We often have customers asking if we provide in home rug cleaning. And we can understand why. It can be time consuming to pack up your rug. It might be set under furniture or large and difficult to roll. But the size and weight of your rug, as well as the materials, is exactly why you can’t safely wash a rug in your home. Today Woods Rug Laundry is going to discuss exactly why you can’t clean a rug in the home.
How Rugs Are Constructed
Rugs, especially wool rugs, have the capacity to hold an incredible amount of soil, dirt and dust in them. When you look under a microscope, you can see that the way a rug is woven looks a lot like fish scales. There are lots of layers of these scales which create little pockets. Dirt gathers and builds up in these pockets, keeping the mess out of sight. In fact, it take kilos of dirt before your rug will start to look dirty.
This dirt is not only dust that accumulates around the house, but dirt and soil you, your family, and your guests track into your home. Depending on how high traffic the area is, and how long it has been since you’ve cleaned your rug, there could be years of dirt accumulated in your rug.
Rugs Need a Special Touch
As long as rugs have existed, they have needed cleaning. While the equipment to wash and dry rugs has evolved over the years, you still need to remove the rug from your home. While there are many “hacks” online now that suggest using carpet cleaners or, worst yet, a garden hose, this is the worst thing you can do to your rug. Too many times have we seen rugs irreparably damaged by vinegar treatments, or dye bleeding from hosing down.
Home Rug Cleaning and Water
The reason rugs need to be removed from the home to clean is their capacity to hold water. Just like with soil, rugs can hold an incredible amount of water, making them difficult to dry in the home. This leaves you at the risk of dry rot and mould damaging your rug and risking the health of your family. And a wet, sitting rug can cause water damage to your floors and furniture.
Rentable carpet cleaners only work as a surface cleaner for home rug cleaning. They deposit water in the rug and doing nothing to clean out dirt. They also don’t allow rugs to dry. Further, leaving a rug sitting wet can result in a mud forming in your rug, further damaging it and your floors.
The tiny pockets that hold dirt, can also hold water. This makes the rug heavy as the fibres swell. This means you need the right equipment to properly dry it out.
How Do Professionals Clean Rugs?
Unlike home cleaners or “life hacks”, proper professional cleaners have the equipment and chemicals to ensure that your rug is properly and safely cleaned. This allows us to properly remove excess dirt and soil from a rug before cleaning each rug. We can spot test rugs before cleaning them to protect the rug from dye bleed. Rugs are then pressed through special machines that wring out the excess water.
After washing, rugs are checked that they are thoroughly cleaned. If they need further attention, professional cleaners can safely perform a deeper clean. If the rug is clean, it is then placed in a special area where it can properly dry. This stops the rug retaining water, which can cause dry rot and mould, and does not damage your furniture, flooring, or turns your room into a mud wallow.
Need you rug assessed for professional cleaning? Want to ensure your rug is properly and safely cleaned? Avoid the dangerous online hacks and contact Woods Rug Laundry today for our high quality cleaning services!