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The last time I got carpet, it came with cleaning instructions. The instructions specifically said not to use chemical cleaning agents.
What is your carpet made of? That's very important. The manufacturers of that type of carpet will tell you exactly what to use.
My carpet was for bedrooms only and was polyester, which is specifically resistant to pet stains. Instructions said to use vinegar and water only, that some chemical cleaners will actually "set" the stains. I don't know if it was speaking of spot cleaning or allover cleaning. I had some bad pet stains (vomit & #2) from a dog that got very sick. It took me hours, but I was able to get it all up and the bedroom carpet look good as new, using just vinegar and water. I did it by hand.
The house I now live in has a light colored plush carpet. My elderly dog has had some "accidents" of #1 and vomiting. I used the vinegar and water routine on those, and they came out fine, although they are just a tad lighter at first (I guess because the carpet was a bit dirty), but it blends over time.
I've used baking soda with the vinegar & water before. It does fine, too, but I think the baking soda tends to lighten the area a bit more. But if you're doing the whole carpet, that wouldn't matter. But the soda would be a mess to vacuum up, if it's used for a whole room, I think. I don't know.
You really need to check with manufacturer instructions for the type of carpet you have. Nylon is very common for carpet. But it stains more than others, if it's older so that the stain resistance added to it has worn out.
The last time I got carpet, it came with cleaning instructions. The instructions specifically said not to use chemical cleaning agents.
What is your carpet made of? That's very important. The manufacturers of that type of carpet will tell you exactly what to use.
My carpet was for bedrooms only and was polyester, which is specifically resistant to pet stains. Instructions said to use vinegar and water only, that some chemical cleaners will actually "set" the stains. I don't know if it was speaking of spot cleaning or allover cleaning. I had some bad pet stains (vomit & #2) from a dog that got very sick. It took me hours, but I was able to get it all up and the bedroom carpet look good as new, using just vinegar and water. I did it by hand.
The house I now live in has a light colored plush carpet. My elderly dog has had some "accidents" of #1 and vomiting. I used the vinegar and water routine on those, and they came out fine, although they are just a tad lighter at first (I guess because the carpet was a bit dirty), but it blends over time.
I've used baking soda with the vinegar & water before. It does fine, too, but I think the baking soda tends to lighten the area a bit more. But if you're doing the whole carpet, that wouldn't matter. But the soda would be a mess to vacuum up, if it's used for a whole room, I think. I don't know.
You really need to check with manufacturer instructions for the type of carpet you have. Nylon is very common for carpet. But it stains more than others, if it's older so that the stain resistance added to it has worn out.
Normally, I would agree with advice to follow manufacturer's instruction, and I applaud you for bringing it up.
However...
Polyester is a plastic that is generally stain resistant on its own, and has been used extensively in clothing since the disco era. Using a generally safe laundry detergent should be perfectly fine. The manufacturer advice to use an acid borders on crazy. The acid you don't get out could easily damage the bond to the backing, who knows what it would do to the underlay, and worse, how it might over time etch or damage any floor under that. Lord help the customer who laid that carpet over marble for some reason. I will however go along with the manufacturer that the spot cleaners could be damaging. Some of those, such as the citrus based ones, absolutely can soften plastic and damage it.
My best guess on the lightening in areas of dog spit-up is that the stomach acids acted as a bleach. Stomach acid is hydrochloric acid, chlorine bleach is hypochlorous acid, and any free chlorine could bleach.
FWIW, one of the rooms in my house in Florida had a polyester carpet and underlay that was designed to handle flooding (sunken living room). I used Tide on it many times with zero damage.
I've been thinking about that restriction on polyester carpet cleaning, and I think I have an answer as to why that is in place. Polyester is pretty much an impervious filament. Think fishing line. Washing with just about anything that doesn't dissolve plastic should be fine.
What I think is going on is the manufacturer has put an anti-static and/or scotchguard type coating on the filaments. Using certain chemicals would remove this.
Scotchguard is PFAS stuff, static sprays can be re-applied. My polyester carpet in Florida never had particular issues because the humidity was high enough that static wasn't a big problem.
Moral of all this? When buying carpet, ask questions - LOTS of questions. Wool has always been an indication of a high quality carpet (with a wallet pinching price to match).
I didn't say "rip it all up and replace with new carpet", I said "with something CLEAN." Ever pulled up old carpet? Yuck!
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