Voila! Finally, you have picked the most coveted handmade rug; the one you have always wanted and can’t stop raving about it to your friends and family. You are satisfied with the design, color, type and size of the rug and excited to decorate the rest of the space around it. However, it is extremely crucial to possess the right kind of knowledge with respect to the care, cleaning and maintenance of your priced possession.
Picture this; it’s a Friday evening and you have friends and family over for wine, aperitifs and dinner. All of a sudden, your friend accidently spills a glass of red wine on that exclusive rug. Bummer! Your heart sinks and just don’t know what to do with that big stain. Scenario 2: Imagine your little pooch or kitten peeing on that rug or leaving undesired stains. Oops, your heart breaks into two but you are obviously not going to throw your pet out of the house.
With all this unexpectedness and series of incidents, it is mandatory for any rug owner to learn and educate himself on cleaning, care and maintenance of a rug. There are a number of quick easy tips to follow which can help increase the longevity of your favorite rug which are as under:
1) Day-to-Day vacuuming
It is advisable to vacuum the rug on a day-to-day basis. However, one must keep in mind that vacuuming needs to be done in the direction of the pile of the rug. Doing the same, the other way round, will ruin the carpet, which shall eventually lead to wear and tear of the rug. If the rug is heavily soiled or is placed in a high traffic area, repeat the process working at a 90-degree angle. Woolen hand woven rugs should be vacuumed on a regular basis. However, one should be careful around edges and fringe to not suck them up into the machine.
On the other hand, as far as Silk rugs are concerned, they should not be vacuumed with an aggressive upright vacuum since it will pull away fibers and spoil your expensive rug.
2) Removal of pet stains or liquid spots
As mentioned above, you are not going to ask your guests to leave, if they accidently spill a glass of red wine on your favorite rug. Neither would you going to abandon your little pet if he ruins the rug by peeing on it. Pet stains and liquid spills can be hard to remove stains. Our first and foremost recommendation is to take a damp cloth and immediately wipe the spots as much as you can starting from the outside to the inner spot to prevent spots from getting right inside the fiber. Till the rug is not given to a professional rug cleaner, it is best to place the rug in direct sunlight to combat any remaining stain.
When your little pet ruins your rug, the biggest fear one has is the discoloration of the rug. It is advisable to clean the stain with the use of a disinfectant carpet-cleaning chemical from a local store to eliminate stains. Alternatively, absorb whatever liquid is spilled on the rug with a clean white absorbent cloth. Also, ensure that pets are at bay on hard floors instead of being put on the rug.
3) Repair and Washing
It is crucial to wash you rug regularly to increase its longevity. The most ideal way to keep your rug clean is professional cleaning to get it washed from a professional rug cleaner who use ample water to take excessive dirt off the rug and beat the rug in direct sunlight. Once the rug is completely dried up, it is dusted using a gentle compressed air technique that removes dirt and small particles.
It is advisable not to give your expensive rugs to dry cleaners since they use chemicals that are usually meant for cleaning of garments and not carpets. Also, in case of repair of rugs, it is again recommended to get the edges or any sort of repair that is required, only from rug specialists who are experts in this field.
Hence, to conclude, following the aforementioned instructions as to how to take care of your precious rug, ensures the longevity of your rug and makes the investment worth every penny.