Can Area Rugs Be Steam Cleaned?
- Renaissance
- Apr 22, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 23
No matter how careful you are, every rug eventually needs a thorough cleaning. But not all cleaning methods are created equal—and choosing the right one can make all the difference between preserving your rug and damaging it.
Many rug owners turn to their local carpet cleaner by default. The problem? Carpet cleaning is designed for wall-to-wall carpets, not delicate handwoven textiles. Most carpet cleaners rely on a single method and naturally recommend what they know, not necessarily what's best for your rug. It’s the classic case of, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
Can I Use a Carpet Cleaner on a Wool Rug?
It’s a common question—and an important one. Most people are familiar with carpet cleaning machines that use hot water extraction, often referred to as steam cleaning. These machines spray hot water into the carpet and immediately vacuum it out, pulling soil and moisture with it. This method works well for in-home, wall-to-wall carpeting, especially since most of those carpets are made from synthetic fibers designed for this type of cleaning.
But wool or silk Oriental rugs are a different story.
High heat, strong detergents, aggressive suction, or excessive moisture can damage these natural fiber rugs. Using a carpet cleaner on a wool rug can lead to dye bleeding, color loss, fiber distortion, shrinkage, and residue buildup. What’s ideal for synthetic carpet can be downright harmful to a handwoven rug.
Bottom line: Carpet cleaning machines are great for synthetic wall-to-wall carpet, not for your treasured wool or silk Oriental rugs. For those, you need a specialized in-plant rug cleaning service that understands the materials and craftsmanship involved.
Can I Clean My Oriental Rug at Home?
It’s tempting to think your Oriental rug can be cleaned the same way as your wall-to-wall carpet—but the truth is that rugs are not meant to be cleaned this way. Can you hand-wash a rug at home? Yes, but there are important things to consider.
Handwoven Oriental rugs and many machine-made rugs are made of wool, silk, or plant fibers. These natural fibers are highly absorbent and hold water, retaining moisture for a longer period, and can be difficult to dry in a home setting. Water can more than triple its weight. The result?
Slow or stalled drying, which can lead to:
Soil wicking back to the surface
Dye bleeding or color migration
Amplifying stains and odors
Mold and mildew growth within the rug
In short, while it may be possible to clean your rug at home, particularly smaller rugs, the difficulty increases with size, and the risks may outweigh the rewards. True cleaning and preservation of your Oriental rug require a professional, in-plant cleaning process designed for natural fibers and handwoven textiles.
Oriental Rug & Area Rug Cleaning
Not only do natural fibers like wool and silk absorb much more mosture, they also absorb and hold much more soil than synthetic fibers. An added benefit to owning an Oriental rug is that they hide soils more effectively while still looking good, much more than synthetic fibers.
In a properly run wash plant,, washing start with dry soil removal, the removal of insoluble soils.
Consider this pic of dry soil removal from the rug in the foreground before washing. These soils cannot be washed from a rug If not removed, it results in unsatisfactory rug cleaning.
The machine used to remove this soil is the size of a car, weighing two thousand pounds; this equipment is not portable, and this type of soil removal can't be done in your home with ordinary vacuuming.
Are traditional rug cleaning methods eco-friendly?
Oriental rug washing is a deep cleaning service where rugs are soaked and washed on a wash floor with mild detergents and a generous amount of water. Overall, the process is eco-friendly, utilizing modern biodegradable detergents.
Rug Drying
A proper rug washing company has specialized tools to remove all that water fast. Our centrifuge removes 95% of excess water from a wet rug in under 2 minutes. This isn't a portable machine; it weighs fifteen hundred pounds and runs on industrial three-phase power. This kind of rug cleaning service can't be accomplished in your home. Area rugs dry completely in hours, not days.
Find professional rug cleaning facilities in your area.
- Look for a rug cleaner that is trained and certified in rug cleaning processes
- Call around and ask for references from trusted rug retailers.
- Visit their wash plant and take a tour
- Visit ARCS (Association of Rug Care Specialists), a trade association for rug cleaners
If it doesn't feel right, walk. Rug cleaning shouldn't be a secret or a big mystery; you should know what will be done to your rug, where it will be done, and how much it will cost before work begins.
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