Rug Cleaning Tips for Ornamental Rugs

If you have ornamental rugs in your home, take some time to learn important rug cleaning tips. These will help you keep your rugs looking great for many years.

Ornamental rugs bring beauty and character to a home, but they will eventually bring something else – dirt and dust. Rug cleaning does not have to be difficult, and sometimes it can be done without professional help, but you do need to know what to look for and how to do the job.

First, you need to know how to tell if the rugs are dirty. To do this, rub your hand vigorously over the pile for about five to ten seconds. Then, inspect your hand. If it is dirty, then you need to prepare to clean. You can also check the backside of rugs by folding them so that the pile opens and you can see the line of knots. If the warp and weft are dirty, you have deep-down dirt that a simple vacuuming is not going to collect, and it is time to deeply clean it.

Doing rug cleaning on your own can be successful if you are dealing primarily with dirt and debris, and not stains. To do this, take it out to your garage or an outdoor space. Hang it so that you can access both sides without getting more dirt from the floor, if possible. Vacuum both sides as carefully as possible using a high quality vacuum cleaner. Then, shampoo the pile side using a shampoo designed for rugs, but always test a small area first to ensure the colors are not going to run. Brush the pile using a sponge or soft brush, then rinse the shampoo with running water.

You need to remove all of the water, so consider a rubber window squeegee for this task. Then, lay it out flat to dry. When the top is dry, turn it over and let the back dry. Placing wet rugs back in your home gives mildew a chance to breed. Sometimes the pile will be stiff when you are done with this process. If this happens, you can make it soft again by brushing it or vacuuming it, but there is no need to be aggressive.

Rug cleaning on your own is not that difficult, but it does take some time. if you are dealing with deep-set debris or set in stains, you may want to hire a professional to do the job. Also, if you are dealing with large rugs that you cannot easily move, you will be better off with professional service. The end result is clean rugs, and you will be more certain that they are, in fact, clean when a professional does the task for you.

Stains can be a bit tricky to deal with. The best way to do so is to hire a professional, especially with set in stains. However, there are instances when this is not practical. However, dealing with a stain the moment it happens is always the best option. This is because some items can damage the color in the pile, especially stains caused by pet urine or acidic foods.

To deal with a stain, blot up the liquid as quickly as possible with a clean, white cloth or paper towel. Rinse the pile if you can. Then, sponge it off with a shampoo designed for rugs, and arrange it so that it can thoroughly dry on the top and bottom. At this point, you may wish to call in a professional rug cleaning specialist to ensure you have thoroughly removed the stain and will not have future problems because of it.

Article Tags: Ornamental Rugs

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