Tried that 'baking soda on carpet' trick for pet smells and my vacuum almost died

Saw this thing all over TikTok where you sprinkle baking soda all over your carpet, let it sit overnight, then vacuum it up. I have a golden retriever and my living room was starting to smell like a wet dog convention. So I dumped a whole box on the carpet, rubbed it in, waited 12 hours. When I went to vacuum it up, the baking soda clogged my vacuum filter so bad it started smoking after 2 minutes. Took me an hour to clean the filter, and I still had white powder streaks everywhere. Has anyone found a way to actually do this without destroying your vacuum?

3 comments

3 Comments

ericcraig4d ago

Read that you gotta use a shop vac for that trick instead.

abbyp614d ago

Yeah shop vac is definitely the way to go. It's funny how so many little household fixes are really just about having the right tool. Like how people try to unclog a drain with boiling water and baking soda for an hour when a $30 auger would fix it in two minutes. Same with furniture repair - everyone thinks wood filler is magic but half the time you just need a clamp and some patience. It's like we all overthink things until someone points out the obvious shortcut staring us in the face lol.

holly7094d ago

Is it though? Like yeah a shop vac works, but how often are you actually dealing with that specific problem? I feel like half these "life hacks" are just excuses to buy more stuff. I've got a regular vacuum and a prayer, that's been working fine for me. My drain's been slow for like two years now and I just live with it. Maybe I'll fix it when I retire.