cleaning braided rugs

just bought a house with all contents included... There was 3 large braided rugs in excellent condition, but they need cleaned.... any tips?

 

Sponge and brush the surface with a mild ammonia and water solution. There are commercial rug shampoos available. If these are used, be sure to sponge with plain water to rinse. Any soap residue will attract dirt and cause rapid resoiling. Place rug on vinyl or concrete floor or place on top of plastic tarp when cleaning. Do not clean on top of wood floors.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.... the rugs do sit on hard wood floors, so i would have not thought of putting something under the rugs before i attempted to clean them..... do you think a carpet steam cleaner would hurt them? They are at least 40 years old, but in excellent condition, I'm just afraid of damaging them..... If you please give me some feed back.... Thanks

 

Braided rugs can be constructed of wool fabric or yarn. They can be constructed of other fibers like olefin. You will need to determine how the rug is constructed. The rug may be constructed of individual lengths of braid or a continuous braid. These are often stitched together. Check to see that there are no breaks in stitching. Restitch if necessary. Braids should have a core. This may be made of paper or other material that when wet can bleed to the surface. Low quality rugs may have paper, foam or other material used for the core. Check to see if the braid has a core of paper or other material that may be damaged by water. Test for color fastness by blotting with water and white rag. Some colors are more prone to bleeding than others, such as red.

Steam cleaning is safe if dyes are stable. Dry cleaning is best for unstable dyes. Older and more delicate rugs are best hand shampooed. If rug is 40 years old, chances are that it is wool. Sponging with mild cleaner like Woolite (2 capsful) in a bucket of cool water and whipped until suds form works well on wool. Spread suds only on rug. Wipe gently to remove soil. You want to avoid saturating the rug. Wipe away excess suds immediately with damp sponge.

If in doubt, contact a professional cleaner.

 

You first need to determine what material you are dealing with. If it is wool..this can be done pretty easily. Take a pair of scissors and clip a small fiber off of a corner. Take it place it in bleach..if its wool..it should dissolve.

You need special cleaners for wool rugs. Wool can yellow or be damaged by alkaline cleaners. Wool is best cleaned with a mid ranger pH cleaner..followed with a rinse of a mildly acidic pH cleaner. This will leave the rug mildly acidic, which is GOOD for wool. AS indicated test any cleaner first for dye transfer.

The best rule of thumb is take the cleaner at full strength apply to a white rag and blot the different colors and areas of the rug..if no transfer is present..you should be good to go at the reccomended dilution levels. If there is transfer dilute it to the levels and try again. If still transfer..the rug should be dry cleaned by a professional or hand spotted. Red, blues and black dyes will be more prone to transfer.

If you choose to wet clean (extract) the rug hand towel it afterwards to dry it as quick as possible. Take the rug and lay it sideways overa railing or table..place something under the rug when doing so..old table cloths work well here. When wet cleaning...vaccum first..wool can hold more soil than any other material out there. Apply your cleaner and sponge or with a soft brush work it in. Let it sit 10-15 mins. Then extract wool is usually safe to extract with up to 140 degrees unless there is dye transfer than dry cleaning or hand cleaning is best.. Make plenty of dry passes. When done hang as suggested use a dehumidifer in the room and place a fan in there...dont aim the fan directly at the rug..but place it in the room to circulate the air.

I would suggest doing a search on the net for the best wool rug cleaners. Remember wool is pH sensitive...you need to make sure when done it stays acidic. After extraction brush the rug in the direction of the fibers and lay them down.

If you use a DIY machine..use the hand attachment not the main part and work in small areas.