Helping your rugs look fresh and beautiful for years to come

Rugs can offer you the perfect accent for your home. They add a layer of warmth, color, and texture that allows you to create the look you want. However, rugs also tend to take a lot of abuse through regular wear and tear. There are strategies you can take, however, to make your carpets look beautiful and new for even longer. Here are the biggest techniques we suggest to our customers to help them preserve their rugs.

1. Encourage people to remove their shoes

Think for a moment about all the dirt and grime that every person’s shoes encounter on a regular basis. They step in dirty gum, dirt, mud, garbage, and even worse on a daily basis out walking in the streets of your neighborhood. No one actually wants any of that inside their home. Not only does it spread germs, but it can also increase the amount of dirt that your rugs and carpets are exposed to.

Instead, encourage people to remove their shoes when they enter the home. This will help to keep the home overall more clean and greatly reduce the amount of grime on your rugs. With less grime and dirt, the carpet will naturally absorb far fewer odors and will not get worn out as quickly.

2. Spread baking soda on the carpet before vacuuming

Baking soda can do wonders as an odor absorbent. Spreading it liberally on carpets, allowing it to sit for about 30-60 minutes (longer if you notice a particularly strong or persistent odor), and then vacuuming it up can help rid your rugs of frustrating smells. This will help your rug keep looking and smelling like new, without the need for harsh or dangerous chemicals.

3. Do not allow dirt or spills to sit

It can be a challenge to jump right up and start to clean up every mess you see, but it can really make a tremendous difference in the health of your rug. If you see any dirt get tracked in or a spill occurs on the rug, taking the time to clean it up immediately can make a big difference in the appearance and health of the rug.

Create a small cleaning kit that will make it easy for you to verify that you have all the important natural cleansers on hand. For example, you will want to have vinegar, baking soda, and club soda in your kit at a minimum. This will make it easy for you to attack any potentially stain-causing spills as soon as they occur.

4. Make sure to regularly vacuum

Vacuuming regularly will help you pick up any dirt, dust, and grime that does find its way to your rug. The frequency with which you vacuum will likely depend on your level of use for the carpet, but you want to at least clean the rug once per week. If you have pets or wear shoes in the home, this frequency should increase. Vacuuming regularly prevents these contaminants from sitting on your rug too long and helps to reduce odors as well. Make sure that your vacuum is well-maintained, including a regular changing of the vacuum bag.

5. Get your rugs professionally cleaned on a regular schedule

In addition to your regular vacuuming, you also want to give your rugs the deep, thorough clean that comes from a professional as well. While vacuums do a great job of getting up surface dirt and grim, often there is some left behind, deep in the fibers. One to two times per year at least, treat your rugs to a deep, professional clean that will get all of that debris out. This level of clean will ensure that your rug looks beautiful and is ready to keep your home looking fresh for years to come. Speak with a rug cleaning professional to determine the optimal cleaning schedule, based on your carpet’s usage and needs.

Keeping rugs clean will help your home look and feel welcoming. Taking these steps to protect your rugs will allow you to keep them looking fresh for years to come. When it comes to rug care, a bit of treatment can go a long way in helping the rug look beautiful long after you bring it into your home.