Wool Rug Cleaning and surrounding areas

With the popularity of hard surface floorings increasing more people are purchasing wool area carpets. In most cases they are relatively easy to clean. Some require extra care and attention.

A wool carpet can hold an amazing amount because of the structure of the wool hair. These carpets can soil so gradually that you forget what the original colours actually were.

As told by an instructor:
One lady renovated her living room to match her area carpet; new paint, furnishings, etc. THEN she had her area rug cleaned. It had been many years since it had been cleaned and the colours were very greyed. After cleaning the colours became so bright and vibrant it no longer matched the room she had just decorated for it.

Can These Be Cleaned In The Home?

Unlike wall to wall carpets, wool carpets are best cleaned outside the home. I pick them up and return them to you .

While sometimes it is possible to clean them in your home there are a reasons why I prefer to clean them in my shop.
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If they are on wood or laminate flooring, that flooring could be damaged during the cleaning process.

To clean them properly requires space to flip them over and to move around them.

The wool hair fibres are of such a structure that sometimes they require a second cleaning.

Wool area rugs hold a lot of moisture from the cleaning process. They are best dried by hanging them or with powerful air-movers blowing across them.

Cleaning a area carpet, even a synthetic one made from polypropylene, can be very labour intensive. Just the dry soil removal can take over an hour. Then there is time needed for pet spots, or cleaning the fringe, etc.

There are some rugs which require more attention/special cleaning. ie silk or Art Silk rugs, rugs where the dye can bleed easily, or rugs that have a weak backing or other physical issues.

As you can see the cleaning and drying process is a lot more involved.

Some Concerns to Watch For

1. Wear on the fringes, the side bindings and corners.
Often I see there is physical damage in these areas. It could be from normal wear or improper vacuuming etc. These areas can be repaired.

Often people would just like the fringe removed and a normal binding put on the ends of their rug. It makes for a very clean look.

2. Moths will often lay their eggs in the wool pile.
The larvae will hatch and then eat the wool. This leaves damaged areas.
The rug needs to be treated to both kill any existing moth eggs in the rug and to prevent them from relaying eggs.

3. Some rugs have a glued on backing.
The latex glue deteriorates over time, esp with heavy traffic or intense sunlight. This causes a fine powder or dust to continually drop out of the rug. The rug can be cleaned but has to be gently done to prevent further deterioration. It can be repaired if the rug is worth it to you.

4. Viscose or Artificial or Art Silk Rugs
Lisa Wagner is one the industries top area rug cleaners. She teaches other cleaners how to clean. She wrote this article to make people aware of fake Silk rugs.