IThe first recorded treatment in history for treating carpet stains was roughly during the 1830’s using lemon juice.
That’s right, I said lemon juice.
Lemon juice, believe it or not, is considered the all-purpose and all natural cleaning life saver. Some say lemon juice was used for stubborn stains and oddly enough, a loaf of bread could be used to soak up stains like oil. The stained area would then be rinsed thoroughly with water and the rug would then be hung out to dry. In the late 1800’s, different carpet cleaning techniques were on the rise. There was the chloroform method as well as the clay paste method which was mixed with water and the applied to the stain overnight and in the morning when the chemicals or paste were washed away, poof…., so would the stain. However, the problem with both of these methods was that it caused issues like color fading. This is where the method of redyeing your carpet became popular. Advertisements claimed the redyeing method would restore your carpet to its original, “new” quality, but people soon came to find out that this method caused the carpet to shrink. Baaaack to the drawing board!
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