A regular cleaning and maintenance routine for your area rugs is the best way to ensure that they retain their beauty over the long term. Even if you don’t have a lot of spare time, there are some quick & easy tasks you can perform that will do wonders to protect the look and lifespan of your rugs. At Direct Carpet Unlimited, we believe that preventative maintenance goes a long way to keep your rugs looking and performing like new for many years.
Daily care and maintenance
Start by having guests and family members remove shoes before walking across your rug. This will minimize the amount of dirt brought in and dragged across your flooring. Dirt particles damage rug fibers over time! Place carpet protectors under all furniture legs, limit exposure to direct sunlight, and take caution when relocating furniture. Vacuum your rug a couple of times a week with a manufacturer-approved appliance. Twice a week should be sufficient, especially if your rug is in an area with light to medium traffic. For heavier-traffic areas, daily vacuuming may be best.
Cleaning shag rugs
For shag area rugs, it’s very important to protect the cable yarn when vacuuming. Not only can long yarns on from the area rug wrap around your vacuum’s beater bar (also known as a rotator brush) but the brush itself can damage your rug’s fibers. To prevent such damage, consult your vacuum manual to see about disconnecting the beater bar before vacuuming. Once it’s disconnected, set your vacuum to the lowest height setting, which provides the best suction. You may also want to consider buying a carpet rake to loosen any soil before vacuuming.
Dealing with spills and stains
No matter how careful you are, your area rug will likely fall victim to the occasional spill or stain, especially if you have kids or pets! Fortunately, many of our area rugs are sold with stain-resistant technology built right into the fibers. Still, it's important to properly address spills as soon as they occur. The sooner you act, the sooner you'll be able to prevent a spill from becoming a stubborn stain! Be sure to check with your manufacturer's care guidelines on dealing with both water- and oil-based stains.
Professional Cleaning
If your rug has stains, we recommend that you have your carpet cleaned professionally throughout the year using the hot water extraction method. An alternative is to shampoo your rug yourself while following your manufacturer's guidelines, if applicable.
Note: You should never dry clean your area rugs or use bleach to clean them.
