Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner is a commercial cleaning agent that’s commonly used to clean and sanitize various hardy and nonporous surfaces. These surfaces include sinks, toilet bowls, and floors (hardwood vinyl linoleum). But did you know that you can also use this product to effectively clean and disinfect your soft and cozy carpet?
Pine-Sol is an effective Multi-Surface Cleaner that can eliminate stubborn spot stains on your carpets. Get the microfiber cloth, test the cleaner on the surface before embarking on a cleaning mission. Spray the cleaner and allow it to sit for about 10-20 min before rinsing it off.
Read on to find out how to use Pine-Sol to get rid of dirt, grime, stains, and odors on carpet fibers.
Can you use Pine Sol to clean carpets?
Pine-Sol Original Multi-Surface Cleaner can effectively eliminate stubborn spot stains on carpets. This multi-purpose commercial cleaning agent will not only get rid of dirt particles tucked away deep in your carpet fibers, but will also disinfect the carpet by killing disease-carrying bacteria and viruses present within the carpeting.
Apart from its cleaning and sanitizing capabilities, Pine-Sol Multi-Purpose Cleaner also works to deodorize your carpeting. It’s available in a number of fragrances. These include original pine, lavender clean, lemon fresh, tropical flower, and sparkling wave.
Scented Pine-Sol products are especially great to get rid of pet urine smell from carpets if you keep cats or dogs. However, Pine-Sol’s website doesn’t recommend the use of these scented versions on carpets as they leave a lingering scent that may be uncomfortable to some homeowners.
Pine-Sol cleaning agent doesn’t contain any ammonia-based ingredients, thus won’t cause your carpet to fade. It also doesn’t emit any hazardous fumes, and should, therefore, not be a health concern.
How to Clean a Carpet using Pine Sol
To effectively clean up your carpet or area rug using Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner, follow the triple-step procedure detailed below:
Gather the Items you’ll need
For starters, collect all the supplies that you’ll require to properly clean and disinfect your carpet using Pine-Sol. These include Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner, dry wipes/microfiber clothing, and water. You may have some of these supplies readily available at homes, such as water and dry wipes. If not, you’ll have to purchase them from your local store.
Wear the necessary Protective Clothing
While Pine-Sol isn’t toxic/doesn’t emit any hazardous fumes, it can trigger skin and eye irritation upon prolonged exposure. Therefore, you should ensure to wear the recommended protective apparel when using this chemical cleaning agent to tidy up and sanitize your carpet.
Test out the Product
Before using Pine-Sol Multi-Purpose Cleaning agent on your precious carpeting, check to ensure that the carpet is colorfast. This means that the carpet fabric won’t fade or run when a chemical cleaning agent is applied to it.
To test whether your carpet is colorfast, apply the Pine-Sol cleaning agent directly onto a small, concealed section of the carpet. An ideal spot would be the part of the carpet that goes under your furniture.
Clean the Carpet using Pine-Sol Cleaning Agent
Next, locate the stained spots on your carpeting and apply the Pine-Sol cleaner. To effectively eliminate carpet stains plus the unbearable odor of pet urine from your Pine-Sol carpet:
- Spray the commercial cleaner directly onto the affected surface and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. After the waiting time elapses, rinse off any residual Pine-Sol cleaning agent from the carpet fibers using an old rag/microfiber cloth drenched in clean, warm water.
- Alternatively, you can apply the cleaning agent onto a dry piece of microfiber clothing before repeatedly wiping the pet urine stains using the piece of cloth. Once done, dry out the carpet using dry wipes or a dry piece of old clothing.
Remember, apart from pet urine smells, you can also use this multi-purpose cleaner to get rid of vomit smells and cigarette nicotine odors as well. Pine-Sol cleaning agents, whether the original or scented versions, all have a variety of fragrant ingredients whose odors will mask those of the aforementioned substances.
Read Also: Is Pine Sol Good for Hardwood Floors?
Can you use Pine-Sol in a Carpet Cleaner Machine
According to the product manufacturer’s website, Pine-Sol Multi-purpose Cleaner isn’t formulated for use in steam cleaners. As such, this product should be directly applied to your carpeting or using a microfiber cloth. If you prefer using a carpet cleaning machine/carpet shampooer, use commercial cleaners that are formulated for use on such cleaners.
Read More: Dog Urine Soaked Into Hardwood Floor: Remove and Signs of Damage
Pros and Cons of using Pine Sol on Carpets
Despite being an ultra-efficient carpet and rug cleaner, Pine-Sol has its downsides, just like any other product you can think of. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of cleaning and sanitizing your carpeting using a Pine-Sol Multi-Purpose Surface Cleaner.
Advantage #1: Non-Toxic, Biodegradable Cleaning Agent
Unlike most other commercial cleaners that contain reactive ingredients that release hazardous gases into the environment, Pine-Sol doesn’t emit any known toxic fumes. As such, it’s considered safe for use on carpeting. What’s more, all the ingredients used to make Pine-Sol cleaners are biodegradable, making it an eco-friendly carpet cleaning solution.
Advantage #2: An effective Cleaning Agent
Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner is sufficiently laden with EPA-approved cleaning agents and surfactants such as Propylheptyl ethers and Alcohol ethoxylates. These ingredients work to lift out stubborn dirt, grime, and greasy stains from your carpet fabric, while also killing up to 99.9% of microbes.
Advantage #3: Deodorizes the Carpet
Pine-Sol is formulated with various fragrances including limonene and Hexyl Cinnamal. These fragrances work to improve the smell of your carpet, while also downplaying any unwanted odors like nicotine and pet urine smells.
Disadvantage #1: Not meant for use alongside other Cleaners
It’s not advisable to use Pine-Sol carpet cleaner alongside other carpet cleaning solutions, whether commercial or homemade. That’s because there’s a possibility of the ingredients in the Pine-Sol reacting with the chemicals in the secondary cleaners to emit toxic gases into the atmosphere.
Disadvantage #2: Can cause Skin and Eye Irritation
Prolonged exposure to Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner may lead to skin and eye irritation. That’s why you should wear long-sleeved coveralls and hand-gloves when handling this cleaning agent. Overexposure to Pine-Sol for extended periods can be a problem especially for people prone to allergic reactions. Wash off your skin and eyes with plenty of water immediately, before seeking further medical attention.
How to get Pine-Sol out of Carpet
The Pine-Sol carpet cleaner is safe for use in surface areas with humans and pets. However, some homeowners simply don’t like the residual smell that lingers in their rooms after using this multi-purpose cleaner on their carpets. Additionally, some of the fragrances that give Pine-sol products their odor may cause allergic reactions (due to limonene and Hexyl Cinnamal-known allergens).
Finally, it could be that your carpet isn’t colorfast, and using Pine-Sol on it has caused discoloration in certain spots. Cleaning agents build-up can also cause Sticky Floors after Mopping.
As such, you may be keen to get rid of the lingering scent of Pine-Sol after using it to clean your carpet. You can easily do this using water and a spot lifter. Simply flush the carpet or area rug with water. Then, use the spot lifter to get rid of the water plus the residual Pine-Sol.
