What is the proper way to clean an area rug?

Here are 4 ways to clean your area rug:

1) Take care of spots immediately.

Like any rug the longer a stain or a spill stays on the rug, the harder it will be to get it out. So immediately attack any type of stain or spill. When blotting up spills just pad the area with a white paper towel and avoid scrubbing it in circles or back and forth as this will just spread the stain around.

2) Clean stains.

If hot water on a towel fails to pick up a stain off of your area rug, then try mixing two parts hot water with one part white vinegar and see if you can use that mixture in a blotting method to remove the stain. Try this solution out on a small corner of the rug first to make sure it will work well with your rugs materials and colors.

3) Personally clean the area rug.

You can do this with one of those home-based machines or even a unit that you rent. Check the tags first on your area rug to make sure that the backing is not sensitive to hot water or certain type of cleaning chemicals. Some area rug backings are rubber-based and can suffer when exposed to hot soapy water. Also did not lay your area rug on top of another piece of carpet to clean unless you are going to clean that carpet next, as many area rugs will simply leak a bunch of the water right through it and soak whatever it is sitting on. So be very careful if you’re going to clean your area rug when it is sitting on a hardwood floor.

4) Professionally clean the area rug.

This is by far the easiest way to go as you can simply roll up your rug and drop it off at the cleaners or they can come by and pick it up. Never fold up your rug, as the folds can put more of a bend into the carpet, so that it can easily recover. You’ll have a wrinkle that you’ll have to push out over time, but just roll it up and it should be fine. The professionals will clean your area rug and then hang it up to dry and possibly even have it back to you the same day.

So cleaning your area rug really isn’t that much different from cleaning your regular carpet. In many cases it can actually be easier if you can pick it up and move it around at your leisure. So hopefully some of these cleaning tips will keep your area rug looking great for years to come

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