Can you steam clean a rug? How a rug is cleaned
A professional rug clean has the same few steps whichever method is used: look at the rug, take out dry dirt, test the dyes, wash, rinse and dry. WATERFALL's rug cleaning does the washing in your home with shampoo and steam extraction, and the prices page lists the price. WATERFALL cleans area rugs at your home for $89: call (747) 214-6199.
How do professionals wash an area rug?
In six steps, whichever method is used: inspect, take out dry soil, pre-treat, wash, rinse and extract, and dry.
WATERFALL washes rugs in your home: the rug lies on a drop cloth, an organic shampoo is worked in with a brush and steam extraction takes it out with the dirt. Ask any cleaner whether they inspect the rug and test the dyes first, how they dry it and what happens if a color runs.
- inspect: fiber, weave, backing, age, stains and damage, and whether the dyes hold
- take out dry soil by vacuuming or dusting both sides before any water
- pre-treat spots and heavy soil
- wash: in a workshop the whole rug may be immersed and rinsed; in a home it is shampooed and extracted where it lies
- rinse until the cleaner is out, and extract the water
- dry it flat with air moving, then groom the pile and straighten the fringe
Why do professionals dust a rug before washing it?
Because most of the dirt in a rug is dry grit, sand and hair deep in the pile, and it comes out far more easily while dry. Wet, it turns to mud that settles at the base of the pile and is hard to rinse out; left in, it works like sandpaper on the fibers each time the rug is walked on. Dusting also shows the cleaner weak spots, moth damage and old repairs before water goes on. A workshop dusts with a machine; at home, a slow vacuum of both sides does part of the job.
What types of rug cleaning are there?
Four are common: hot-water extraction on site, immersion washing in a workshop, bonnet cleaning and dry or low-moisture cleaning. They differ in how much water is used, how deep the clean goes and how long the rug takes to dry. The methods compared page sets out the four side by side.
Which rugs can be steam cleaned?
Most synthetic rugs, and many wool ones with care; jute and sisal take little water, and viscose rugs are the one kind WATERFALL does not clean. What is sold as steam cleaning is hot-water extraction: hot water and a cleaning solution go in and a strong vacuum pulls them out with the dirt, so the fiber and the dyes decide whether a rug can take it.
Should I steam clean my rug myself?
Only a sturdy synthetic rug, and only if you can dry it fast. A home machine leaves more water than a professional one, and the cost of too much water is a slow-drying, musty rug. For a delicate one, ask a professional first.
Can you use a carpet cleaner on a rug?
On a synthetic rug with a firm backing, yes, with the solution made for the machine. On wool, silk, viscose or a handmade rug, no: the strong detergent, the heat and the amount of water are the problem.
Do professional rug cleaners use the same method for every rug?
No: the method follows the rug. A cleaner looks at the fiber (wool, silk, cotton, jute, viscose, nylon, polypropylene), the construction (hand-knotted, tufted, woven, glued backing, fringe), whether the dyes hold, the age and condition and the kind of soil. A synthetic rug usually takes hot-water extraction, wool takes less heat and careful drying, and silk, viscose, jute and sisal need little or no water. We use the best non-toxic products, safe for kids and pets in every home, and WATERFALL cleans every rug material except viscose; tell us the fiber when you book.
What is immersion washing for rugs?
Immersion washing is washing the whole rug in water, in a workshop with a drain and drying room, the way a hand-knotted rug is cleaned when it is very dirty. It is thorough because the rug is rinsed through, and it needs space and drying time that a home does not have. WATERFALL cleans rugs at your home, with shampoo and steam extraction.
What is bonnet cleaning for rugs?
Bonnet cleaning is spinning an absorbent pad over the surface with a little cleaning solution, so the pad picks up the top layer of dirt. It is quick and leaves little water, and it cleans the surface only. It is not our method.
Can area rugs be dry cleaned?
Some can. For a rug, dry cleaning usually means a low-moisture method, a dry compound or encapsulation product worked in and vacuumed out, and not the solvent a garment cleaner uses. It suits rugs that water harms, such as viscose, jute and some silk, and a rug labeled dry clean only belongs with a cleaner who handles rugs that way. WATERFALL's method is shampoo and steam extraction, so for a rug labeled dry clean only, text the label to (747) 214-6199 and we confirm how we clean it.
Can professional cleaning damage a rug?
It can, if the rug is not checked first, and no cleaner can promise otherwise. Some rugs have dyes that run, fibers that are brittle or damage from before the cleaning, and a careful professional checks for them before any water goes on. Tell us about any spot, repair or fragile area when you book.
Questions and answers
Can you steam clean an area rug?
Yes, if the fiber and the dyes allow it. It is hot-water extraction: hot water and a cleaning solution go in and a strong vacuum pulls them out with the dirt.
Can you get rugs professionally cleaned?
Yes. WATERFALL cleans rugs at your home with shampoo and steam extraction.
What is area rug cleaning?
Removing dust, grit and soil from a rug with a method that suits its fiber and dyes: extraction on site, immersion washing in a workshop, or a low-moisture method. WATERFALL cleans on site.
What is rug dry cleaning?
A low-moisture method: a dry compound or an encapsulation product is worked into the pile and vacuumed out, with little or no water. WATERFALL uses shampoo and steam extraction instead.
Why do you test a rug before cleaning?
Because dyes can run, and the test shows it before the whole rug is wet. A rug that bleeds is cleaned another way or left alone.
Do you use the same cleaning product on every rug?
The same products, the best non-toxic products, safe for kids and pets, in every home. What changes from rug to rug is how much water, heat and scrubbing the fiber can take and how it is dried, so text a photo of the label to (747) 214-6199 before you book.
Does every area rug require the same equipment?
No. A machine-made rug and a hand-knotted rug need different water, heat and handling.
What happens during professional rug cleaning?
Inspect, take out dry soil, test the colors, wash, rinse, extract and dry. The dry soil comes out first because grit turns to mud when wet.
Prices and booking
More guides
- Area rug care: all guides
- Wool, Persian, Oriental and antique rugs — Wool is cleanable but needs gentle products and little heat; a Persian or antique rug needs a look at the dyes and the fringe first.
- In-home or pickup rug cleaning: which to choose — Where to get a rug cleaned: at home, at a rug plant or by yourself, what a plant does better, and how WATERFALL cleans rugs at your home.
- How to clean an area rug at home — A sturdy synthetic rug can be washed at home with mild soap, little water and fast drying; wool, silk and large rugs need a professional.
- How carpet cleaning methods work — Hot-water extraction, shampoo, dry, bonnet and encapsulation differ in how much water they use and how deep they clean; we use shampoo, then extraction.
Sources: IICRC (The cleaning and restoration industry's standards body, for how professionals clean fabrics and carpet.)