How to Wash a Wool Rug at Home

Most people are surprised to learn that an Oriental wool rug or wool area rug can be washed at home. These rugs usually are washable - in water - but follow the manufacturer's instructions for best results. These instructions are for small to medium-sized rugs, not large ones.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stain Remover
• Vacuum
• several dry towels
• sponge or sponge mop
• mild detergent for wool

1. Vacuum the rug thoroughly. Do both sides of the rug.

2. Spot clean stains with a stain remover appropriate for wool carpets. Be sure to test on a less visible area for color-fastness.

3. Take the rug outside and put it on a clean, paved area.

4. Wet the rug down with a garden hose.

5. Add two capfuls of a mild cleaner such as Woolite to a bucket of cold water. Using a beater or whisk, whip up suds in the bucket.

6. Use a clean sponge or sponge mop to apply the suds to rug, gently wiping as you go.

7. Rinse rug thoroughly once you have finished applying the suds.

8. Roll up the rug in dry towels to remove remaining water. The wet rug will be heavy.

9. Lay the rug flat to dry. Avoid prolonged periods in direct sunlight which can cause fading or shrinkage.

Tips & Warnings

• Eucalan Woolwash is another popular product used for cleaning wool rugs. It is low-suds and does not require rinsing.
• Always use a mild detergent with a neutral pH (5.0-8.0).
• A wool rug needs a thorough cleaning approximately every 12 to 18 months.
• If you don't want to take on washing the rug yourself, a carpet cleaning company will do the job for you.
• *Do not have a wool rug steam-cleaned, as the heat from the steam will likely cause shrinkage.

[WebDiva]

on 6/8/2009 I did this with a couple nylon area rugs that are too old to pay to have cleaned but too good to toss. Worked like a champ. I added two steps: before washing I turned them face down on the grass and used the rug vacuum with beater bar to knock most of the granular soil out. Put a piece of white paper under the rug to see how much stuff drops out! Quit once the paper has only a dusting. Then, after soaping and rinsing, I used a wet/dry shop vac to suck out most of the water. Came out very muddy the first rinse. I was ready to buy new rugs rather than pay to have them cleaned -- now they're nearly as good as new!

[isj003]

on 5/18/2009 I live in Sydney and use the services of Wizard Rug Cleaning to clean all my rugs (Wool, shag pile, persian, turkish, chinese). They even do repairs at a very reasonable costs. Why risk doing it yourself? They do a pick-up and elivery service or you can drop-off to them. I recommend you try www.wizardcarpetcleaning.com.au

[annoink]

on 4/16/2009 Why would a 100% wool rug smell? No pets on it ever. Very little traffic, 1 red wine spill that was blotted up and rinsed w/something? I either get rid of the smellor chuck the rug

[corkireland]

on 2/28/2009 This article makes cleaning rugs seam very easy. However, it is far from easy and you can ruin your valuable rugs. Usually a wool rug is made of lots of differnt colors. These dyes can often bleed when improperly cleaned, ruining the rug. Also the wrong chemistry for the spots or soil can either damage the wool or cotton foundation fibers or set spills and spots permanently. Proffessionals spend years training and perfecting wash systems that gently clean and restore the rug. If you want to attempt anything in home, get an old fashioned rug beater and beat the backing to remove the embedded soil. Vaccuming alone will not remove all of the soil. Proffessionals use very efficient machines that emulate the old rug beaters to remove all of the dry soil.

[texasfrog]

on 2/10/2009 What size rug is considered large? I have a 8' x 10' wool rug. Could I follow these instructions for a rug that size? Has anyone tried it?