How to Vacuum Natural Fiber Rugs
Natural fiber rugs are easy to clean and maintain, one you know how to do it right. Rugs made of sisal, seagrass, hemp, wool, and jute can’t be cleaned with shampoos, steam cleaners, or any other wet solutions you might apply to a synthetic rug.
Fortunately, the same organic qualities that make water bad for natural fiber rugs also tend to make them naturally easy to maintain. In most circumstances, all you’ll need to do to keep your natural fiber rugs fresh and hygienic is to vacuum them every so often.
Follow these steps to avoid damaging your natural fiber rugs as you vacuum them, ensuring they stay as beautiful and durable as they should for years to come.
Why vacuuming cleans natural fiber rugs effectively
Natural fibers are usually far harder than synthetic fibers. This makes it much more difficult for dust and dirt to cling to them. Instead, all that debris rests loosely on the outer layer of the weave, where you can easily remove it with your vacuum.
If your natural fiber rug ever looks dirty or dusty, usually all you’ll have to do to clean it off is vacuum it with a strong, suction-only vacuum. This will remove the dirt build-up on the outer layer of the rug and keep it from damaging the weave in the long run.
How to vacuum natural fiber rugs
Different types of natural fiber rugs require slightly different vacuuming best practices. Here’s how to vacuum yours:
Sisal
First, make sure you only ever use a suction-only vacuum on your sisal rug. Don’t try to vacuum your rug with a vacuum that uses a beater bar, or the bar may damage and fray the natural fibers.
Vacuum your sisal rug from different directions and cover each area multiple times to allow the vacuum to reach the dirt from different angles. Avoid vacuuming in the direction of the rug’s binding or the suction may loosen it.
Vacuuming your sisal rug until it's clean should only take around five minutes, and you shouldn’t have to do so more than once a week.
See more in-depth information about cleaning and removing spills and stains from your sisal rug.
Seagrass
Dirt doesn’t cling to seagrass fibers, making it relatively easy to remove from seagrass rugs using a suction-only vacuum. Pass the vacuum over the rug multiple times both horizontally and vertically. If you notice any fraying or loose fibers, be careful not to tug at them with the suction.
You should vacuum your seagrass rug no more than around once a week. After you finish vacuuming, we also recommend you lightly mist the rug with clean water from a mister or spray bottle. This will help keep the fibers strong, especially if you keep the rug in low humidity or high traffic areas.
Find more detailed instructions on cleaning seagrass rugs.
Hemp
Hemp rugs are so durable and stain-resistant that it can be difficult to tell when you have to vacuum them. Therefore, we recommend vacuuming a hemp rug around once every two weeks even if you can’t see any visible dirt on its surface and the rug looks perfectly clean. This will help it last longer.
Vacuum your hemp rug with a strong suction-only vacuum that doesn’t have a beater bar. Pass the vacuum over the rug up and down and then left to right several times. You can apply more direct suction to dirt that’s tough to remove as long as you don’t begin to pull apart the weave.
Learn more about how to spot clean and remove stains from a hemp rug.
Jute
Jute is another natural fiber that’s quite easy to maintain. Dirt tends to sit on the top of jute rug weaves, making it easy to vacuum away. We recommend using a suction-only vacuum cleaner with no beater bar to vacuum your jute rug no more than around once a week.
See more information about cleaning and removing stains from jute rugs.
Wool
Unfortunately, wool rugs are the exception to the natural fiber rule: dirt and dust can easily accumulate within their weavings. You may not always be able to remove this debris through vacuuming alone.
When your rug starts to look dirty, hang it up somewhere outside and lightly beat it with a rug beater, broom, or any other strong, sturdy instrument. Repeat this process until the rug looks visibly less dirty. You might be surprised how much dust flies free.
If possible, you should vacuum the rug after beating it and before taking it back inside. As always, use a suction-only vacuum with no beater bar and give the vacuum multiple passes over the rug up and down, then left to right. Finally, double-check that the rug is completely dry before you bring it back inside. If it feels moist, hang it back up to dry.
Get more information about how to clean and remove stains from your wool rug.
If you have any other questions about how to clean or maintain your natural fiber rug, our experts are ready to help. Get quick help by phone, text, live chat, or email.
