Do it Yourself - Rug Cleaning

One of the first things that visitors notice upon entering your living room is the cleanliness of the floor. Thank god for area rugs, the floor looks more elegant and cleaner.

Area rugs are not only considered as interior decoration but a family heirloom and an investment. Taking care of it will preserve its beauty, elegance and value; and its cleanliness should be maintained and looked after.

But on the other hand, no matter how clean our rugs look, we have no idea of how dusty and dirty it may be. Sure, there are no stains, but rug cleaning is recommended at least twice a year to ensure the quality, condition and cleanliness of your rugs. Allergens, dust mites, sand, and dirt might be present (which are all invisible to our naked eye) which can cause harm to the people living at home.

There are a lot of companies that offer rug cleaning. They undoubtedly can give you the service you ask for with their trained technicians and topnotch washing machines. But this doesn't mean that we can't do preliminary measures and care at the comfort of our home - without that much expense.

The easiest thing that you can do is to practice the habit of vacuuming your rugs at least once or thrice a week. The dirt in it acts as an abrasive, so it has to be removed from time to time. We must be meticulous about soil particles, hairs, and other visible minute objects for vacuuming is the best defense to these things. Use vacuum cleaners with high quality and suited for the type of rug that you are using, for it may damage its threading and quality.

If you have little kids at home, stained rugs are unavoidable. Removing these spots and stains are actually easy. Wet spills, grape juice for instance, should be blotted, not rubbed, with and absorbent cloth. For stains that partially made a mark, there is a solution made for it. You may try the combination of non-bleach liquid laundry soap and warm water. Cover the stain with the solution and let it dry for a few minutes. You may vacuum or hand-brush the spot when dry. Remember to never use any detergent or dishwashing soap for they are too strong for the fabric. Supermarket-bought rug cleaners (oxygen cleaners) can also be an option. Just keep in mind to read the rug's washing instruction label and avoid skin contact. For dried or soil stains, the cleaning solutions can be used, but vacuuming should take place before the application.

These tips are only simple reminders and remedies for everyday rug cleanliness problems. As it was said, professional rug cleaning is very much recommended, for these are only preventive measures. Excessive and continuous vacuuming and washing of your area rugs may fade its color and design. Putting door mats and wearing cloth slippers inside the house may lessen the amount of dirt and soil that our rugs receive. As they say, prevention is better than cure.