Homemade Carpet Shampoo

By the way I have a Cat, so ammonia is out of the question, that would make my cat pee all over the place. LOL

I have a very nasty, ugly, dirty carpet with stains that not even fire would kill! ( jk ) I have the Green Little Bissell but the cleaners from it just tickle the stain, laugh and dry away leaving the stain Happy as can be in it's original place. Help! I need something that removes ugly, nasty stains at least for a couple years since I can't afford to replace it now. Help!
Thanks =)

To those that use Borax- remember that this is a alkaline balanced powder and when mixed with water quite essentially creates Hydrogen Peroxide. If used with any acidic compound or solution will either neutralize or reduce pH of solution. So Borax is great as an additive to Chlorine Bleach or most Landry detergents it should not be used with ammonia or white vinegar. Also it is a naturally occurring crystal but is not harmless- meaning it cleans just don't feed it to anyone or see what happens if you snort it up your nose. The heat of the water also effects it's efficiency, the hotter- the stronger. Hope this helps someone.

Clear ammonia has been used by professional cleaners. Do not mix products. Personally I use vinegar--white distilled, in my machine. 1/2 cup to 2 gallons of hot water. If my dog does an accident, I take a gal of hot water and 1/4 cup vinegar, swish and dump on spot. Then use the shampooer within 10 minutes to clean it. I found that I take the 2 gallon container on my shampooer and for rinsing the carpets add 1 ounce of Febreeze or other brand. You can get it in sprayer form or bulk. It makes the whole house smell nice, can't tell we have a dog! If I only need to freshen up the carpet, vacuum first then run shampooer with water only, do not use carpet cleaner detergent. Use the Febreeze.

I don't know anything about rug shampooers, however, I do know that using ammonia in your laundry can remove color. I was using about a cup of ammonia with my hunter green bathroom towels, as they had that sour smell that towels can get. It removed the smell, but the towels are now a dark olive green. I would not use ammonia on my rug for this reason.

I would use the white vinegar. No ammonia fumes and a natural deodorizer.

White vinegar is one of the best cleaners ever made. Dilute with one part vinegar tp eight parts water. Apply to area and blot with wet cotton towel. NCC