Area rugs are a significant investment in our house beautification designs to keep it clean vacuuming or using a soft brush usually is enough but deep cleaning occasionally is also needed. If you have oriental elemental or antique rugs, they are better left off to the professionals to maintain their integrity, but the others made of cotton or synthetics can be tackled at home.
First, you need to gather your stuff and start the cleaning from the upper side. Use a brush with soft bristles or vacuum to remove the visible dirt and debris. Don’t forget to flip the rug to its underside and vacuum it in long strokes, doing this minimizes the chances of mites and allergies arising.
To remove the unwanted odor, use the trusty baking soda spread it all over the carpet, and let it sit for a while then clean it up, make sure not to strike or shake the carpet unnecessarily as it may damage the article.
If you have a pet, the shedding season might be very hard on you, use a soft brush to remove those stuck hairs, be careful not to use the ones with metallic bristles as they will tear the threads.
If you have small-sized rugs, bring them outside for a while to hang them in the sun and lightly dust to remove and purify the possible infections.
DEEP CLEANING:
Before applying any product on the whole rug do a one-inch test and look for any signs of damage or discoloration if none appear then use that product otherwise switch your products. Also carefully read the manufacturer’s label as to which products or methods of cleaning are suitable for your rugs.
- Saturation: make sure that your rug is full of water as it will help in efficiently distributing your products throughout and in rinsing it through.
- Shampooing: there are many rug-friendly shampoos available to make sure they don’t bleed out the colors. Use a brush to scrub it if bubbles and foam start to appear then leave it on it for a while to work its magic on the stains.
- Rinsing: wash off the bubbles with a hose or showerhead, do it till the bubbles don’t come back again.
- Squeeze: use a flat-edged viper or a squeegee to remove the excess water for faster drying and do it against the rug threading.
- Drying: put the rug outside or in a well-ventilated area, make sure both sides are dried before moving. Flip it when one side is dried to dry the other. If possible, dry under the sun as it prevents the development of odor. You can also use towels to remove excess water. Drying takes time depending on the thickness of the rug itself.
- Final touch: use a vacuum or a soft-bristled brush to comb out the threads and fibers of the rug which may have become crumpled or compacted during the tedious process of washing or drying.
