The #1 Guide to Vacuuming Your Thick Wool Area Rugs!
Hi folks! I’m Ruthie with Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care here in Prescott AZ and as I’m sure you all know, we are dedicated to providing high quality rug cleaning and also helping all of our clients care for their rugs properly! There are LOTS of different kinds of area rugs and each one has different things you can do to properly care for it in-between professional cleanings with us! Today I wanted to focus on the proper way to vacuum a sturdy, heavy pile woven area rug (hand knotted or machine woven).
Remember - it is extremely important to vacuum area rugs on a regular basis! Vacuuming helps to remove the dry soil and prevents it from causing your rug to “ugly out” prematurely. Dry soil acts like sandpaper against rug fibers and the friction from grinding dry soil into your rugs by walking on it tears at fibers and wears them down. If you notice a traffic pattern, it’s possible that permanent damage has been done to your rug. Vacuum to remove dry soil on a regular basis! I always recommend my clients vacuum their rugs at least once or twice a week, more if their home gets more activity.
Rugs with a thick pile can take more vacuuming than many other types of rugs that are more delicate.
It is important, however, to make sure you’re using the right tool!
UPRIGHT VACUUMS: Turn the beater brush on your vacuum off - this is too aggressive and will wear the rug fibers down over time! Most upright vacuums are designed for synthetic wall-to-wall carpet, NOT WOOL RUGS! Always play it safe and turn off the beater bar on your vacuum or put it on it’s highest setting if you can’t turn it off. NOTE: If your rug is rippled, I advise you use an upholstery tool to vacuum your rug instead of an actual vacuum.
CANISTER VACUUMS: Canister vacuums are also great when it comes to vacuuming area rugs with a thick pile! It offers good suction needed to remove dry soil without a beater bar!
ELECTRIC SWEEPERS: These are another good choice if you don’t have a canister vacuum and can’t adjust the beater bar of your upright vacuum. You may need to make a few more passes over the rug and vacuum more frequently, but it will work just as well!
Again, it’s important to stay on top of dry soil removal! By vacuuming frequently, you’re removing the “top soil” sitting at the surface of your rug’s fibers before it can work its way down into the base of your rug where it does the most damage.
Just vacuum your rug from side to side, across the width of the rug, and be careful to avoid the sidecords and fringes so you don’t cause any damage. You can also turn your rug over about every 3-4 months and use your upright vacuum, with the beater bar running, to vacuum the BACK SIDE OF YOUR RUG. This will help to shake loose the dry soil that made its way to the bottom. And remember - vacuuming is NOT a replacement for professional cleanings that should be done with us at Arizona Oriental every 1-3 years!
Till next time, enjoy your beautiful art for your floor and remember a clean rug is a rug that can last you a lifetime!
Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care serves Prescott, Prescott Valley, Sedona, Flagstaff, and much of the Northern Arizona areas. We meet the highest standards in professional cleaning of area rugs with rug wash specialists having earned the highest training, including certification as WOOLSAFE FIBRE CARE SPECIALISTS through the WOOLSAFE ORGANISATION. Such extraordinary certification ensures our client’s area rugs receive the highest quality care.
Have more questions about the right way to vacuum your area rugs? Give us a call at 928-445-1718 and get a free cleaning estimate, visit our website at www.ArizonaOriental.com, or stop by Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at our rug washing facility at 565 EZ Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (pick-up and delivery also available). 11-16-2018
