which means your clothes won’t need an extra rinse to remove all of the suds. This is great for laundry like duvets, pillows, jackets and of course, carpets and rugs.
• No Need For Bleach
  If you pre soak your clothes in a solution of carpet cleaner to remove stains, you eliminate the need for bleach which could potentially ruin some fabrics.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Using Carpet Cleaner In The Washing Machine?

After listing all of the advantages of using a carpet cleaner in the washing machine, it’s only fair to list the disadvantages as well. These include;

• The Expense
  Carpet shampoos and cleaners can be quite expensive. This expense doesn’t usually matter because you use them in such small quantities. However, when using them in the washing machine, you’ll need to use far more than on a stain on the carpet. Added to this is the smaller concentration of chemicals in carpet cleaners which means you’ll need to use a lot more than regular laundry detergent.
• The Potential Damage To Clothes
  Using carpet cleaners in the amounts needed to wash clothes in a washing machine creates the potential to damage the fabric of your clothes.
• The Potential Damage To The Machine
  It’s not just the clothes that have the potential to become damaged when using carpet cleaner, it’s also the washing machine. It wasn’t designed to withstand the volume of chemicals needed to clean clothes using carpet cleaner.

Would You Use A Carpet Cleaner In The Washing Machine?

So, there you have it, can you use carpet cleaner in the washing machine? Yes you can but would you want to? It would take far more carpet cleaner to achieve the same amount of cleaning as your regular detergent.

Which means your laundry expenditure would be far greater. Added to which there’s the potential to damage both the laundry and the washing machine.

Are There Any Natural Alternatives To Carpet Cleaner?

If you’re looking for alternative ways to remove stains from your clothes, we believe using natural alternatives is always a great idea. Let’s look at a few natural stain removing alternatives;

Using Hydrogen Peroxide As A Stain Remover

Hydrogen peroxide is a natural way to remove even stubborn ingrained stains. All you need to do is;

1. Mix ½ a cup of hydrogen peroxide with 2 cups of water.
2. Apply the solution to the stain and allow it to soak for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Rinse and wash in the usual way.

Using Lemon Juice & Salt As A Stain Remover

All you need to do is;

1. Make a paste from the juice of 1 lemon with salt.
2. Rub the paste onto the stain.
3. Leave for 30 minutes.
4. Rinse, then wash in the usual way.

Using Baking Soda & Vinegar To Remove Stains

When used together, baking soda and vinegar are great stain removers. All you need to do is;

1. Pour some distilled white vinegar onto the stain.
2. Then pour some baking soda on top of the vinegar.
3. As these two react, the stain will be lifted from the clothing.
4. Allow these ingredients at least 15 to 30 minutes to work on the stain.
5. Then wash in the usual way.

SEE ALSO:

• Soaking Clothes In Baking Soda Overnight
• Can You Use Household Bleach On Your Laundry?

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