At Hill’s Interiors, we know that regular care and maintenance of your area rugs is the best way to ensure that they retain their beauty in the long term. Even if you don’t have a lot of spare time, there are some quick and easy tasks you can perform that will do wonders to protect the looks and longevity of your area rug. For instance, simple preventative maintenance will go a long way to keep your rug looking as good as new for years to come.
A great way to start is by making sure that your family and guests remove their outdoor shoes before walking across your rugs. This will minimize the amount of dirt that accumulates within the fibers. As dirt is ground down by foot traffic, the gritty particles can damage rug fibers. Therefore, less dirt means less damage.
For most rugs, a daily to weekly vacuuming with a manufacturer-approved appliance is all you need to keep them feeling and looking fresh. If your rug is in an area with light to medium foot traffic, a twice-weekly vacuuming will suffice. However, for rugs in heavy-traffic areas, we recommend a quick daily vacuuming. Other preventative maintenance measures include placing carpet protectors under furniture legs, reducing a rug’s exposure to direct sunlight, and limiting the amount of movement of heavy furniture. For vacuum cleaning tips for our area rugs from Shaw Floors, visit this website: https://shawfloors.com/flooring/how-to/rugs/care-maintenance/bound-rug-care-and-maintenance
For shag area rugs, it’s very important to protect the long, cable-like yarns when vacuuming. Not only can these long yarns wrap around your vacuum’s beater bar (also known as a rotator brush) but the brush itself can damage your rug’s fibers. To prevent such damage consult your vacuum manual before cleaning to learn how to disconnect the beater bar. Once it’s disconnected, set your vacuum to the lowest height setting, which provides the best suction. You may also want to consider buying a carpet rake to loosen any ground-in soil before vacuuming.
Professional Cleaning
We also recommend that you arrange for a professional rug cleaning using the hot water extraction method at least once per year. Alternatively, you can opt shampoo your area rugs yourself. Just be sure to follow your rug manufacturer’s cleaning guidelines to ensure maximum effectiveness and a beautiful end result. Never dry clean your area rugs or use bleach on them. Consider making periodic cleaning of your area rug a part of your annual spring cleaning routine.
Stain Removal
No matter how careful you are and how much you stick to your care and maintenance routine, your area rug will still most likely fall victim to the occasional spill, especially if you have kids or pets. Many of the area rugs we carry feature fibers with built-in stain-resistant technology such as Shaw Floors R2X Stain and Soil Protection. This makes cleaning common household stains a cinch! Watch how the R2X technology repels stains and soils in carpets and area rugs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To0x5kBqP80&feature=youtu.be
Your first instinct when it comes to common household spills or stains from juice, soda, wine, blood or pet accidents may be to immediately start cleaning up the mess. However, we recommend that you first establish whether it’s an oil-based stain or a water-based stain, then consult our common stain removal guides. Some messes will just wipe away with a cleaning cloth and others will require comprehensive stain removal directions, it’s best to consult our common stain removal guide to see how best to tackle each particular mess. (https://shawfloors.com/flooring/how-to/carpet/carpet-care-maintenance/order-r2x-carpet-stain-soli-remover)
Before purchasing your new area rug, speak with one of Hill’s Interiors’ flooring representatives about Shaw R2X Stain and Soil Carpet Remover, which boasts the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval among other certificates and seals of approval. We sell this product at our store location in Belle Fourche.
