Little ones spend a lot of time on the ground crawling around so it is important to use safe, non-toxic cleaners on carpets and rugs. Petite Planet asked us if we had any advice on eco-friendly rug cleaners. Whether you want to do the cleaning yourself or hire someone to do the cleaning for you, here are some great resources and recipes.

Ecocycle provides an entire selection of homemade cleaning product recipes. The following are their recommendations for carpet and rug cleaning.

For general rug cleaning:

Sprinkle corn meal, baking soda or cornstarch on dry rugs and vacuum. Use club soda or soap-based rug shampoo.

For a carpet and rug cleaning foam:

Mix together: ¼ c. vegetable oil-based liquid soap and 3 tbsp. (or more) water. Whip ingredients in bowl with egg beater. Rub foam into problem areas of the rug. Rinse well with water.

If you do not want to mix your own cleaner, check out the new Capel Care Spot Remover. Capel Rugs has developed their own spot remover that is solvent-free, non-toxic, and unscented. This no-VOC cleaner retails for $9.95 for a 16 oz. bottle. You can pick it up at major home furnishing stores. It is gentle enough to use on all fiber-types, even wool. It was designed to remove both water-based and oil-based stains. Several testimonials on their site also recommended it for cleaning carpet and fabric in your car.

If you want to hire a cleaner, look for your local Chem-Dry Carpet Cleaners. Chem-Dry uses a patented cleaner called The Natural®. This natural cleaner produces carbonating bubbles to clean thoroughly with much less water than steam cleaning. It is free of solvents, enzymes, and harsh chemicals. Less water also means your carpets will be virtually dry when they leave your home. We have personally used Chem Dry services for upholstery cleaning and the results were great. They restored a light cream couch to it’s former glory after a party with greasy potato chips.