Mistakes Rug Owners Make

Most area rugs aren't lost to stains or accidents. They wear out slowly from two common maintenance mistakes, and both are easy to avoid. In this short video, the rug care specialists at One World Rug Care in Albuquerque explain what those mistakes are and how to keep your rugs looking great for as long as possible.

Three Factors That Determine How Long Your Rug Lasts

Three things affect how often your rug needs cleaning and how long it will last.

1. Where the Rug Is Placed

The first factor is how much activity and soil the rug sees. Most rugs sit in high-traffic parts of the home, such as entryways, hallways, living rooms and dining rooms, where there is a lot of foot traffic and dirt. In Albuquerque and across the high desert, fine dust and grit blow in on windy days and get tracked in on shoes. That adds up faster than most people expect.

2. The Quality of the Rug's Materials

The second factor is the quality of the materials used to make the rug. Many modern rugs are chemically washed to soften the face yarns and give the wool extra shine. Unfortunately, that process also damages the wool and can shorten the life of the rug.

3. How Well the Rug Is Maintained

You may not be able to do much about the first two factors, but the third is completely in your control: does the rug get proper vacuuming and maintenance on a frequent, consistent basis?

The Two Mistakes Most Rug Owners Make

When it comes to caring for their rugs, most owners make one of two mistakes:

• They don't vacuum their rugs often enough.
• They vacuum their rugs the wrong way.

The best way to think about vacuuming is as dusting your rug. To see why, it helps to understand how rugs actually wear out.

How Dirt Wears Out a Rug

Dust settles on your rugs the same way it settles on your furniture, floors and countertops. On top of that, abrasive dirt and sand are tracked onto your rugs by foot traffic. That dirt starts at the very tips of the face yarns. Over time it works its way down to the base of the yarns and finally into the foundation of the rug.

This dirt is abrasive. With continued foot traffic and the full weight of people walking across the rug, the grit cuts and wears the fibers. This is the reason most rugs are lost. They simply wear out until there are no fibers left, no design, and nothing soft to walk on.

How to Prevent Wear: Break the Cycle

Preventing this damage is fairly easy. All you need to do is break the cycle. If dirt lands on the face yarns but gets vacuumed or dusted off before it can work its way down, it never reaches the foundation, and the abrasive wear never starts.

The best way to prevent wear in your rugs is to dust them frequently. Our video on how to vacuum your rugs shows the right way to do it.

Why Surface Cleaning Isn't Enough

Once dirt is embedded in the foundation, it's almost impossible to remove without a thorough washing. That's why it's never a good idea to surface clean a rug the way a carpet cleaner would. Surface cleaning cleans the face yarns but does nothing to remove the damaging dirt in the foundation. You can learn more in our video on carpet cleaners and rugs.

If it's been two years or more since your rugs were professionally washed, vacuuming alone won't get you ahead of the cycle. There is probably already embedded dirt in the foundation that a vacuum can't reach.

How One World Rug Care Removes Deep Dirt

At One World Rug Care, every rug is inspected before cleaning. We then remove deep, dry soil, grit and pet hair before the rug is ever washed. After that, each rug is washed individually with clean, cool water and green cleaning solutions, and dried in our climate-controlled drying room. A thorough washing removes the dirt in the foundation. Frequent dusting at home then helps keep it from coming back. See our rug cleaning process.

How Often Should You Clean Your Rugs?

We recommend:

• Professional washing every two to three years, depending on how much traffic the rug gets.
• Vacuuming or dusting as often as you can, ideally weekly in busy areas of the home.

For more detail, watch our video on how often you should clean your rugs.

Area Rug Care in Albuquerque and Northern New Mexico

One World Rug Care is an IICRC Certified Firm and a member of the Association of Rug Care Specialists, with over 100 years of combined experience caring for area rugs, Oriental rugs and Chimayó weavings. We offer free pick-up and delivery in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, Placitas, Santa Fe, Taos and Farmington, as well as Durango and Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

If you have questions about caring for your rugs, or it's been a while since they've had a thorough washing, call us at (505) 821-0302 or request a free estimate. You can even send us a photo of your rug from your phone.