Clients often ask their Professional Rug Cleaners whether a rug can be cleaned in-home or if it requires a deeper cleaning off-site. Before contacting the pros, ask yourself these seven questions and Ensure the best Cleanig for your area rug.
Area Rugs Require Periodic Care from Professional Rug Cleaners.
Area rugs are an important element of good residential design. They provide comfort under foot and pull a room together with color, texture and style. Rugs also get a lot of everyday use and abuse, including regular foot traffic, tracked-in soil and grit and the occasional slosh, spot or spill. As any professional rug cleaner will tell you, those conditions can damage and shorten the life of any rug.
Whether we’re talking about a vintage oriental rug or a contemporary shag or an oushak, there are a range of effective maintenance strategies to ensure your textile stands the test of time. As a homeowner, you can employ some of these strategies yourself. You can perform weekly vacuuming and take immediate action when spills and spots occur. However, sometimes a rug requires professional care.
Yes, Professional Rug Cleaners Can Clean Some Rugs In-Home.
So how do you know when to have your rug cleaned at home and when it needs a deeper cleaning off-site? If you provide key information about your rug, the pros will be able to advise you which service suits your rug’s needs. Not sure what we mean by “in-home” versus “off-site” cleaning? Let’s begin with a comparison of the cleaning protocols used for these very different services.
Professional rug cleaners may clean your rug at your residence, if conditions allow. This sort of care is often called a “maintenance cleaning.” Maintenance cleanings are great for removing surface-level soil and light spotting. The pros have commercial-grade vacuum cleaners and industry-approved hot water extraction equipment. These professional tools give cleaning technicians an advantage when performing a light cleaning.
If a rug has issues that have penetrated deep into the fibers, possibly through to the backing, that is not something a surface cleaning can address. This is because the in-home tools are not designed to flush out contaminants. Even if they were, such saturation would do damage a clients’ floors and is really only possible in an off-site location like a fully equipped Rug Plant.
How is Rug Plant Cleaning Different from “In-Home” Service?
An in-plant cleaning is the ideal option for deep soil removal. It allows professional rug cleaners to tackle discoloration due to stubborn spots. It can also address food, soil, and pet mess issues. A rug plant’s multi-step protocols allow for a comprehensive dusting of area rugs and pre-treatments for everything from dirt to pet accidents.
Rug Plant technicians use effective organic detergents and immersive rinsing techniques. They have access to high-powered drying equipment, they will perform a post-grooming to lift the fibers of a newly cleaned rug, and, when the client requests it, they can apply a professional grade stain protection after the rug is clean and dry.
Which Cleaning is Right for You?
So when do you opt for an in-home cleaning and when do you plan for a Rug Plant service ? The following questions will help you determine what cleaning choice is the best for your rug.
1) How long has it been since your last professional Rug cleaning?
If your rug has been working hard for you for a year or two, it is likely time for a deep cleaning in a Rug Plant. If you are unsure whether to plan for an in-home or off-site service, ask a trusted local cleaning company. The most important thing, for the sake of longevity and lasting beauty, is to get that rug cleaned.
2) How much traffic does your rug see in a given week?
Some households are more active than others, with lots of pets and people coming in and out all day, every day. The rugs in those homes generally need a deeper cleaning on a regular basis.
The placement of a rug is also a good indicator of its cleaning needs. Rugs placed in guest rooms (or secondary rooms like offices) can wait longer intervals between cleaning than one used in a busy living room or at the front door, where shoes regularly track in dirt, grit and other contaminants.
3) Does your rug have an unpleasant odor?
There are many reasons a rug may have a bad smell. Sometimes it is due to moisture left too long in the fibers, sometimes it is due to tobacco smoke. Or maybe the rug is your pet’s favorite place to sleep or to ‘peep.’
Whatever the reason, a surface cleaning of that rug is not likely to remove the stink. This is a job for a rug plant specialists who can access commercial grade cleaning equipment in a controlled environment.
4) Has your Pet Left behind Contaminants on your rug?
By contamination, we mean urine, feces or vomit. These substances require a professional rug cleaner to perform a thorough cleaning off-site, especially if you are hoping to keep your pet from re-marking the rug.
A rug plant team has a fighting chance to remove the worst of the contamination, restoring a fresh smell and a cleaner appearance to your rug. Keep in mind, even if the pros can remove the smell of urine from a textile, they may not be able to remove the pet stain completely. The longer those spots sit, the more likely they will become permanent.
5) What is your rug made of?
Some rug fibers are more fussy than others. High-dollar rugs often originate in the Middle East, in China, Turkey or India. These imported textiles require expert cleaning. Antique and family heirloom rugs also merit special care.
A surface cleaning, in-home, may work with rugs like these, but more often than not, a rug’s fiber type and origin will dictate an in-plant cleaning.
A professional rug cleaner can offer helpful information about cleaning options. They may ask you to send in pictures of your rug, both wide-angle shots and close-ups, especially of concern areas. A picture of the tag showing the description of the fiber make up is particularly helpful.
6) Is there any sign of insect damage or mildew?
Sometimes it takes a professional inspection to detect parasitic or bacterial contamination. You may be able to identify old moth damage on your wool rug but may not know whether the larval colony is still active. You may smell that musty odor but not recognize the small clusters of black dots that signify mildew spread.
In either case, there are very specific protocols that address these urgent issues. Let the experts explain what their cleaning efforts may and may not be able to accomplish.
7) Do you have a “problem rug”?
Not every rug responds to cleaning. If you have an oops on a grass rug, like a sisal or a jute, the spot is often permanent. It is the unfortunate truth that sisal and other plant-based rugs respond to liquid by releasing oils that cause lasting discoloration.
Viscose is another problem fiber that suffers lasting damage from spilled liquids. While a professional cleaner may achieve a slight lightening of the spot, the efforts used to get that result may cause other kinds of damage.
If you love sisal or viscose, your best bet is to get your rug protected up front and respond to any spills or spots immediately by blotting with a clean, white cloth. Never put cleaning solutions on a rug before speaking with the pros.
It’s time to schedule your rug cleaning!
When it comes to residential rug care, there are usually two household scenarios. Some rugs get light use in areas or rooms with modest foot traffic. These rugs are rarely exposed to pets and children. They aren’t the center of attention during family gatherings and hanging out with friends.
Other rugs experience heavy wear and tear. These rugs are placed in home entries, kitchens, baths and family rooms. They often catch food and beverage splatters, children’s crafting accidents, even the occasional puppy piddle.
The good news is, there is a professional cleaning option for each scenario. And now you have the information to choose which is best for your rug.
For more information about Rug Care, go to the Pro-Care website or follow these links to know what the Pros know!