Rug Cleaning in Austin, TX, How Often?

Mistaken Beliefs Cause Rugs To Die an Early Death

One of the most commonly asked questions I get is, “How often do I need to have my wool rugs cleaned?” or,

“How often do I HAVE to get my wool rugs cleaned if it looks good (no big stains) and we have very little foot traffic?”

That is carpet thinking. Not rugs. I understand why people think that way. I really do, but it’s just wrong. Wool and synthetic fibers can look similar, but are very different.

Most wall to wall carpet in the United States is synthetic. It’s often plastic. It shows oily “dirt” quickly and wears out much faster than wool rug yarns.

Why? Well, there is one important thing to remember about wool.

Wool hides dirt. Plastic doesn’t. A real hand woven wool rug can last centuries. Carpet becomes worn out in a few years. They are not the same thing at all.

The rug salesman likely told you this when you were looking to make your purchase. “This rug is so well made it won’t need cleaning for YEARS if ever”

I’ve even heard, “Just a good broom sweeping is all the maintenance the rug will ever need” Wrong.

Wool has scales like a fish and all of the pounds of dander and pollen that land on your rug are hidden by those scales. Remember the “rug looks clean” comment from earlier? It DOES LOOK clean, but it’s not. The soil becomes impacted underneath those “scales” until they actually will start to break off from all the soil buried deep inside the rug.

Now the rug looks dirty because it’s actually damaged. The scales are off the fish.

Rugs die from the inside out.

That is why they should be properly washed every 12-18 months, and should never go longer than 2 years between thorough cleanings.