Rugs are amazing home furnishing! They are colourful, comfortable and beautiful! What’s more compared to wall-to-wall carpets, they are quite cheap! Rugs are practical and fantastic to have in one’s home. They give warmth and softness to your bare feet in cold seasons while absorbing sound in large spaces. What’s more they can complement you interior design, boost style and add texture to your home. You can totally change a living room’s look simply by placing a rug in the centre of the room.
Rug’s value is beyond any doubt and thus it deserves to be taken care of. What’s more there are items that can be quite expensive – oriental vintage rugs can command a price from a several hundreds in antique or thrift shops to a couple of millions at auctions. Thus protecting your investment is important. Creating a proper cleaning schedule and learning and understanding all about these valuable home possessions is essential.
In this article you can find cleaning and care tips for a few common types of household rugs. Be advised that these hints are NOT applicable to high value, vintage oriental or Persian rugs. Always check with a professional tug cleaner when you want to clean an expensive rug.
Vital Rug Care Tips
Tip #1
Let’s begin with a tip regarding storage. When you live in a place with four seasons, you certainly have a thick rug to your feet warm in winter and a lighter ones for warm weather. Thus it’s important to clean heavy winter rug properly before you store it away until next time you need it. Wrapped it well in plastic and put it in a temperature-controlled area in order to prevent damage.
Tip #2
Always have cleaning tags at hand. You can leave them where manufacturers have put them. On the other hand, use scissors to cut and store in a box. Alternatively copy information and file it in your household reference folder. It will prove to be extremely helpful later on when you need to check material type, cleaning codes, etc.
Tip #3
Special rugs such as doormats are quite good in retaining dust and dirt at the front door. Avoid vacuum cleaning them using your household vacuum machine. Instead shake them thoroughly to remove accumulated dust and dirt. Alternatively, hang them on the clothesline and beat dirt and dust with a broom or a stick. Most doormats can be machine washed which can be carried out every three to sic months.
Tip #4
Large rugs are like a small carpet. Everything that applies for a good carpet maintenance is applicable to rugs, too. Regular vacuuming, spot cleaning and annual deep cleaning are all essential stages in the maintenance project. However, expensive oriental rugs require specialist care.
Tip #5
Low moisture cleaning is recommended for all imported rugs. Usually they aren’t colourfast and when wet cleaned, you risk damaging their colours.
Tip #6
Some rugs allow to be machine washed. But it is advisable to clean a rug on delicate/gentle cycle. In order to preserve the rug you can place it in a laundry bag or a pillow case.
Tip #7
Normally when you enjoy the company of a pet in your home you have to put an extra effort cleaning inside. Especially, when you have your floors covered with rugs. Pet hairs and stains can be exceptionally annoying but they are inseparable part of the experience. Get a brush to remove hairs vacuum cleaners fail to extract. To remove pet stains use enzymatic cleaners to eliminate stains and neutralize unpleasant odour.