Your rugs should be washed every 1 to 3 years, here’s why…
Wool hides dirt really well and this is because of the way the fibers are made. On the surface of the fibers are these little ridges, almost like scales on a fish. Each one of these scales provides a place for dirt to hide. In one way that’s good, because even if your rug has some dirt in it, it won’t look dirty. Wool is excellent at hiding dirt and that’s one of the reasons it’s such a perfect material for rugs. The problem occurs when people that own rugs wait until their rugs look dirty before they bring them in for a good cleaning.
By the time a wool rug looks dirty, it can have almost unbelievable amounts of abrasive dirt in it, and that leads to damage to the fibers of the rug. Once this damage occurs it can’t be undone. As more and more dirt penetrate the fibers it leads to a loss of color and vibrancy. Making the rug look dull and lifeless. This process happens gradually so many times people don’t notice.
Proper washing removes the abrasive dirt and restores the shine that natural wool has. That’s why most rugs should be washed every 1 to 3 years depending on how good the wool is, how much traffic the rug gets, and whether, or not the rug is properly vacuumed. If it’s been too long since your rug’s last bath get your rugs cleaned to restore the beauty your rug was meant to have.
This article was written in collaboration with Lisa Wagner “The Rug Chick” and Mark Kennedy.
