By Matthew Bennett

Oriental wool rugs are a beautiful addition to any interior design scheme, which explains their popularity among homeowners. A lot of people have second thoughts about owning their own oriental wool rugs, thinking that having one may be more than they can handle in terms of cleaning and maintenance. This is not the case, however: it is entirely possible for you to be able to clean an oriental wool rug without hiring professional cleaners. Here are some things that you should be able to remember when you go about cleaning your oriental wool rug.

  1. Avoid getting it too dirty. How hard it will be to clean an oriental rug will also depend on how dirty it is. Avoid getting it dirty by enforcing house rules on cleanliness, such as the use of the welcome mats to get rid of the caked dirt and mud on children’s shoes. Don’t keep animals around the house, and advise visitors to avoid putting dirty shoes on top of the wool rug. Always give it regular sweeping, even daily if it is possible.
  2. Use sweeping with a broom for your daily maintenance. You should be able to get a lot of the superficial dirt right away if you use your broom. Don’t let the job pile up from under you – make your best to be thorough when you sweep the Oriental rug up. This will actually make a significant difference in the cleanliness and appearance of your rug.
  3. Vacuum both sides of the rug. A vacuum cleaner will get rid of the more persistent dirt that ordinary sweeping and brushing didn’t affect. Use the brush attachment to get more dirt away from the rug. Do one side at a time – flip it over when you are done. If you want to get as much dust out as possible, don’t hesitate to ask the neighbors to come over and help you hang the rug so you can beat the dust out of it.
  4. Move the drug to roofed spacious area and hose it down with clean water. Use cool water to prevent color from running and staining. If colors don’t run and mix with each other, you can consider it shampoo safe. Use mild shampoo to clean your entire rug, lathering both front and back side of the rug.
  5. Brush the shampoo into the wool of the rug. You should be sure that the rug is completely soaked in soap water. This will get rid of the odors and bacteria that have previously hidden inside the rug.
  6. After the lather, make sure that you rinse out all traces of shampoo. Rinse the rug with cool water along the entire surface area. You may have to repeat this several times for maximum effectivity. Use a squeegee against the grain of the rug to squeeze out as much water as retained.
  7. Lay this flat and wait for it to dry before bringing it back inside the house.

You should do the cleaning procedure at least once a month, ideally. People tend to let their oriental wool rugs grow old and under-maintained. Make sure you are not one of those people and take good care of your wool rug. Compared to others, this is benign and easy to maintain.