Do you have a wool braided rug?
If so, then you’re not alone.
Braided rugs are popular because they last a long time and have a classic look that never goes out of style. However, with any type of rug comes the responsibility to clean it from time to time. In this blog post we will discuss how often to clean your braided wool rug as well as methods on what you can do when it is dirty.
How to Clean a Braided Rug
Vacuuming Braided Rugs
When it comes to vacuuming your braided rug, using a rotating brushless cleaner is the best option. This will allow you to remove dust and debris from its surface and pick up dirt better than other types of floor cleaners. And you will not damage the fibers.
We recommend to have a look on these models:
Cordless Vacuum Cleaner – Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum for Braided Rugs
SPECS:
- Power: 210W
- Two Modes: 25KPA/ 18KPA
- Running Time: 15 Mins high speed, 35 Mins low speed
- Fast Charging Time: 3.5h
- Dust Cup: 0.55 L
- Product Net Weight: 5.5lb
You should start by making sure that there are no electrical cords near the carpet because these can get tangled with bristles on the vacuum cleaner’s bottom side, which might lead to ripping or tearing – something we want to avoid at all times if possible.
After this, you need to put one end of the hose attachment into an opening where suction goes (normally located either in the front or back part) and place another end about 12 inches away from the rug’s surface. If needed, make sure you move furniture around in order to get the best access. While doing this, it’s recommended that you turn off the rotating brush cleaner and wait for a moment until suction is at its highest level, which will allow the vacuum attachment to suck up all dirt from within the fibers of your rug.
When vacuuming braided rugs with tape-type backing, make sure not to cut or tear away pieces of these carpets because they might end up damaging loops on the top portion – something we definitely want to avoid if possible while making our way through any room.
If everything went according to plan during the process described above, repeat this step two more times just to be 100% certain that there are no contaminants left behind. If anything is found during the second or third round – you need to redo the entire process as many times as needed.
Related Reading: Best Vacuums for Area Rugs.
However, if there is no access to a rotating brush cleaner and you don’t have any other types of floor cleaners at your disposal – it’s recommended that you use a stiff bristle broom instead, which can be used under furniture legs in order to remove dust and dirt particles from within fibers on top of the braided rug.
Cleaning with Water and Fresh Air
Another method that can be utilized when cleaning a braided rug is to use water and fresh air.
In order to do this, you need two buckets filled with clean, warm water (not hot) and some natural floor cleaner of your choice. You might also want to add a few drops of essential oils such as lavender for purposes of fragrance if desired – but make sure not to overuse them because strong smells might stay behind on carpets even after vacuumed completely or dry cleaned later on.
After everything has been prepared ahead of time, place one bucket under the carpet.
As this is being done, you need to push down firmly on the braided rug so that it gets wet all the way through without leaving any dry patches behind because this might lead to mildew growth in the future if not treated properly – something we definitely want to avoid at all time while making our way throughout each room of your home or office space.
After everything has been thoroughly soaked with a solution from above, ask for help and get someone else. Press down directly onto the surface area with both hands just like when scrubbing clothes against a washboard back during early 20th century America before washing machines were invented. This will allow a mixture of water and cleaner to penetrate deep within fibers where dirt particles are located before eventual removal.
After a few minutes, you will need to get rid of excess water from the carpet by either taking it outside and spraying it down with a garden hose or using a wet vacuum cleaner. Make sure not to use the rotating brush option because this might damage fibers on the top portion of the braided rug.
As soon as everything has been taken care of prior mentioned, repeat the exact same process (steps described above) two more times without leaving out any single step whatsoever in order for us to ensure that every bit of dirt particles are completely removed during the final round before moving forward towards restorative processes which can be done afterward according to your specific preferences.
If anything is found after the second or third round (i.e., there is still some dirt left behind even after we did everything possible to make sure that the rug is completely clean and sanitized), then you need to redo the entire process as many times as needed.
Cleaning with Snow
Yet another method that can be utilized when trying to clean a braided rug is – you guessed it right. – snow.
For instance, it is recommended to use snow when trying to clean leather shoes or boots as well.
When using this method of cleaning for your braided rug, ensure the following:
- Ensure that you have enough time and patience – there’s nothing worse than rushing through things.
- Prepare yourself with all necessary tools such as water, vinegar etc., otherwise you might not achieve desired results after hard work. Now let’s take a look at how we should start off:
- Before starting anything, you need to put down some old newspapers on the floor where our rug will be placed later on. This way, we’ll prevent any stains from appearing on the actual floor.
- Once done, proceed with removing any dirt or dust particles that might be visible on your braided rug. To do this, you can use a small brush (a paintbrush should work great) to remove them – although if they’re not too many, it’s also possible to just move over the surface of your rug gently by hand. If some stains cannot be removed using the techniques mentioned above, don’t get discouraged. You’ll manage to deal with those later on during the process. 🙂
Once everything is said and done, we need to act fast; otherwise, our snow won’t remain snowy for long, especially in warm weather conditions like here, where I live. So what you need to do first is go out into nature and collect a couple of fresh snowballs.
Take your braided rug and place it in front of you outside (or inside, depending on the weather). The next thing that’s required from us is to take these handfuls of snow we’ve gathered earlier and put them into a large plastic bag which should be strong enough not to break easily while being filled with lots and lots of ice; otherwise, we’ll have a mess on our hands.
To avoid such situations, one can also use different types of fabrics like old towels or even rags – just make sure they won’t get ripped apart when applied onto newly-gathered piles of snow. Now head back inside where everything is already prepared for you: all you need to do now is tie off the plastic bag just to make sure it won’t open by itself and spill its contents all over the floor.
Afterward, take that plastic bag out of your braided rug and sharp items such as a knife or even scissors (just be careful not to cut through the fabric.) – this way, you’ll puncture holes in the plastic that will allow snow inside our rug.
Now let everything sit for about 15 minutes before taking off the lid.
That’s it.
Our braided wool rug is clean and refreshed without having used any detergents whatsoever.
Rug Beater
Cleaning a braided rug with the help of a rug beater is another method which I’m sure you’ll find useful if not essential to know about.
Although this might seem like an easy task, we must pay close attention and get everything right during each step so as not to ruin our priceless piece of art, because let’s face it: who would want to destroy such beautiful rugs? 🙂
So how do we go about cleaning these types of floor coverings using only natural methods? Well, first things first: take your braided wool rug and place it in front of you on the ground, whether inside or outside, should make no difference – just note that when working outdoors, there can be some dirt particles getting into other places which might end up causing further damage.
So, using a rug beater (or even your hands) go ahead and beat the living daylight out of that wool braided carpet until it’s nice and fluffy – so fluffy in fact, you can almost take a nap on top of it.
Afterward, simply clean it with some warm water & vinegar solution or even just plain hot water… voila. Cleaning done.
Professional Braided Rug Cleaning
And finally, the most expensive and advanced way to clean a braided rug: by sending it out for professional cleaning. This is best suited when you’re in need of some serious restoration done on your piece – but keep in mind that this option will usually cost no less than $100 per square foot.
However, if you feel like spending such an enormous sum on something which might not be worth all the money after all, well, then go ahead and get in touch with one (or more) reliable companies offering their services for these kinds of things. Keep in mind, though, they’ll only accept rugs that aren’t too large or heavy since otherwise there’s a possibility it won’t even fit inside their service vehicle, let alone come back in one piece.
So if you’re on the lookout for an efficient way to keep your beloved rug clean and well-maintained, then I strongly suggest sticking with professional cleaning services, which will not only guarantee great results but also ensure against any damage done to your precious braided wool carpet during transportation.
And don’t forget about proper maintenance. After all, it’s what keeps these kinds of floor coverings looking nice & fresh throughout the years – so take good care of them because they’ll surely return that favor when needed most.
Soap and Water Method
- Fill a bucket with warm soapy water. Add a few squirts of dish soap or another gentle detergent to the water and mix it in.
- Place rug over a bowl, making sure your hands are clean first as you will be touching the wool frequently during this process.
- Let sit for 30 minutes before rinsing under running water. Rinse until all suds have been removed from both sides of the rug. Repeat if necessary.
- You can also use an upholstery shampoo instead of regular soap.
*Do not soak braided rugs unless they’re made specifically to take wet weather conditions*
**Note: This method should only be used on natural fiber rug fibers such as jute, seagrass, sisal, seagrass or coir.
Removing Stains
To remove stains, you can:
- Work on a small section at a time. Do not rub too hard, as this could cause the wool fibers to become damaged and break apart. Simply use some gentle elbow grease.
- Use an upholstery shampoo for natural fiber rugs or non-gel toothpaste if there is blood present.
- Dip your cloth into cool water before applying it to the stained area of your braided rug in order to minimize any color transfer onto other areas.
- If using toothpaste, brush off excess with a wet rag after 20 minutes since gel types are harder to rinse out properly.
- Rinse clean under running water until all residue has been removed from both sides of your braided rug, then repeat the process if necessary.
- Hang your braided area rug to dry, away from direct sunlight.
- Once dried, brush both sides of the wool with a soft bristle brush in order to smooth out any bumps or residue left behind by toothpaste and upholstery shampoo.
- Vacuum through an upholstery attachment once per month is best for maintaining cleanliness.
This method works great on stubborn stains such as red wine. It can be used not only on natural fiber rugs but also synthetic fibers such as polypropylene which makes it extremely versatile when trying to remove tough stains from your flooring options.
Rotate and Reverse Braided Rugs
First of all – make sure that there are no people or pets around during this process because these might be injured due to sharp objects, which could end up falling down on them while you’re trying to move furniture around by yourself.
After this, it’s recommended that you ask someone for help if needed (don’t worry, they will know what needs to be done) to lift one side of your carpet at about 45 degrees off ground level until its edge touches the wall behind it. While doing this, please do not let go of edges but hold onto them tightly until everything settles back into place.
Once this is done, you need to turn your rug 90 degrees and repeat the same process as before. In other words – lift one side of it up 45 degrees off ground level until the edge touches the wall behind the furniture piece.
Once things have been settled back into place on the floor – move onto the next step by rotating braided rugs counterclockwise another 90 degrees so that a new portion will be facing walls in every room where these are located. Doing this with each section (or more if needed) of wool braid carpeting should eventually lead to its full rotation, which can’t happen unless everything has been turned around at least once.
Now comes the time for the reversing part when we want our braided rug to end up looking like it did when we first got it. In order to achieve this – make sure that there are no people or pets around because you need to lean over your rug with all of your strength to apply enough pressure on its surface so that loops start going back into their original position.
Once everything is settled, give braided wool rugs a good beating by using hands and feet simultaneously while leaning against them at least once for each section which should be enough to get back their original shape.
If this is done correctly, you’re good to go and your braided rug will make it through another day or two before it needs some more thorough cleaning.
How Often to Clean a Braided Wool Rug?
When it comes to how often you need to clean a braided rug, the most common answer is: “as soon as possible.” Every time your feet touch this type of floor covering and leave behind dirt, dust, sand or mud particles on top of the fibers – these are all potential reasons why you should give your rug thorough vacuuming.
However, if there are food crumbs or other types of substances left around for days or weeks, they can cause damage due to humidity, leading to mold formation.
This means that having older family members who eat in their rooms while watching television might concern whether it’s wool rugs with cotton backing or tufted carpets.
In conclusion, you should vacuum your braided rug as soon as possible with a powerful cleaner and diffuser. This will help to keep it clean for an extended period.
If this is not enough or if there are some tough stains on the carpet, you can opt for professional cleaning services that have all the tools needed to remove these types of contaminants from any type of floor covering, including carpets made out of wool.
Maintenance and Care
If you’re the owner of a braided rug and looking for ways on how to keep it in great condition, then here is some information that might be useful.
First thing’s first – make sure that your flooring options are not at risk of fading because this can happen if rugs get exposed to direct sunlight every day (which applies especially when talking about natural fiber wool area rugs).
In order to prevent such things from happening, one should rotate a braided rug once per season or more often depending on individual preferences as well as the overall quality of material used during its construction. This means that rotating it will result in different sides being displayed although still maintaining the original look over time since these won’t fade away after a few months as non-braided rugs would.
In order to get rid of dust, you need to vacuum through an upholstery attachment once per month, which should be enough for keeping all the grime away from your flooring options.
Braided rugs can be easily taken care of and maintained by regularly vacuuming them using an upholstery attachment once per month, which will remove dust from your flooring.
Takeaways
- The first thing to do is take a picture of the rug. This way, you can check out what it looked like before and after if there are any changes in your end result.
- It’s important to use a different brush for each color that’s used on the rug. Some people even recommend using three brushes or more, one for each primary color plus black or brown.
- Most brands will have instructions listed somewhere along with their product, so make sure you read those as well as they may differ from our methods here. In addition, some rugs come untreated, while others need special treatment before cleaning them, which includes being dry cleaned by professionals only.
- Also, another tip: If possible, always clean wool carpets inside out – this minimizes the amount of wear and tear on your rug.