Care & Maintenance
What To Expect
There are typical issues specific to area rugs; new and over time. It is important set realistic expectations about what to expect as the owner of an area rug.
Wear & Fading
Over time, area rugs fade if exposed to direct sunlight. To ensure even fading, rotate your rug every 3-6 months. This also helps with wear from foot traffic.
Creasing
Creases from newly unrolled rugs should disappear within a couple of weeks. To help things along, you can roll the area rug up in the opposite side to counter effect the creasing induced from packaging.
General Care & Maintenance
Vacuuming:
Area rugs should not be vacuumed in the normal high powered upright vacuum fashion, which result in unnecessary loose fibers. Instead, use a handheld attachment to pick up dirt and debree from the area rug.
If you do not have an attachment style vacuum, simply turn off the beater bar or raise it to the highest setting so that the brush clears or barely touches the surface of the area rug.
The vacuum should be carefully placed over the edges of the area rug so not to compromise the serging. For a more gentler alternative to vacuuming, use a broom, hand-held vacuum, or rolling sweeper.
Spot Cleaning:
Spills should be addressed immediately to avoid setting. To clean, blot with a white cloth to avoid color transfer. Use lukewarm water on wool or natural fiber grass rugs. Stain remover such as Fantastic or 409 can be used on synthetic rugs.
Professional Cleaning:
Area Rugs, in particularly handmade and natural fiber rugs, should be taken to a professional of rug cleaning. The company that shampoos your wall to wall carpet is not necessarily qualified to clean your area rug. Although you should inquire because some are.
Preservation:
Besides providing a nice cushion that is pleasing to the feet, rug pads help extend the life of area rugs by absorbing wear and tear from foot traffic. Additionally, they prevent the carpet from sliding thereby preventing out of place rugs not to mention slip and falls from shifting and flipped edges.
Synthetic Fibers - Olefin / Polypropylene / Nylon:
Wool Rugs:
Indoor/Outdoor Rugs:
Natural Fiber Rugs - Jute/Hemp/Coir/Sisal:
Shag Rugs:
There are typical issues specific to area rugs; new and over time. It is important set realistic expectations about what to expect as the owner of an area rug.
- Odor - New rugs that have only recently been taken out of the protective bag may possess an odor that should last no longer than a week or two.
- Shedding - Be aware that all wool rugs will shed. Tufted area rugs tend to shed more so than hand knotted rugs.
- Loose Fibers - It is not uncommon to see loose fibers or sprouts in hand made rugs. Simply clip them with scissors to restore the manicured look.
Wear & Fading
Over time, area rugs fade if exposed to direct sunlight. To ensure even fading, rotate your rug every 3-6 months. This also helps with wear from foot traffic.
Creasing
Creases from newly unrolled rugs should disappear within a couple of weeks. To help things along, you can roll the area rug up in the opposite side to counter effect the creasing induced from packaging.
General Care & Maintenance
Vacuuming:
Area rugs should not be vacuumed in the normal high powered upright vacuum fashion, which result in unnecessary loose fibers. Instead, use a handheld attachment to pick up dirt and debree from the area rug.
If you do not have an attachment style vacuum, simply turn off the beater bar or raise it to the highest setting so that the brush clears or barely touches the surface of the area rug.
The vacuum should be carefully placed over the edges of the area rug so not to compromise the serging. For a more gentler alternative to vacuuming, use a broom, hand-held vacuum, or rolling sweeper.
Spot Cleaning:
Spills should be addressed immediately to avoid setting. To clean, blot with a white cloth to avoid color transfer. Use lukewarm water on wool or natural fiber grass rugs. Stain remover such as Fantastic or 409 can be used on synthetic rugs.
Professional Cleaning:
Area Rugs, in particularly handmade and natural fiber rugs, should be taken to a professional of rug cleaning. The company that shampoos your wall to wall carpet is not necessarily qualified to clean your area rug. Although you should inquire because some are.
Preservation:
Besides providing a nice cushion that is pleasing to the feet, rug pads help extend the life of area rugs by absorbing wear and tear from foot traffic. Additionally, they prevent the carpet from sliding thereby preventing out of place rugs not to mention slip and falls from shifting and flipped edges.
Synthetic Fibers - Olefin / Polypropylene / Nylon:
- With a dry cotton towel or white paper towel, blot out stain as much as possible.
- Scrape off any food or debris with a dull instrument.
- Mix a very small amount of dish soap with a cup of cold water.
- Bloat area with dry towel.
- Fantastic and 409 can be used to remove grease and stubborn stains.
Wool Rugs:
- With a dry cotton towel or white paper towel, blot out stain as much as possible.
- Scrape off any food or debris with a dull instrument.
- Mix a very small amount of dish soap with a cup of cold water.
- With clean sponge and soap mix, gently remove remainder of stain. Avoid using excessive water.
- Bloat area with dry towel.
- Avoid excessive heat or agitation, We recommend using a professional rug
- cleaner on an annual basis. Wool rugs are more prone to bleeding and staining
- than their synthetic counterparts, thus requiring extra prompt and careful cleaning.
Indoor/Outdoor Rugs:
- With a dry cotton towel or white paper towel, blot out stain as much as possible.
- Scrape off any food or debris with a dull instrument.
- Mix a very small amount of dish soap with a cup of cold water.
- With clean sponge and soap mix, remove remainder of stain.
- Allow area to dry.
- For all-over cleaning, spray with mixture of soap and water and rinse with a garden hose.
Natural Fiber Rugs - Jute/Hemp/Coir/Sisal:
- Natural fiber rugs have an inherent quality of having loose fibers and knots.
- Regularly vacuum the rug on a low-power setting. Vacuum the rug from
- different angles.
- If you see any loose threads on the face, they should be trimmed with a household scissors. Do not pull the threads on the face to avoid unraveling or damage to the rug.
- Spills should be blotted with a clean, undyed cloth to absorb as much of the spill
- as possible. Work from the outer edges of the spill towards the center. Gently blot
- small amounts. Do not saturate. If applying cleaning solvents, test on a small area first. For stubborn stains use a professional cleaning service that specializes in wool rugs. Do not dry clean. String cleaning chemicals may damage or fade the rug.
Shag Rugs:
- Spray extraction, with the use of wool approved products, will help in solving the
- cleaning issue.
- Shedding is a normal feature in a wool product and decreases over a period
- of time. Do not pull the yarn out as this may result in damage to the rug.
- Canister vacuums without a beater bar are most effective in cleaning shag rugs.
- Vacuums with beater bar and brushes, or those that are set too low may abrade the face of the rug.