Effective Ways To Clean Area Rugs
Rugs are comfortable décor choices that add color and vibe to every room. You can lighten up the rooms by throwing in a chic rug and experience a comfortable feel. However, just as how much the rug holds importance at home, its cleaning holds even higher importance. A rug with poor maintenance can completely negatively impact the aesthetics of the room. This blog gives tips and methods for keeping the rugs clean using basic home remedies.
Basics Of Cleaning Area Rugs
Area rugs are the most commonly used rugs that are placed in almost every household. Your job does not end with just throwing a perfect rug on the floor. There is a lot to it regarding maintaining the rugs in the homes. Some of the basics about professional cleaning solutions for the area rugs are as follows.
Vacuum To Eliminate Stains From Rugs
If you have a large rug covering most parts of your house, then frequent vacuuming can be the first step to the deep cleaning solution. You must do regular vacuuming, so the carpet fibers do not wear out early. However, you should avoid a wet-dry vacuum on the fringe areas.
Carpet Shampoo To Get Rid Of Stubborn Stains
Carpet shampoo is another alternative that can instantly remove stubborn stains and dirt. However, you should try out the shampoo in a small carpet corner before using it for the entire piece. After which you can clean the rug with fresh water. You can also look for carpet shampoos suitable for that particular material.
Soft Brush To Remove Pet Stains And Hairs
When you surface clean the rugs, vacuum cleaners can leave out pet hairs. For such circumstances, using stiff brushes can be the ideal solution. The cleaning instructions to remove pet hairs is brushing them during the rug nap.
Additional Cleaning Guides For Care Tags
Your rugs get worn out easily with regular use. To keep the rugs intact, it would be ideal to reverse the rug once or twice a year. This can help sustain the rug's life for a longer period. For a smaller rug, you can give special care by taking and shaking off the surface dust outdoors. However, you have to check the local guides before doing it.
Cleaning Process For Every Material
The care instructions differ for every material as each has its properties. However, following the recommendations and the cleaning method provided during the purchase would be ideal. Some regular cleaning methods for different carpet material types are as follows.
Hand Woven And Braided Rugs
The first procedure would be to check if the rug can be washed by washing machine or hand. If the smaller rug is washable, place it inside a mesh laundry bag and wash it with cold water. However, the best cleaning product for a larger rug would be carpet cleaning foam. You can expect a better result with spot cleaning by rubbing the carpet carefully.
Hand-Knotted Oriental And Antique Rugs
Many antique and oriental rugs and runners are placed in high-traffic areas like the kitchen and center of the living room. You can use a vacuum for the oriental rugs as it can easily remove dust on the flat surface. However, for antique rugs, you must be cautious as they are made of delicate material. For such circumstances, you can place a clean nylon cloth on top of the rug and run the vacuum over the cloth. However, it is better to contact professional cleaners once every year.
Natural Fibers Like Coir, Grass, and Cotton Rugs
The natural fiber rugs are made through an open weave method, so the dirt tends to stick to the floor easily. Vacuuming the carpet and the floor beneath at regular intervals can prevent the settling down of the tough stains. If your rug is made in squares, you can remove and replace the square. Then clean the tough stains off the rug using clean water and a soft bristle brush.
Rugs Made Of Fur, Wool, And Sheepskin
For fur, wool, and sheepskin rugs, you can spray talcum powder with no scent and leave it for a few hours. Then use a bristle brush attachment and remove the hair and other tough stains off the rugs. The same carpet cleaning methods are to be followed depending on the size of the rug. The back of these rugs can be cleaned with a white cloth dipped in soapy water.
Ways To Remove Different Stains On The Rugs
Once you spot a stain or dirt on the rug, then you have to take immediate action to clean them. Prolonging the cleaning process can result in leaving permanent damage to the material. Some of the ways to clean the different stains are as follows.
Drink Stains
You can do spot cleaning if your carpet has alcohol or fizzy drink stains. You can mix liquid dish detergent, warm water, and white vinegar. Then you can rinse the entire carpet carefully and dry it out to make it look brighter. For coffee or tea stains, you can follow the same method. However, if the stain is not eliminated, you can opt for the spot carpet cleaner, which can be more effective.
Fat-based Stains And Paint
A dry solvent spot cleaner is best for all fat-based stains like butter or gravy. If your carpet is stained by acrylic and latex paint, you can use a detergent solution for wet paint. However, if the stain remains on the carpet, you can use rubbing alcohol. If the stain is caused by oil-based painting, then using mineral spirits can be a better option. However, during this process, you should be cautious about not soaking the back of the rug.
Gum And Melted Wax
For both gum and melted wax, try peeling the stains as much as possible and then work on the leftover stain. You can keep a few ice cubes in a bag made of plastic on the remaining stain and leave them on it for a few minutes. Once the stain is hardened, you can scrape it off. However, for melted wax, you might need to work a little harder by placing a cloth over it, and rubbing alcohol would be an effective option.
Clean Rug Creates A Positive Atmosphere
Rugs, a forerunner of adding a vibrant change to a household, require regular and constant maintenance. You might ignore cleaning the rugs considering their appearance to be clean and pure. However, these rugs still require cleaning as there might be some bacteria and germs stuck to them that are not visible easily. So, in general, the rugs need constant cleaning to enable them to appear better and add a perfect outlook to the rooms.
