How to Clean an Oriental Rug

It's imperative to have your oriental rugs cleaned, either professionally or by you, to preserve their quality, beauty and value. How often you clean your oriental rug depends on how dirty it is. To determine this, take your hand and powerfully rub the rug's pile for about ten seconds. Your rug needs cleaning if your hand is covered in dirt.

Vacuum
Rug beater
Mild rug shampoo
Soft, long-bristled brush
Garden hose
Rubber window squeegee

Instructions

- 1
  Vacuum your rug on both sides while still in its original location. Then hang your rug and beat out any remaining dirt and dust.
- 2
  Move your oriental rug to a clean, flat space for washing. A garage floor, clean driveway or patio work well.
- 3
  Wet down your rug with cool water, then test a small area for color run with an extremely mild rug shampoo. If colors don't run, shampoo your entire rug, front and back, using a soft, long-bristled brush.
- 4
  Brush shampoo in softly with the grain of the rug pile. Make sure you completely wet the nap with your soapy water.
- 5
  Clean your rug's fringes. Using a soft brush and your soapy water, lightly brush your fringe away from the rug. Repeat until clean.
- 6
  Rinse your oriental rug with a hose running cool water. Make sure you completely rinse out all shampoo from the front, back and fringes.
- 7
  Remove standing water from your rug using a clean rubber window squeegee. Run the squeegee along the rug's grain until you've removed all excess water. Lay flat to dry.

How to Make a Rag Rug

How to Clean a Shag Rug

Rugs