Steps
- Understand that you should not beat your rugs! When you beat rugs, you can cause the woven threads to loosen, and you can damage the backing of the rug. Some rugs will separate from their backing after only one beating if they are poorly made. Don?t take the chance.
- Know that it is not advisable to vacuum fringe! If you run the vacuum over fringe when you are vacuuming your rug, you will suck the fringe up into the beater bar of your vacuum. At the very least, you will damage the fringe. It starts to loosen and look like a curly, stringy mess.
- Learn that it is not advised to use carpet shampoos or sprays! Carpet shampoos usually end up attracting more dirt, and carpet shampooing machines (especially ones with several brushes) can do damage to your area rugs.[1]
- Know that if you do plan to shampoo your carpet yourself you should first sweep the carpet so that the nap stands up and loosens any imbedded dirt. Then vacuum. By doing this, the carpet might look clean enough so that you could delay wanting to shampoo it.[2]
- Make sure that you clean up spills as as soon as the spill occurs. Blot or scrape it up depending on the spill by blotting from the outside towards the middle.
- Neutralize pet odors by sprinkling a mixture of 1 cup Borax and 2 cups cornmeal. Allow to stand for an hour before vacuuming.[3]
Tips
- To keep your rugs clean, vacuum often. Weekly vacuuming on both sides would be ideal. If that?s not possible, you should do it at least once every two weeks.
- It is recommended that you rotate your rugs at least once a year. This means turning the rug end for end or 180 degrees. This helps the rug to wear more evenly.
- Rugs should be rolled, not folded. When transported in a moving van, a rolled rug should be placed on top of furniture and then have nothing heavier than a lampshade placed on top of the rug. If a rug ends up with a crease, it will soon disappear when the rug is laid flat and the rug is walked on.
- Anyone who owns a carpet knows that it gets dirty. For a really thorough clean that gets rid of stains, spills and mud, you'll need a good steam cleaning rug carpet cleaners. There are professional companies that offer this service, and they are able to come into your home and do a very complete job of steaming your carpet clean.
- Another way that you can clean your carpet is by purchasing a rug cleaner. This type of cleaner will do a fairly good job of cleaning your carpet superficially, but because they don't have the ability to actually steam the fibers, not all of the stains and dirt will be removed.
- Many rugs are treated to be stain resistant which delays the stain setting in, giving you a chance to act. The key is to treat the stain or spill quickly before it is absorbed by the rug and dries.
Sources and Citations
- ? http://www.boston-carpet-cleaning.com/
- ? http://www.doityourself.com/stry/beforecarpetclean
- ? http://www.doityourself.com/stry/beforecarpetclean
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Clean a Rug. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.