6 Catch-All Rug Care Maintenance Tips

6 Catch-All Rug Care Maintenance Tips

Take a look at these five catch-all rug care maintenance tips from the experts at Sisal Rugs Direct to learn about better caring for your rugs.

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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: rugs make the home. They offer comfort, cohesion, and protection. They help keep your feet from getting cold and protect you from spill-induced slips. They also reduce noise in your space, cushioning steps and keeping unwanted commotion to a minimum. Not only that, but they’re adaptable and can be used and reused in different ways, rooms, and places. Long story short: rugs are one of the most versatile pieces of home decor on the market.

Because rugs are so important to a home’s function and style, taking care of them is equally important. We’ve written general rug cleaning guides before, but in today’s post we’ll be digging a little deeper and looking at some of our favorite catch-all rug care maintenance tips and tricks. That way you’ll be able to keep your rugs looking and feeling fresh for as long as possible.

Use a lint roller to pick up things your vacuum might miss.

You can vacuum every day and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to pick everything up. Crumbs and dust are tricky and can get trapped in between the fibers of your rug, refusing to get cleaned... until you break out the lint roller. Get on your hands and knees and use it on problem areas to grab the detritus your other cleaning methods missed.

Know what to do if you need a last second spot cleaner.

We always, always recommend using professionally made spot cleaners like the kind we offer in our store. However, we know that sometimes spills happen when you don’t have the right product on hand to handle things immediately. When this happens, don’t fret. In many cases, there are household items that can help to lift these surprise spills before they set in. These items won’t work as well as a professional spot cleaner, but they’ll do in a pinch. Examples include:

  • Baking soda is good for oil-based spills due to its absorbance capabilities 
  • Baking soda is also good for pet accidents, but only if applied very liberally 
  • Rubbing alcohol can remove nail polish spills, and isn't strong enough to ruin your carpet in the process - just let the polish dry first and remove as much as you can before dabbing on the alcohol. Test this on a small non-intrusive area first. 

Rotate your rugs. 

This is both a style and a cleaning tip. If you have a rug located in a high traffic area, no matter how many preventative measures you take: it'll still wear down over time. If it's a rug you really love, then that can be an upsetting thought. One way to slow down the natural wear and tear is to rotate your rugs throughout your home more often than you would have otherwise.

Eliminate pet hair using a squeegee. 

This tip will only work on rugs with low pile, and won't apply to rugs with longer natural fibers. If you’re having trouble dislodging animal hair from your low pile rugs or want to do a deep clean before an allergic party visits your home, the squeegee will help. Use it just like you would on a window: get it slightly damp and press down on your rug, pulling gently and collecting the hair as you go. It’ll be slightly tedious, but it’ll also be incredibly effective at getting any hair you weren’t able to vacuum up.

Only vacuum your wool rugs from side to side. 

Wool rugs are hardy, but they still require more general maintenance than many of the other natural fiber rugs offered at Sisal Rugs Direct. You likely already know that you shouldn't vacuum your wool rugs too often and you should never use a beater bar during the process. What many people don't know, however, is the best direction with which to vacuum your wool rug. Go from side to side, not end to end. One more time: only vacuum your wool rugs from side to side, and not end to end. This will allow you to avoid damaging the fringe and keep it from loosening and, in turn, falling apart and lowering the value of your beautiful rug.

When your rugs look good, your home looks good. When your home looks good, you feel good. If you’re feeling inspired to add a few new rugs to your already noteworthy collection, check out the huge variety of natural fiber area rugs available online from Sisal Rugs Direct.

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