At The Brick, we love using rugs to add softness, character and comfort to a home’s floors without committing to a full room of carpet. Compared to carpet, rugs have more interesting colours and designs, offer greater versatility and are easier to clean. Some people let months and even years go by without cleaning their rugs, but we think your rugs deserve better than that!
Here are some tips for how to wash a rug so that it keeps looking amazing in your home and feeling soft under your feet.
Is Vacuuming Your Rugs Enough?
By far, the easiest answer to how to clean a rug is to simply run a vacuum over it every once in a while. But is that enough? Does your rug need more than this to be clean?
Vacuuming is a great first step, but make sure to vacuum both the top and the bottom of the rug to remove all the debris – especially if you have lovable little furballs living in your home. It’s usually sufficient to vacuum your rugs once per week to keep them dirt-free , but vacuuming is also the first step and last step of a deeper DIY rug cleaning that you should be doing.
How to Know It’s Time to Wash Your Rug
There are a few telltale signs that can let you know it’s time to wash your rug. Check out the underside of the rug and look for visible signs of dirt. Lift a corner of it and then drop it down to the floor to see if a dust cloud poofs up into the air. Rub the rug with your hand for a few seconds to see how dirty your hand gets.
If any of these tests yield unsettling results, it may be time to give the rug a good wash.
Wash Your Rug in Seven Easy Steps
- Vacuum your rug on both sides and use a brush attachment to get out stubborn pet hair.
- Mix mild dish soap with warm (not hot) water and grab a soft-bristle brush to get scrubbing.
- Test a bit of the cleaning solution on a corner of the rug just to make sure the colours don’t bleed together before scrubbing away at the entire rug.
- Work the soap and water into a lather on the rest of the rug and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.
- Rinse out the rug with a bucket of clean water or a garden hose.
- Squeegee out excess water or use a wet-dry vacuum to get out excess water before laying it flat todrycompletelywith a few fans to speed up the process.
- Once the rug is fully dry, run a normal vacuum over it again to pick up any remaining debris.
Material and Upholstery Considerations
With a cleaning solution as gentle as dish soap and warm water, you can use this seven-step process on many different types of material and upholstery. But some rugs require extra care and benefit from a professional cleaning service.
For example, high-quality polypropylene rugs should be spot-cleaned with a rug-approved cleaner and have professional service for a complete clean. Shag rugs made from polyester and lurex are durable rugs that are very resistant to stretching and shrinking, so they’ll retain their original shape and colour after cleaning. Bleaching and dry cleaning may harm rugs and are not recommended cleaning strategies, even when you r rug is in serious need of some help.
How Often to Clean Your Rug
Fortunately, deep cleaning of a rug is only usually necessary about once per year unless it’s placed in a very high-traffic area or is a magnet for spills. If you have kids and pets in the house, choose rugs that are easy to clean so that you aren’t taking up too much time or spending too much money on professional cleanings. Save delicate rugs for more formal areas of the house, such as the dining room, while entryways near doors get more durable and functional rugs with anti-slip features on the backside.
And if your rug is simply beyond cleaning or you’re just ready for a change, check out The Brick’s extensive collection of area rugs to instantly and effortlessly update your home!
