Rugs are the focal point of the room they are in and are the most tortured of all decoration objects. Rugs in your home are trampled on almost all day long. Add this to food, coffee or wine stains and dust it can gain; your rug gets dirty over time. If you want your home to have a clean overall look, you should clean your rugs regularly.
Since rugs produced with artificial materials and mass production techniques are cheaper, cleaning them is not risky. Some of such rugs are even machine-washable. However, when it comes to rugs produced with natural materials, extra care should be taken.
Index
- Should You Get Professional Help?
- How to Clean a Handwoven Rug?
- Take Care of Your Rugs
- Set the Area to Clean Your Rug
- Sweep Your Rug
- Select Cleaning Materials
- Start Cleaning
- Remove Excess Water from Your Rug
- Dry Your Rug
- Let's summarize...
Should You Get Professional Help?
If you do not have enough experience in housework, you should definitely seek professional help. The most risk-free method of washing a handwoven rug is to give it to a professional carpet cleaner.
Rugs made of natural materials have a delicate structure. When the natural dyes used in these rugs come into contact with water, the colors may fade, or its darker colors may bleed into lighter ones. Carpet cleaning materials for home use may also damage the rug's texture due to the chemicals they contain. If you are not confident enough, it is a good idea to consult a professional carpet cleaning service to avoid risks.
If you are going to use a carpet cleaning service, be sure to make them informed about your rug's properties. Information on dying and weaving techniques will be so valuable for them.
How to Clean a Handwoven Rug?
First of all, let's make something clear: The methods we mentioned here are not 100% safe. When cleaning your rug by hand with the facilities in your home, the entire risk is yours.
Now that we made the required warning, we can talk about how you can clean your rug at home.
Take Care of Your Rugs
Take care to clean your rug regularly. This way, you do not need to wash your rug more than once a year.
Vacuum your rug at least once a week. Dust and dirt damage your rug's texture in the long run.
Try to remove the stains on your rug instantly. It will be very troublesome to try to remove the dried stains later.
Do not allow tough stains such as cherry juice or wine to dry out. You can use club soda to remove these stains. If the stain does not come off the first time you try it, keep trying until the stain is gone. Never use a chemical cleaner. Frequent use of chemical cleaners will deteriorate your rug's colors.
Set the Area to Clean Your Rug
Ideally, it would be best if you wash your rug outdoors. The area to clean your rug must be clean and have a properly functioning drainage.
Sweep Your Rug
First, start by cleaning the dirt and dust off the surface of your rug. Vacuum both surfaces of your rug with a powerful vacuum cleaner.
Select Cleaning Materials
The materials you will use in the deep cleaning phase are critical. At this stage, do not use chemical cleaning agents that will damage the colors of your rug. Make sure the materials you use are suitable for handwoven rugs.
If you do not want to use a chemical cleaning material to clean your rug, you can use vinegar. If you clean your rug regularly and remove stains instantly, vinegar's cleaning power will be enough for you.
To get started, mix the below ingredients:
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 15-20 drops of lemon juice
Depending on your rug's size, you can increase and decrease the ingredients proportionally.
If you need a slightly stronger cleaning power than vinegar, you can also mix a mild carpet shampoo with water.
Start Cleaning
Apply the mixture you prepared to your rug. Using a sponge or brush, rub your rug with this mixture. Be careful not to be too slow during this process. Prolonged contact of natural dyes with water may cause the colors of your rug to bleed or fade.
Remove Excess Water from Your Rug
Wait about 5 minutes after you scrub your rug with the mixture you have prepared. Then, remove the excess water on your rug with the help of a squeegee.
Dry Your Rug
After the cleaning process is complete, let your rug dry in the open air. Never tumble-dry your rug. It will destroy your rug!
As soon as your rug is completely dry, take it inside. The longer your rug is exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun, the more likely it will be damaged. It is also important not to put your rug in place before it gets dry completely.
Let's summarize...
A handwoven rug made from natural materials and dyes can be more difficult to clean than a mass-produced one. So, if you don't feel confident about it, we strongly recommend you to get support from a professional carpet cleaning service to clean your rugs. If you will do this work yourself at home, use as little chemical cleaner as possible. Do not leave your rug wet for too long. Remember, regularly vacuuming your rug and instantly removing any stains on it will both reduce the washing frequency and make the washing process easier.
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