Clean The Rug Without Damaging It 06 March 2015

If you have rugs in your home, you will notice that they light up a room and add a beautiful, charming ambience around them. Rug cleaning, however, needs to be done carefully and properly. Cleaning can often result in damage to rugs. When you clean your rugs are part of your domestic cleaning to keep the house clean, follow these care guides to ensure that your rug doesn’t get damaged along the way.

1.    Once a month, you should flip your rugs upside down and vacuum the back of the rugs. This pushes the dirt out of the rug. Once you have gone all along the back of the rug, flip it back and vacuum the front. This will suck up all the dirt you pushed out from behind.

2.    Don’t vacuum the fringes or tassels on your rug. These can get stuck in the vacuum and they can resultantly fray and look unsightly. To clean them and remove any dirt, you can fluff them by hand.

3.    Avoid carpet shampoos on your rug. These are generally made for synthetic carpets and can be harmful to the material fibres in rugs. Check the label on your rug and read the manufacturer's care instructions before using any shampoos or cleaners.

4.    Clean spills and stains as soon as they occur. When something drops on the rug, use a damp cloth and blot the area straight away. Always blot a stain and do not rub or scrub as this will cause the stain to spread and become more inset in the rug.

5.    Deodorise your rug to keep it fresh and clean. This is particularly relevant if you have pets in your home as they can make rugs smell quite unpleasant. Create a deodoriser with 1 part white vinegar and 3 parts water. Apply this mixture to a white cloth or towel and blot the rug in areas you think it most needs deodorising.

There are also preventative methods you can implement around the home to keep your rug cleaning. These simple steps will help with rug cleaning and will also keep the house clean in other ways too. Some of these ideas include:

-    Have a no shoes policy in the house. Shoes inside is the most common cause of mud and dirt being traipsed in, and rugs are generally in the highest traffic area so they accumulate a lot of dirt this way.
-    Rotate your rugs regularly so that they don’t get too much wear and tear in the one spot.
-    Be mindful of where you place your rugs. If they are placed in direct sunlight, this can cause colour fading and damage to the aesthetics of the rug. This can be avoided by placing rugs in a shady area or protected by furniture.
-    Don’t place furniture on top of rugs. Having a couch sit on the rug can be damaging to the fibres of the rug and can cause wear and tear.
-    Take the rug to be professionally cleaned by a cleaning company every two months, or more depending on how much exposure the rug has to human traffic. A regular deep clean can stop the build- up of any dust and dirt and can remove stains and spills more effectively than home methods. Investing time and money in your rug will help it to last longer and look better.