Rug Cleaning and Care Guide

As amazingly low as Floorsome's prices are, buying a large good quality rug is still a large purchase. It doesn't matter if you have a cheap or expensive rug, a polypropylene or designer wool rug, its important to look after your investment. Therefore we present this guide to you on how to keep your rug looking new for many years and keeping the stains at bay.

Disclaimer: All of these methods are tried and tested but we take no responsibility if your rug gets damaged due to cleaning with these methods. For further advice speak to a professional carpet cleaner.

General Maintenance 

• The absolute best thing you can do for a rug is a regular vacuum (once or twice a week) this will prevent dirt building up in the base of the rug that can prematurely wear the rug out. 

• Flip the rug over and vacuum the back occasionally as dirt can build up here as well and wear on the backing.

• Have your rugs professionally cleaned every three to six years, depending on the level of use.

• Rotate your rug every six to twelve months to reduce uneven wear and tear.

• If the rug is small enough, you can take it outside and shake it or beat it vigorously to remove dirt and grit.

• A rug pad can help extend help the life of your rug by offering some cushioning to foot traffic.

General Cleaning

 (Always do a spot test on a small area before trying any of these!)

• The most important thing with stains is time! The sooner you can attack and clean-up a spill the easier it will be to remove it without permanently staining the rug. This is doubly important with wool rugs as they tend to soak up liquid where as synthetic fibres such as Polypropylene and acrylic will resist it meaning you can be more aggressive with your stain treatments.

• Blot stains, don't rub them. Dab stains with a cleaning solution and a clean cloth, paper towels, or a sponge. The last thing you want to do is spread more of the stain by rubbing it further into the fibre of the rug. Always blot from the outside of the stain inward, as blotting outward can spread the stain.

• Pro Tip: You can use shaving cream to remove almost any stain. Apply shaving cream to the stain and let it set for around 30 minutes, then blot it away with a white cloth. Finish by spraying the area with one part vinegar mixed with one part water and then wiping away the solution with a cloth. Only plain, white shaving cream is safe to use on rugs because it contains no dyes or greasy emollients, always spot-test a small area before treating a large stain to ensure the shaving cream won't damage or stain your rug. 

• Greasy stains can be removed with dish washing detergent. Just put a drop or two of dish washing detergent into a cup of water and put the solution into a spray bottle. Then simply spray directly onto the stain and blot away with a clean cloth.

More cleaning tips for specific types of stains and spills:

Candle Wax: Take a clean white towel and place it over the wax then use your iron to heat up the towel, the wax will turn back to liquid and you will easily be able to scrape it off with a butter knife. Then take a white paper towel and put that over the remainder of the wax and put the iron on it and it will heat up and adhere to the paper.

(Be very careful not to burn the rug with this method, only use a low setting with the iron and only apply for 30 second at a time)

Coffee, Egg, Cordial, Soft drink and Tea: Spot clean with mild detergent and then rinse with water.

Urine, Faeces, and Vomit: Apply detergent solution or a citrus-oxygen cleaner, rinse, and blot until dry.

Grease and Oil Based Stains: these can be removed by applying pure eucalyptus oil to an undyed towel then dabbing/rubbing over the stain.

Paint: For latex and acrylic based paint blot with detergent while the stain is still wet and then blot with rubbing alcohol if the colour still remains.  For oil based paint you can use a cloth to blot up as much of the pain as possible then add some turpentine to the cloth and continue to blot, the turpentine will help separate the paint from the carpet fibre.

Have any cleaning tips to add? Leave a comment below!