But not all rugs are cleaned the same way, so it’s important to first identify the type of fiber used to make it.

 

Area rug cleaning is much more complex than what most people are aware of, especially when it comes to rugs made of natural fibers like cotton, wool or silk. These natural fibers are sensitive to high pH chemicals, high heat and too much agitation.

 

Cleaning Synthetic Area Rugs

 

Synthetic area rugs are cleaned using the steam-cleaning method just like your carpet. We first vacuum the rug, then apply an enzyme-based pre-treatment, which we then extract using our Portable carpet-cleaning unit. On these rugs, it’s safe to use powerful vacuum system and high heat that our carpet-cleaning serves offers.

 

Types of synthetic rugs:

 

• Nylon

• Olefin

• Polyester

• Acrylic

 

Cleaning natural fiber rugs

 

There are a few important bits of information about properly maintaining expensive natural fiber rugs that most consumers are unaware of. You see, wool and other natural fibers have many cleaning sensitivities. Generally, they are sensitive to high pH levels, high heat (although wool is flame retardant) and high agitation. Some, like silk, are sensitive to over-wetting. There are a few ways you can go about cleaning natural fiber rugs. Some wool rugs you can quickly and safely steam-clean with low heat and low moisture. But this is more of a surface cleaning, which in some situations is just fine. Silk and cotton are to never be steam-cleaned. Because of the cleaning sensitivities, we use pH-neutral pre-treatments that contain no enzymes. We take necessary precautions to prevent color and dye bleeding.

 

Types of natural fiber rugs

 

• Wool

• Cotton

• Silk

• Jute/Sisal

 

Optional Area Rug Cleaning Services

 

Area Rug Protection

 

A great way to prolong the life of your area rug, and add some repellency is to have it treated with a protector. This invisible barrier will help repel dry and wet soils, making it easier to clean.