How to Clean a Rug at Home – Wool, Silk, Hand-Knotted and Machine-Made

Wool is sturdy and naturally stain-resistant, so a hand-knotted wool rug needs less than you might think: gentle vacuuming, quick first aid for spills, a light clean now and then and a professional wash every few years.

• Vacuum every one to two weeks with a light canister vacuum, suction only (no beater bar), running it side to side across the rug. Keep the fringes out of the nozzle, and vacuum the back every month or two, half the rug at a time.
• Treat a spill at once: scrape the liquid up with a spoon, cover the spot with dish-soap foam, soak it up with a white cotton towel, dab it dry with a second one and brush the pile back the way it lies.
• Now and then, freshen the surface: wipe it section by section with a white cotton towel dipped in water with a little bleach-free dish soap, moving with the pile. The pile should only get damp; it dries in 30 to 60 minutes.
• If the fringes are dirty, lay them over a wooden stick and brush the same mixture in, from the rug out to the tips; let them dry on the stick.
• Have it professionally washed about every five years: every three or four in a hallway or entrance, less often in a quiet room where it stays clean.