We all know what a great looking rug can do to a home. Apart from making sure it is clean and less prone to harboring dirt in your home or office, it also creates a huge impact on your space’s overall aesthetics. Area rugs, to be exact, are beautifully made to accentuate and level up your interior. However, you will need to invest time and effort to make sure it remains to look good and well sanitized. A simple and convenient way would be to vacuum it clean. If you are clueless about the proper way of vacuuming varying area rugs, here are a couple of tips that you can use.
Effective Tips to Vacuum an Area Rug
The challenge lies in the type of rug you vacuum. The materials used to make the rug may vary, hence, they may need different approaches in cleaning.
Shag Rug
- Flip the rug
The first step to cleaning a rug would be by flipping it. This is to give you an easier time by dislodging excess dirt and debris on the rug. Make sure to properly shake it off upside down while holding one side. This type of rug is a bit heavy so having an extra hand can definitely help in this step.
- Clean underneath the rug
After the process of shaking and beating off the rug to dislodge all the dirt and debris, set it aside. As you do this, remnants of those that are taken off the rug will be evident in the area where the rug used to be positioned in. Do some vacuuming until all those excess are taken off the area. Once the area is ready and clean, you can place the rug back in and lay it down faced up.
- Vacuum
At this point, you can now start vacuuming the top side with a light suction setting. This is recommended as stronger suction settings can pull out the fibers of the rug and contribute to possible damage. If you feel that your rug is too delicate, you can opt for smaller vacuums for better peace of mind.
Tufted Rug
- Check the integrity of the rug
Before you start cleaning, make sure to check the overall integrity of the rug by looking underneath – this is the part where the latex glue attaches the tufts and keeps them in place. Old rugs are more likely to have areas that are falling off and are no longer secure. If you see fibers starting to fall off, make sure to incorporate extra caution during the entire process.
- Determine which direction to brush
Tufted rugs will have their fiber leaning in one direction only. Determine which direction it is and brush towards that direction. Work on lengthwise sectioning for rectangular carpets, a good thing to take note of would be to rotate the rug as necessary to make sure the pile remains in a fixed direction throughout your cleaning.
- Proceed to vacuum
Once you are done with the brushing, you can then proceed to vacuum the rug. When doing this, make sure to go against the fiber’s direction to effectively remove the dirt, debris, and other substances piled up in your carpet. Make sure to maintain a fairly light to moderate suction setting to avoid damaging your rug.
Woven Rug
- Distinguish your rug’s pile direction
Before starting the process, make sure to determine the direction of your rug’s pile. If you do not know how to check this, you can spot the direction where your rug’s fibers are and then from there, you can start brushing. The key to effectively doing this while preventing damage is by feeling if you are encountering any type of resistance. When you feel a bit of resistance, which means you are going against the pile. Doing this can damage the fibers or weaves of your rug.
- Vacuum at a 90-degree angle
Since you are working on a weaved rug, you have to make sure that your vacuum at a 90-degree angle. In this way, you get to clean the rug’s crevices and creases effectively without damaging the rug’s integrity. You have to know that vacuuming against the direction of the pile will only leave you with signs of damages and worse, shedding and undoing.
Flat Weave Rug
- Vacuum with caution
We can say that flat weave rugs are sturdier than other materials. They do not have a pile and they leave no room for accumulation of dirt and dust. Though free of the pile, it is not exempted from shedding or damage. Hence, it is recommended that vacuuming should be done gently and with caution to prevent damage, especially when done frequently.
- Watch the fringe
If you are working on a rug with fringes, make sure to try to hold it down first before vacuuming. Avoid any action that will feed the fringe to the vacuum as this will lead to rug and vacuum damage.
- Cater to all the sides
Flat weaves are more prone to looking dirty on both sides so make sure to cater to each one accordingly. It is also recommended to flip the rug from time to time to prevent one side from being worn out faster and easier than the other.
Conclusion
Cleaning a vacuum is not a walk in the park, especially if you have no experience in doing it in the past. With the array of rug designs, sizes, and texture, it can be a challenge to figure out how to clean a rug effectively. The most common types of rugs and the best way to clean them have been laid out for you, all you have to do is try it on your own.