Oriental rugs are indeed one of the most beautiful rugs collections. They can last years if proper maintenance and care is taken of the rugs. It is utterly undesirable to see and feel that your rug is in the worst condition or it is dirty and smells. We can fully relate to the disgust it might cause you as it’s the worst nightmare of a rug lover! Buying an oriental rug is as easy as making bread but maintaining it is as hard as fighting in a war (a little dramatic but, it do be like that for a person who has love for rugs) Maintaining an oriental rug is a great responsibility. The biggest problem and question that arises is how to maintain and clean an oriental rug? It requires personal care as well as some professional help, too. But, the question is does your rug need a cleaning or not, in the first place. Don’t worry because, we will even get you information and knowledge over that as well. Moreover, we will provide you step by step guidance and assistance as to what a rug cleaning is and how to do that. The placing of your area rug also contributes a lot to its cleaning habits. Meaning, Oriental Rugs placed at high- traffic areas might need cleaning on some frequent basis while those placed at low- traffic areas might as well need only occasional cleaning.  Also, we will provide you different methods to clean your favorite rug starting from home- cleaning to deep cleaning, preventive measure and home- remedies as well. We have it all! Without having you to wait any longer, let’s get started!

First, Some Preventive/ Precautionary Tips

• It is recommended that you clean out your area rug every six months to also  get your surroundings and overall atmosphere to be healthy.
•  It is also advised to clean any spills instantly from the rug to avoid spots in the longer run.
• Try to avoid children taking anything to eat on the rug since; things might fall off their hands and cause spills and spots.
•  Always check the backside of rug to check if there are any tags that would help you to take good care of your rug or if there are any certain precautions you would have to take for the rug for example, some Area Rugs are not supposed to be exposed in the sunlight or should not be dry- cleaned.
• Make sure that you clean your rug everyday just like you clean your whole house. That is; by doing vacuum or using a broom to sweep over it. This helps any dirt, filth or any kind of debris to be taken away from the rug and is obviously healthy.
•  Be careful in general

Examine If Your Oriental Rug Needs A Deep Clean

Examining your rug if it needs a clean wash is the foremost thing you need to do. This not only tells you if you need to turn your sleeves up and start cleaning but, it makes you even steadfast and motivated to clean it. Yes, that’s a psychological effect! Wondering how to examine? It’s simple as anything in the world. All you need to do is; hold and turn your rug upside down and pat it. Yes, exactly like you pat your children on their backs when they do something wrong. If you see any dirt or dust coming out of the rug in the air, well then that’s the ultimate sign that your rug needs and immediate cleaning.

Cleaning The Rug- Step By Step

Let’s now fully dive into the actual cleaning process.

• Vacuuming The Whole Rug

Grab your vacuum and start vacuuming your oriental rug. Remember, to never brush your vacuum against the motion of your rug since that can destroy the fibers and knots of the rug. Make sure that you do it gently and are not rubbing against it harshly or hurriedly. If you see any spots, use a cloth soaked in the warm water to get rid of those.

• Rinse It

Once, you are done with vacuuming the whole thing, use a water pipe to water the Washable Rug thoroughly. Don’t stop until you are sure that it is soaking in water like water should be dripping.

• Brushing And Cleaning Go Hand In Hand!

After that, grab a detergent that is the most suitable for your Oriental of rugs types. Use a brush and add some detergent/ soap onto it and start brushing it on the rug. This time as well, try to be as gentle and smooth as you can as you do not want to disturb the texture of the rug. It should be kept in mind that harshly brushing can cause serious damages to the area rug. Remember, you want to clean the rug but not for the sake of destroying its over- all texture.

Reminder: Oriental rugs can sometimes be delicate. The most important thing you would have to do before using the detergent/ soap on the rug is to check if the rug is colorfast. How to do that? Well, it’s simple. Before, brushing the detergent on the whole of it, choose a small part of the rug from the corner and add a little bit of the detergent. Let it sit for sometime (5- 10 minutes) if you see the rug bleeding or some color dripping from it, it is a sign that you should not be using a certain detergent on it. But, if it doesn’t, you are ready to go!

• Rinse It, AGAIN!

The next step is to rinse it with water. You can again make use of a water pipe to rinse it all over again. Make sure that you rinse both the sides thoroughly. Mostly, people hurry in rinsing the area rug in a proper manner which then ends up in detergent staying on the rug and causing irregularities. Also, if the detergent stays in it, the rug gets very rough and hard once it dries.  Rinse and smash water onto it until you see crystal clear water running down the drainage. So, don’t take any chance on that and rinse the rug in the most perfect manner.

Reminder: be very sure that you clean and rinse both the sides of the rug and not just the top of it. Usually people don’t really feel the necessity to clean the backside of the rug. And that is wrong! Little do they know that the back normally contains more dust and dirt at times.  Always, clean both sides of the rug thoroughly and properly.

• Vacuum The Whole Rug, AGAIN!

Done with that? The next steps and easy peasy. All you need to do is to place your rug in front of a fan or in the direct sunlight with the objective of drying it. It might take some time as your rug is soaking wet and is dripping in water. At this step as well, do not hurry and let your rug dry inside out. Otherwise, it might odor and emit smells that are very gross and difficult to bear.

• Ready For A Sun Bath!

Reminder: try to schedule your Oriental rug cleaning day on a sunny one. Since nothing is better than sun to help dry stuff and especially rugs. If it is a sunny day then, congratulations! You earned it, pal! Try placing it at an angle where it receives direct sunlight without any shade or obstacle.

Gracious god! We are almost done. Do you know the best part about the whole process? That is that it is a reverse cycle. You will end up at the exact same place step you started from. Yeah, vacuuming! Once, your rug is as dry as it could have ever been, vacuum or broom over it. This will not only give your rug a finishing touch but it will also help fix irregularities off of your oriental rug. As your rug was brushed over and was rinsed with water like never before, it must have caused irregularities in the texture i.e. the fringes and threads on top of the rug, to help with that; vacuuming is important. Again, do not vacuum against the pile direction but rather, towards it.

Bonus Tips:

• The place you are going to perform the deep cleaning should be as clean as you want your oriental rug to be at the end of the process. Try to assure the fact that the place is free of anything that might cause any harm or dirt to the already dirty rug. That place should be out of reach from pets and little kids for you don’t trust them that way!
• If your oriental rug is of some precious material such as silk, it is advised to not clean it by yourself. Since, the material used is very sensitive and should be cleaned only with the help or solely by the experts and/ or professionals. As professional rug/ carpet cleaners have both the experience and expertise to clean your rug in the best way possible!
• Try to place sensitive, expensive and non stain- resistant rugs at places that have low- traffic as you can’t take the pain of cleaning it every now and then, even through professionals.
• It’s not important to clean your area rug every now and then, as previously mentioned, too; you can clean it every six months. But, it is okay to clean the rug whenever you feel so. Whenever you feel/ sense that your rug is dirty or it smells bad, clean it only then. It is a part of human nature that they can feel if the surroundings or anything is dirty and needs cleaning.
• Daily or weekly vacuuming/ sweeping of your oriental rug is obviously necessary to keep it in the best shape and form possible. But, it is also considerable that you spray perfume or use talcum powder on your rug in order for it to smell good.
• If your rug is dry- cleanable then, go for it! Nothing is as relaxing as having to know that your rug is machine washable. Like, that’s awesome, right?

We hope that you found this article to be helpful. With these steps, you can clean your oriental rug perfectly. We understand that some old area rugs that you just can’t let go off, do need proper cleaning after some instances in time. But, as always, we got your back! The tips and reminders listed above are as important as the whole cleaning process is. It is very important to first check if your rug is colorfast or not since you can land in the most undesirable problems, if you don’t do so. Each and every step and tip listed above holds equal significance. Always make sure that you are not just playing around with your oriental rug in any way. That, you are not just cleaning it for the mere sake of cleaning it! Do reach out to a professional when it comes to an expensive or sensitive rugs cleaning. Also, be very careful while carrying out any step of the cleaning process. Complete and carry out each and every step with utmost attention and heed. Do not hurry or leave things in between. It might get a little time taking but trust us, it’s worth it. Give time to every single step; from vacuuming to cleaning/ washing, rinsing to again vacuuming. If you want your rug to be in the exact form and condition you bought it like, all this should definitely help.

Oh, wait! You can buy the best oriental rugs around town from RugKnots, as well. We provide the most vast range of collections including the most wanted: oriental rugs. That too, in the best and most affordable prices. Furthermore, if you need any guidance or support when it comes to not just these kinds of rug collections but also, any kind of area rug, we are always there! Don’t hesitate to contact us and ask away!

Happy rug cleaning!