How to Clean Wool Rugs

Posted on 13/10/2015

Best Tips on Cleaning a Wool Rug

Wool rugs are a beautiful addition to the outlook of any home. They look wonderful in classically-themed room settings and go great with brown wooden furniture. Their patterns are always very pleasant to look at and can serve to stimulate your imagination if you are the artsy type. But all this is thanks to the natural fibres which wool rugs are made of, and which also makes the rugs very hard to take care of. Their maintenance requires you to be diligent and careful, and pay attention to what you do at all times. It does sound like a lot, but at the end of the day, you took a pretty carpet for your room, and now you have to take care of it. And here is how to do it.

• You need to vacuum the rug as often as possible. When doing it, set the vacuum cleaner’s power at “high” and don’t brush too much on any one place – the vacuum cleaner’s brushes may cause abrasion to the soft fibres.

• If there is a lot of hair on the carpet, you should start with carefully going over it with a medium-stiff bristled brush to gather all the hair, and then proceed with vacuuming.

• When using the vacuum, move it in X shapes, + shapes, and V shapes, but don’t just constantly move it back and forth, because that way you could crush the piles and the fibres.

• Don’t forget to vacuum the underside of the carpet as well.

• If you spill a drink or a meal on your carpet, react on the spot and start cleaning it. The longer the mess stays on the carpet, the harder it will be to get it removed without dry cleaning.

• If you spill liquid, press a colourless cloth against the rug to get it absorbed. Scrubbing may lead to spreading the stain, so avoid doing that.

• Dry foam is an efficient tool for rug cleaning, and a safe one as well, as it doesn’t require water and so you will not have to fear that mould or mildew may appear after leaving the rug moist.

• When picking a cleaning agent for the rug, you should avoid bleach, cleaners with hydrogen peroxide and alkaline cleaners. They will cause discolouring and will swiftly ruin the rug’s surface.

• Also avoid any type of powder cleaners, as well as baking or club soda. They will leave behind a stain of their own which will be nigh impossible to clean out. Stick to liquid cleaners and always check their ingredients before using.

• You can always use scotchgard as a way to protect your rugs. Its basic function is to prevent stains from penetrating your rug’s fibres, but the effect is only protective for a while. Scotchgard does not render your carpet impervious to stains, you still need to react to any staining as soon as possible or it will cause residual damage.

• Avoid using too many chemicals with your cleaners if you have kids as they often times play on the rug.

• If there is a stain you cannot seem to take care of yourself, do use a cleaning company’s services. A professional cleaner will know what to do and will deal with the rug cleaning better than you can, using the appropriate tools that will leave the rug not only clean, but also undamaged.

• When picking a cleaning agency, ask around to see if there is a local one which everybody is happy with, or pick one that has been around for a while to make sure that the cleaner they send will have experience.

With these tips you should be able to deal with the simple, but tedious task of rug cleaning. Do have patience when it comes to that and exercise caution – it is worthwhile in the end.