:
1. Even Wear: Your oriental rug needs to be rotated every 6 months to get even wear.
2. Dust: Your rug needs to be made dirt and dust free every 18 months (in normal traffic), but in commercial places, every 12 months for the natural wool to breathe. Consider this: wool rugs are the biggest filters in your home. Everything in the air in your home (dust, mites, etc) settles downward, and the lanolin in the wool TRAPS everything.
3. Padding: Check the padding underneath your rug. The proper pad will protect your rug in three different ways:
a. Prevents your rug from sliding.
b. Eliminates friction between the rug and a hard surface as well as preventing dust and moths from living under the rug.
c. Keeps humidity from transferring from the floor to your rug.
4. Be careful how you vacuum: Protect the fringes, do not vacuum over them… if you lose the fringe, the vacuum cleaner will continue to eat away at what is next, the pile, which is damage you don’t want…
5. Spills:
a) blot spill first
b) gently apply warm water with very mild soap (woolite, not dishwashing soap)
c) do not apply too much water (risk: color bleeding)
d) blot with towel
e) If you see no improvement, see a rug care specialist
f) or if stain is already dry, see a rug care specialist
g) club soda is safe to use, vinegar-never!-it sets the stain.
6. A word of caution for Antique Rugs: Know your rug before you do anything with it. If it has any “touch-ups” (usually done by a dealer, with marker rather than repairing), do NOT attempt to clean a spill or the liquid will bleed the applied color.
7. Pets- If your rug has been repeatedly abused by an animal, you might want to consider having it enzyme washed by a professional. Usually, regular washing is sufficient. Again, by a professional.
8. Professional Cleaning– Usually recommended about every 2-3 years. Be careful who you hire to clean your rugs. I do not recommend the cheapest deal in town, do your homework to make sure you entrust your investment into the most capable hands. If you are looking for a good rug cleaning service in the DFW area, I can recommend one.
9. Appraisal: Check to see if you have an up to date appraisal on your rugs. If anything happens to your rug, insurance companies might need the appraisal document.
10. Repairs: Sometimes a small repair can prevent further damage to your rug, saving you a lot of expense in the future.
Great tips, Courtney! Perhaps you will find this Complete Rug Cleaning Guide useful. (click website link) It has every kind of solution for every kind of spill – a handy reference. Cheers! #loveofrugs
Fantastic – Thanks for sharing, Laurence!