Handmade Wool Rugs – All About Cleaning and Maintenance

Handmade rugs are like artwork for your floor that uplifts the entire space while also feeling great under your feet!

These captivating beauties can bring together all the décor elements in one room, making it appear aesthetically pleasant and well-decorated enough to draw some extra praises. 

However, all the best things come with certain challenges.

In other words, although a luxurious, high-quality handmade wool rug can make all your décor fantasies come true, keeping the aura of those fantasies alive can seem a bit arduous. 

So, after you’ve bought a handmade rug online and placed it perfectly in your extravagant living room, it’s time to focus on the cleaning, maintenance, and proper care of your valuable possession!

Keeping Your Rug Clean – The Regular Maintenance Tips

Handmade wool rugs are made up of the finest quality material, that’s extremely durable and can retain its original shape for years on end.

However, if you’ve placed your handmade rug under direct sunlight, have some heavy furniture on top of it, or your dog tends to forget that it’s potty-trained every once in a while, your woven artifact may start looking old sooner than it’s supposed to. 

Here are some easy maintenance tips and tricks that can help keep your rug looking fresh and odor-free all year round:

Make Vacuuming a Habit

First things first, whether you own a handmade Persian rug, a valuable antique rug, a modern hand-knotted rug, or a custom-made rug, vacuuming is absolutely essential. 

That’s because, vacuuming your rug regularly helps remove the dirt and dust particles that can damage the wool strands and make the rug look old.

Also, vacuuming keeps the rug safe from the damage caused by larvae, moths, and other household rug-eating insects and pests, hence increasing the life of your rug. 

For the best results, we’d recommend you to vacuum your rug at least 2-3 times per week, and always use a light cannister vacuum instead of the heavy-duty ones. Plus, never vacuum with a beater brush as that can lead to abrasion and excessive shedding.

Work on Spills and Spots Immediately

When there’s a rug on the floor, spills happen, but that doesn’t mean that you have to wait and allow the substance to scar your rug for life. 

In other words, the key to keeping your rugs spot-free is getting up and starting cleaning right away!

Don’t wait for the guests to leave, or for your party to end, get hold of some paper towels and blot away the excess liquid immediately. In case of solid elements, scrape up with a plastic spatula. 

Afterwards, use a carpet cleaning solution to get rid of the stain that hasn’t yet “set into” the rug fibers. 

Give Your Rug a Quick Wash at Home

To renew the appearance of your area rug and to make it look fresh, you can give your rug a quick surface wash at home. 

For this, first take the rug outside and beat the dust out of it using a broom or stick. 

Then, conduct a spot-test on your rug to check that your chosen carpet shampoo doesn’t strip the rug of its natural colors. Also, make sure to select a wool-safe shampoo to avoid any damage to the rug fabric. 

Coming to the cleaning technique now, follow these steps:

• Take a large bowl or bucket of warm (not hot) water.
• Mix the carpet shampoo in water as per the instructions on shampoo bottle. 
• Whisk the solution till bubbles are formed. 
• Take a piece of soft cloth, or a large sponge, collect some foam and clean the rub surface by dabbing and light rubbing only in the direction of the pile. 
• Stop immediately in case the dye starts bleeding out of your rug. 

Professional Cleaning Once Per Year

Even if you clean and vacuum your rug regularly at home, it would still require a thorough professional cleaning at least once per year to stay in a good shape. 

Also, on these yearly cleaning trips, you can get your rug checked for any damages and have it repaired right away. 

Dealing with Stains – Spot Treatments 

Even if you clean the spills immediately, some stains just don’t go away so easily. For these stubborn stains, a spot treatment is what we recommend. Here are some easy DIY hacks:

Vinegar + Water + Liquid Dishwashing Detergent

Vinegar is a gentle, acidic cleaner that works fairly well with handmade wool rugs and doesn’t damage the strands, and it’s great for getting rid of food or pet stains. This is the process you need to follow:

• Mix together 2 cups of lukewarm water and ¼ cup of white vinegar.
• Add ½ teaspoon of liquid dishwashing detergent in the solution. 
• Take a clean cloth, soak it in the solution, and blot away the stain. 

You can also sprinkle some baking soda on the affected area, let it sit, and then clean for more effective results. 

Dab Away the Stain with Rubbing Alcohol

For makeup stains, such as nail polish or lipstick, as well as in case of ink spills, a bit of rubbing alcohol is all you need. 

Soak a clean rag with some rubbing alcohol and dab on the stain until it goes away. You can also leave the soaked rag on the affected area for a couple of hours and wait for the stain to leave. 

How to Get Rid of Nasty Urine Odor? 

Rugs and pets don’t always mix, but both are great fuzzy friends and you can’t just pick one. 

However, coming home to find a wet surprise on the rug from your little doggo is never too pleasing, and even if you manage to get the stain out, the smell just somehow continues to linger on. 

To treat this bad odor, just sprinkle some baking soda on your rug, let it sit for the night, and vacuum the next morning! You can also get a carpet deodorizer if the odor still doesn’t go away. 

Note: In case of really stubborn stains, seek professional assistance. Also, remember NOT to use bleach or any alkaline chemical cleaner on your wool rug.

Lastly, to avoid uneven fading, keep your rug out of direct sunlight and rotate it seasonally.