Having a wool rug at home is a worthwhile asset. It is warm, durable, and enhances the beauty of decorating the home. It is natural stuff, derived from an animal’s protein called keratin. Keratin doesn’t shed plastic microfibers, thus it is environmentally friendly but sensitive to chemical damage.
Being a natural fiber it gives great protection to animals from extreme weather. It contains a waxy substance called lanolin which makes it stain-resistant and gives great protection against dust mites. You must be worried about germs and bacteria if you have pets and children. No worries, wool plays a pivotal role in bacteria growth.
Generally, woolen rugs can last longer, and no need to wash it regularly like other synthetic carpets or area rugs. But it is obvious, that everything needs service after some particular period. As compared to other stuff, woolen rugs are easy to clean, but again you need great care and correct cleaning procedure to maintain for a long time.
Before cleaning or washing, you should know the characteristics of every stuff, so that your expensive carpet gets the right treatment.
Some woolen rugs are machine-made while some are handmade, but mainly they can be categorized into two types.
- Rugs with the pile.
- Rugs without pile
Rugs/carpets can be cleaned both manually and automatically with the help of machines.
Manual Cleaning
The cleaning procedure involves the following steps.
Removing Dirt
Generally, there are two types of dirt; dry and sticky. Dry dirt contains sand, gravel, and other tiny particles that go into the base of the rug. These kinds of grimes are lumpy in nature and may damage your carpet, if not removed or scrubbed roughly. Normal vacuuming is good to remove dry dirt.
The sticky dirt could be more destructive, if not removed timely. It catches other dirt due to its gummy nature, so it is recommended to get your rug/carpet clean every year or couple of year.
Actual Cleaning
There are two ways to get your carpet fully clean, either chemically or naturally.
Chemical Cleaning
By chemically, you will need several things like detergents, soda, vinegar, ammonia scrubbing brush, and a bucket full of water.
Normal/Regular Cleaning
- After vacuuming, make a mild detergent solution. Pour 2 tablespoons of solution into a water-filled bucket and mix it well.
- Use a soft bristle brush for scrubbing.
- Rinse the whole rug
- Let it dry
Paint, oil, Grease, Pet Messes, Alkaline Spills
For tough messes, you may either use white vinegar or ammonia. It is quite effective in stain removal.
Add an equal amount of water and vinegar and spray it on the affected area, then rub it with a towel or cloth. You can also pour some vinegar on the carpet and sprinkle baking soda on the same area, the fizzy solution lifts the stain.
To remove paint, oil, or grease, nail polish remover is good to use, if it doesn’t work, you should go for spot removal solvent.
Wash well the affected area, dry the spot. The drawback of this solvent is that it leaves the affected area decumbent to grime than the rest of the part. So wash well with cold water and let the rug air dry.
Automatic Cleaning
Using of Carpet Cleaner Shampooer Machines
This is a great option for carpet cleaning. You just need a good carpet shampooer machine that gives you desired results.
With great sucking power, it lifts the dirt with powerful spin brushes that rotate at 360 degrees and magnificently remove tough stains and deeply embedded dirt from your rug.
These machines often come with powerful cleaning formula, called pet’s urine eliminator or spot removal. It not only boosts cleaning performance but also eliminates urine odor from the rug.
Its fast heating system quickly dries the rug, so you can enjoy with your children and pet on the same carpet after a short interval.
Natural Cleaning
Cleaning dirty rug with a steam cleaner
Those who are looking for a more natural way of cleaning. They should get a steam cleaner. It doesn’t need any chemical or harsh substance but naturally cleans and disinfects your rug with its hot pressurized steam. This is a good option for allergens who can’t afford chemicals or other harmful substances.
Note: Always use low moisture steam above 6 inches from the rugs/carpet and don’t stick on one place for more than 5 seconds. An excessive amount of steam cleaning leaves moisture at the bottom of the rug, which requires more time to dry, thus your rug becomes the main arena for bacteria and mold. Moreover, extremely hot steam may damage your wool rug.
Remember that a steam cleaner is not a full-fledged carpet cleaner, you can use it as a spot/stain cleaner.
Bottom Line
Till now, you got many ideas about how to clean wool rugs in various ways. No matter what kind of woolen rug you have and how much dirt it got. You can adopt any one of the cleaning procedures according to your needs and budget. But we highly recommend you to try one of these two professional products for efficient and effective cleaning. They are specially built for tough stains, pet messes, and high-traffic areas. This kind of heavy workload requires lots of effort and time if you follow manual cleaning or other traditional washing procedures.
- Hoover PowerDash Pet Compact Carpet Cleaner
- Bissell ProHeat 2X Revolution Max Clean Pet Pro
They will give you what you exactly want from a professional carpet cleaner.
- Bissell Spotclean Pet Pro Review - February 21, 2024
- McCulloch MC1385 Steam Cleaner [Black Friday Deal 2023] - November 11, 2023
- Bissell Crosswave Pet Pro Review [Black Friday Deal 2023] - November 11, 2023