Rug Care at Home

The hints below will help you to care for your rug between professional washing by RugWash. We provide free advice over the phone for any rug stain questions. Please call 3375 9896.

Vacuuming
Soil is the enemy of your rugs. Dust and grit will grind away at your rug fibres like sand paper. One of the most important aspects of proper maintenance is to vacuum often and correctly. Once a week is usually enough but if the area is heavily trafficked you may need to increase this. Do not vacuum the fringes as they are too delicate. Don't take your rug out and beat it. It is better to turn the rug upside-down and vacuum the back side to dislodge any imbedded dirt, then vacuum the pile. This will ensure that the dirt will not go further into the pile. We have specialised equipment in our rug plant to do this and encourage you to bring your rug into us for this service.

Pets Pet "accidents" are the most common "emergency" call that we get. As with all stains to your rug, the sooner that they are treated the better. Unfortunately, pet urine and pet vomit are two of the major causes of permanent rug stain and damage. The method of treatment often differs depending whether the stain is new or has dried completely and sat in the fibres for several days. We are happy to offer some advice to assist in minimising damage and odour.

Spot Removal
With the prompt use of the correct procedures on a fresh spillage or recent spots and stains, you can minimise or remove spills or spots from textile furnishing including rugs and carpets. The best time to remove any stains is as soon as it occurs. Once dried or aged, that same spot has migrated well inside the fibre or hardened so that removal is much more difficult. Remember, when it comes to stain removal:

• Always blot a stain, never rub

• Blot the stain from the edge of the spill towards the centre

• When using white spirits, wet the cloth with the white spirits, not the rug

The table below may provide some guidance for stain removal but remember to have on hand plenty of clean white cloths, mild colourless detergent solution (soapy water), white vinegar solution (1:1), white spirits and weak ammonia solution (7%).

WARNING: Remember to test these solutions on the pile side of the rug before you use them to ensure you will not have colour run, etc.