Area rugs are a fantastic way to tie a room together, add personality and add a practical element to your floor, but due to their position in the room, they frequently end up dirty or messy. Whether it’s from general foot traffic or from an accident, the question of how to wash a rug will probably come up in your mind at some point after purchasing it. Most rugs can’t just be tossed in the washer and come up looking brand new, they require specific rug maintenance to keep them looking their best. Sure, you could pay a professional to perform rug maintenance, but the associated fees add up – and cleaning a rug is a job that you can do by yourself. So how do you go about starting this process?
How to Clean Area Rugs
Before you perform any rug maintenance, make sure to pay attention to any care instructions that might exist on your rug’s label – if it has one. It’s important to follow any particular directions that might exist, as you don’t want to ruin the look of your rug. If directions are scarce or nonexistent, there’s some basic steps that you can follow.
- Pick the Right Time to Clean
Before you get your rug wet, you’ll want to pick the right time to work on this project. Try to choose a day where the weather will be nice and sunny, as depending on the size, you may need to leave your rug outside to dry. The sunny weather and warm air will help your rug dry and act as a natural deodorizer when you’re finished. - Shake or Beat Your Rug
Before you get started with any cleaning fluids or water, you want to shake out any loose debris from your rug. You can do this by taking it outside and either shaking it if it’s a smaller rug or by hanging larger rugs over a porch railing and beating them with a broom or rug beater to knock out any crumbs, dust, dirt or any other debris that might be trapped inside them. - Mix Your Cleaner
Many cleaning fluids exist on the market specifically for the purpose of cleaning a rug. These are often called rug shampoos and can be blended with five gallons of water to create an effective cleaning fluid that’s designed to take care of your rugs needs during the cleansing process. If you don’t have a rug shampoo, two to three teaspoons of mild dish soap will also work. You’ll want to produce one 5-gallon bucket with cleaning fluid and another with clean water. - Make Sure Colors Won’t Run
Before dedicatedly cleaning your rug, you’ll want to make sure that cleaning it with warm or soapy water won’t ruin it. While this might be uncommon, it’s best to approach cleaning a rug with safety than to ruin it altogether. Dab a corner of your rug with a wet white towel or rag and check if any of the colors transfer. If they don’t, you’re good to continue. If they do, you might want to consider having a professional clean your rug for you. - Scrub Any Spots
Now it’s time to get into the dirty part of cleaning the rug! Check your rug for any visible spots, or if you’re focusing on one spot in particular, make sure that you can easily access that portion of the rug. Take a sponge or brush and scrub the rug with circular motions using light pressure and only as much cleaning solution as you need. You may need to press a bit harder for any visible spots, but make sure that you aren’t pressing too hard as to pull away at the rug’s fibers. Rinse out your sponge frequently using the clean water to avoid transferring any dirty water back onto your rug. - Lightly Scrub the Rest of the Rug
Now that any spots are cleared away, you can work on cleaning the rest of the rug. The best way to do this is to section off 3-foot by 3-foot areas and lightly scrub in circular motions, with even less pressure than you used to spot-clean your rug. All you want to do here is remove any surface dirt that has collected in your rug’s fibers – you won’t need to clean deeply because any excess water will work its way into the deeper portions of your rug. - Rise Your Rug
Once cleaning with your solution is finished, you’ll want to rinse your rug of any remaining soapy water and dirt. It’s important to not use more water than is necessary – this can be done with a bucket of clean water and a towel. Simply apply clean water across your rug to finish the cleaning process. - Dry Your Rug
Now that the cleaning portion is finished, you’ll want to start drying your rug. You can start this by taking a dry towel and blotting it across the rug to remove any excess water. Gentle pressure is all you need – there is no need to rub the towel against the rug. Once this is done, you can hang up your rug to dry or lay it flat in the sunlight. It’s best to keep your rug elevated if possible to improve air circulation and to allow it to dry more evenly. Make sure to rotate your rug periodically as well. For more effective drying, you can use fans to create a breeze that will help to wick away moisture. - Vacuum and Adjust Fibers
Finally, after your rug has dried completely, you can readjust its fibers by going over it with a vacuum or brush. This will help reset the fibers and give it a revived appearance.
While cleaning your rug might seem daunting, it’s fairly straightforward when broken down into steps. With this knowledge in mind and your worries alleviated, you might want to consider buying more rugs for your home – fortunately, there are many fantastic vintage rugs on the market that can be easily cleaned using these methods. So add some personality to your home – and don’t worry about the mess.
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Lead image design by Hannah Crowell / Photo by Caroline Allison