How to clean an area rug without water

Your beautiful area rug illuminates the space in which you put it, and your room looks perfect with that beautiful and elegant piece of decor in it. However, everyday life wear and tear, high foot traffic, dirt and dust around, your pet's antics, wine, Kool-Aid, soda, or even soup spilling might start to show up in it. You must act quickly, so do not let stains rest and become part of the fabric. What should you do? send it to a Carpet Laundry or Carpet Cleaning Service. Clean it at home? Should you use water?

The answer to this and many more questions regarding the hygiene and health of your rug will be answered in this article. If you would like to find out how to clean a rug at home without using any water, then this is the post for you. Keep reading, and you may find out some secrets about rug cleaning. 

When you own a rug, cleaning it regularly is more than necessary, To maintain your rug in its best shape. This is because cleaning your rug can decrease the amount of dust and dirt in your home, rendering it more habitable and allergy sufferers friendly. 

Cleaning a rug also prevents it from getting irreversibly dirty or stained. As Daniela Gorny said for the New York Times , “Some stains will be more stubborn than others, but the sooner you tackle them, the better your chances are of removing them.” so If you have pets, spills, or stains on your area rug , then it's time to take care of the problem before it gets out of hand and frustrates you. 

How to clean your rug

Before you begin to clean your area rug, you should always take the time to determine what type of cleaning method is best for your type of rug . And by this, we mean finding a rug cleaner method or the DIY method. 

Cleaning area rugs using the first method is much simpler. You can just drive your dirty rug to a professional rug cleaning company, and they will take care of the stains and the dirt and hand it back to you as new. The only difficulty of this method is paying the bill afterward. You will find over the course of the months and years you do this, that rug maintenance can become extremely expensive if you don’t take the reins of the situation.

The second method involves a little more effort, but as you gain experience in the cleaning process, you will find that it turns out to be an automatic operation. You will start noticing how cleaning your rugs at home might be a better option in the long run. As T. Lacoma said for FamilyHandyman , “Fortunately, you don’t need to hire a professional to fully clean your rug! You just need the right tools, cleaner, and approach.“

How to clean a rug at home

If you would like to clean a rug at home, you should always be careful. As Gorny from the New York Times said “Washing an entire rug at home will always carry a risk.” However, with the right products and enough care, your rug should be fine and ready to be put over your floors again in no time. 

Keep in mind that the sharpness of the cleaning you will do depends essentially on the type of dirt you want to deal with. 

1. If it is an old stain, you may have to use high-impact products. Only in this case, it is recommended that you go to a professional because it can be dangerous for the carpet and also for you. 
2. If it is recent dirt, such as a dirty shoe that has stepped on the carpet or your dog that has filled it with dirt or has pooped on it, you may clean it with a thorough washing.
3. If, on the other hand, it's a fresh stain, a spill of wine, soda, or some colorful liquid, you may be able to clean it without water, and in this article, we'll show you how. 

How to clean a rug without water? 

Water is a great material to do thorough cleanings, but there might be some situations in which it is not necessary or even wanted. There are several reasons why you might not want to use water to clean your rug.

As Nacy Adams mentioned for carpet and rug world , a blog on rug maintenance, “Waterworks horribly with mud (...) using water to clean (ta rug) is only going to make it worse. Another reason (...) is because of the time they take to dry afterward. You’ll probably not have the time to wait (...)” 

Trying to clean an area rug without water might seem to be a difficult task, but it is way easier than it seems. There are a few steps you can follow in order to clean a rug without using water: 

1. Use a broom and/or a brush to sweep the dirt out of the carpet and agitate the small particles that might be clinging to your rug’s fabric. This step saves a lot of time since it allows you to “open the pores” of the rug and allow for easier and better cleaning. 
2. Vacuum your rug to catch all the dirt you have loosened up with the brush. Be aware of the fact your vacuum cleaner should be safe for your rug TomsGuide put up a list of the best vacuum cleaners depending on your needs.
3. An all-purpose cleaner can help you in this third step, you should spray some over the fabric and wait for the magic to happen. Remember to use a product that works without water. If you don’t have cleaning products at home, you can sprinkle some baking soda over the stains, so it will absorb their oils and odors. 
4. Finally, vacuum the carpet once more, so the baking soda will go away, as well as all the stains it once had.

This 4-step process is the general procedure to get rid of dirt and stains on your carpet. 

How often should I clean my area rug?

This is a question that comes up many times, especially around the holidays when people move into a new home. The answer can be different depending on what type of rug you have, how much traffic your rug receives, and its overall condition. For example, you should clean a wool rug less often than a synthetic rug because they repel dust mites and odor much better. 

Another factor that determines how often you should clean your area rug is whether or not it's outdoor or indoor. You should clean outdoor rugs more frequently, and also give them constant attention because construction, weather conditions, insects, and guests, all put stains on the surface of the carpeting.

Keep your rug healthy

Now that we are talking about rug cleaning and maintenance, it is important for you to know that rugs should be cleaned regularly, but that they should also be well-maintained. Cleaning a rug thoroughly too often can lead to damage to the rug and compromise its lifespan, especially if you have a luxury rug. If you have to clean oriental rugs   or clean Persian rugs ,  you should give them good care. That is why we recommend you do two things: 

First, do smart cleaning on your rug, that is to say, always try to buy products that will not damage the fabric of your carpet. Eco-friendly products tend to be better for your rug’s health. 

Second, try to always purchase and have high-quality area rugs, for they will resist cleaning without any signs of wear and tear for a longer span of time than other rugs of dubious origin.

Where to find the best quality area rugs for your home? 

You might already know the answer to this question, but we love to say it. Here at Magic Rugs, we take pride in offering the highest quality area rugs on the market. You will find not only astonishingly beautiful decor pieces, to be the center of attention in your rooms, but you will also find trustworthy quality rugs. These rugs have many years of lifespan, and durable materials of high endurance, to withstand the highest foot traffic and very thorough cleanings, as well as protect your floors.