It’s inevitable that spills and marks will happen, particularly if your carpets are in a home environment. While they recommend using a professional carpet cleaning company to keep your carpets clean, here a few tips from Rugs Original on
Persian & Oriental Carpet Care
As Persian & Oriental carpets are woolen and/or cotton, the following tips are suggested:
For solid messes (food items): Take a spoon or butter knife and remove as much of the spilled item from the carpet, being careful to move in the direction of the carpet’s pile.
For liquids: Take some kitchen towel or tissues, and dab softly in the area of the spill. Continue this process to the point where you can see that all the moisture has been absorbed.
Cleaning a spot: If you need to clean a particular spot, then spot clean using water and Woolite (available from any major grocery retailer). Pour the Woolite into cold water and create foam. Using the foam, gently dab in the direction of the carpet’s pile. Once dry, fluff the carpet by hand to remove any flattening of the fibres.
Professional cleaning is mandatory for Persian and Oriental carpets.
Machine Made Carpets
When dealing with stains on Machine Made carpets, refer to the table below for cleaning solutions.
A. Water: Dab off the stain as far as possible with a clean white kitchen cloth. Then treat the stain with a damp cloth and dab it off again, until no further dirt adheres to the cloth.
B. Soap powder solution: (1 tablespoon soap powder to 1/4 l water) Dab off the stain as far as possible with a clean white kitchen cloth. Then treat the stain with a cloth soaked in soap suds and then dab it off again, until no further dirt adheres to the cloth. Important: Only repeat dabbing with clean water and remove soap residues with a clean cloth.
C. Thinner: Dab/rub the with a cloth soaked in thinner. Repeat until no more dirt is visible on the cloth. Important: Never apply care products directly to the stain!
D. Dry cleaning solvent: Dab/rub the stain with a cloth soaked in dry clean solvent. Repeat until no more dirt is visible on the cloth. Important: Never apply care products directly to the stain!
E. Acetone: Dab/rub the stain with a cloth soaked in acetone. Repeat until no more dirt is visible on the cloth. Important: Never apply care products directly to the stain!
General Carpet Care Tips:
NEVER rub a carpet to try and clean it. This often results in more damage being done. Rather always dab.
Always use a white kitchen towel to conduct a colour test. Take the white towel, and run the towel from left to right. Take a look at your white towel, and if there is no colour transfer, then continue with gentle cleaning. If colour transfer occurs, contact a profession to clean your carpet.
When cleaning your carpets, always remember to ensure that you clean in the direction of the carpet pile. Do not make circular movements, as this will lead to damage on the carpet.
Do not brush the fringes of your carpet.
When vacuuming your rug, do not use the brush attachment.
