Oriental Rug Blog

Advise Me Mr. Grillo About Vacuum Cleaning My Oriental Rug

  

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Direct contact soils like sand and clay and other abrasive solids get tracked into the home on peoples’ shoes and sneakers. These “direct contact” soils are very abrasive and cut at the fibers of your rug, wearing away at them to reduce the rugs’ life. By giving your rugs a thorough vacuuming about once a week, you will remove most of this gritty soil, delaying the need for shampooing and prolonging the life of your rug. Eventually though some grit will work itself deep into the pile to the base of the knot and professional cleaning will be needed.

Now let’s talk about equipment. For the best cleaning job get yourself a vacuum cleaner with a motor driven brush and beater bar. The combined action of vibration and suction makes this the best type. By contrast a suction only type cleaner or canister type without a brush or beater bar only removes surface litter without loosening the embedded dirt. The same is true of a floor sweeper or electric broom. They are useful for quick touch ups, say after a family gathering. You do not need to buy the most expensive vacuum to get the best cleaning effect. Consumer Guide Reports is a useful guide for identifying a quality tested vacuum and saving money. Be sure to replace the brushes before they become too worn, also if you empty the vacuum cleaner bag when it is only half full the vacuum will operate more effectively.

As for vacuuming method, push and pull the vacuum in slow even strokes to allow it to pick up the embedded soil. In well trafficked areas, at least five strokes are need for a thorough vacuuming. Make all your final sweeps in the same direction ( the one with the least resistance ) to align the tufts laying flat. Do not suck up the fringes when you near the end of the rug as they can be torn or damaged. In fact, at the very end of the rug you should run the vacuum across the width thereby avoiding the fringes altogether. You can hand brush the fringes themselves.

A safe way to remove embedded soil from small rugs is to vacuum them from the back with your brush and beater bar vacuum cleaner. Once you have vacuumed the back you will want to remove the soil deposited on the floor; then give the face of the rug a good, thorough vacuuming. You will be amazed at how much dirt can be removed this way especially from hallway and front door rugs.

Learn more about Boston's favorite Oriental Rug store, Grillo Oriental Rug Gallery & Care.