Cleaning and Care: Sisal Sun Collection Rugs

Natural fiber floor coverings are relatively easy to maintain because dirt does not cling to the hard fibers, but rests loosely in the weave. Natural fibers do not show dirt readily.

Normal Maintenance: Regular vacuuming is the best care you can do to keep the fresh appearance of your sisal flooring. Visible and loose dirt should be vacuumed with a strong brush-suction vacuum. Vacuum the carpet from different directions, making several passes over the area.

Although the need may not be visible, this frequent and regular vacuuming will increase carpet life by preventing soil build-up, and will help eliminate stains caused when spilled liquids dissolve soil accumulations.

If exposed to dryness or low humidity, a frequent, light and even application of water strengthens these natural vegetable fibers and enhances the wearing qualities.  Moisture can be applied by spraying, light sprinkling, clean mop, damp brush, or any device that would give a light and even application of clean water. This dampening can also help eliminate minor bubbling and looseness, as both carpets will tighten up slightly as they dry. Sisal carpets dry quickly. Under no conditions should the carpet be saturated, or undesirable dimensional changes could result, as well as possible staining from dyes in the underlay. Care should be taken that the carpets are vacuumed and clean before applying the moisture, since dirt in the matting might stain if dissolved.

Never steam clean or wet-shampoo a natural fiber floor covering. For more information about cleaning spots and spills, read below.

Vacuuming Bound Rugs: When vacuuming bound area rugs, take special care with the binding border. Do not let the vacuum sit on top of the binding or catch the corner of the rug as it could damage the binding. Also, vacuum in the direction that the binding is sewn so as not to pull up the binding from the rug.  Rugs will not be replaced or repaired due to improper vacuuming or care.

Overall Cleaning: It is important to control the amount of moisture during cleaning. NEVER steam clean, wet shampoo or any other method that involves water saturation on a natural fiber rug. It is recommended that a dry cleaning process be used.  We have a Host Cleaning Kit for your convenience and it cleans up to a 250 sq. ft. area.

Fresh Stains or Spills:  Immediately remove any spills by blotting (blot do not rub) liquids with a white cloth or scrape up solids with a dull knife or nail file. Never rub the area of the spill. Rubbing can work the liquid deeper into the fibers, making the spill more likely to stain the carpet. It can also spread the liquid to a larger area of the rug. For red wine and tomato sauce, dab with a white cloth dampened with club soda to neutralize the spill and remove any possible stain. Let dry. Many times the stain disappears. If not, try cleaning with a cloth dampened with mild soap, or use our Sisal Life Cleaner.  Dry immediately with a hairdryer or fan.

Cleaning the Binding: For routine maintenance of our woven fabric bindings (canvas and linen), simply vacuum the edge finish as explained above.

If excessive soiling or spills occur on the binding, our Sisal Life Cleaner works really well and also reapplies the Sisal Life Protector as it is applied.

To maintain one of our Premium leather bindings, simply wipe the surface with a damp—not wet—cloth or sponge or a leather cleaner/conditioner.

Protecting Sisal: We highly recommend that sisal be treated with our Sisal Life Protector. This helps to decrease absorbency and lengthen the time between cleaning. We can professionally apply the protector for you. You can also purchase the Sisal Life Protector in a “do-it-yourself” 22 oz. spray bottle.

What are the advantages of our protector?

Our protector is an acrylic polymer fabric and textile protector, like Scotchguard, but for sisal. Natural fibers and other fabrics treated with this protector will repel water and resist virtually all cold liquid spills and even oily soil. It contains no ozone depleting chemicals. We highly recommend treating natural fiber rugs with our protector to protect against spills and increase the life of your rug.  Applying Sisal Life Protector will NOT GUARANTEE that your sisal will never stain, but it will reduce the chances should a spill occur.

Mold & Mildew Growth: Natural fiber floor coverings are derived from plant fibers and are therefore inherently absorbent. Exposure to the elements and changes in humidity levels can potentially create an environment for the growth of mold or mildew.

If mold or mildew persists, your setting is probably too humid for the use of your rug.

Curled rug corners:  When sisal and seagrass are used as an area rug, traffic or shuffling of feet across a corner or edge could cause the edge to curl. It is easy to cure this by dampening the curled area, or placing a damp towel over the area and weighting it down evenly overnight. If severely curled it might be necessary to repeat this process.

Responsibility for cleaning and maintenance lies with those performing this work since the manner and conditions of rug cleaning or maintenance, and the cleaning materials used are beyond our control.