How To Clean Wool Carpets & Area Rugs

Wool rugs are special and unique. While it’s common for a lot of carpet and area rugs to be made up of cheap and forgettable materials, wool rugs come in an enormous array of hues and styles, ranging from single colors to intricate patterns.

If your home features one (or several) wool rugs, then you’ll need some advice on how to keep them looking wonderful. Whether you’re an apartment dweller or a homeowner who wants to DIY the process, or even a professional cleaner looking for ways to improve your cleaning service, we’ve got you covered.

What is a Wool Rug?

A wool rug or carpet is a woven floor covering that’s made out of wool, which is a natural fiber that comes from animals. There are quite a lot of varieties of wool that may be used to make carpets and rugs, including:

• Merino wool
• Mohair 
• Melton wool
• Alpaca wool

The most common wool-producing animals are sheep. Sheep are plentiful, but wool can also be obtained from a variety of other animals, such as alpacas, llamas, goats, and even camels and yaks.

The wool in these rugs is typically washed, combed, dried, dyed, and woven onto a backing that’s usually made of jute, cotton, or rubber.

What Are the Challenges of Cleaning a Wool Rug?

Cleaning a wool rug isn’t always the easiest thing to do, and it’s definitely not identical to the process used to clean rugs made from less expensive or less natural substances.

• Wool is a natural fiber and needs to dry completely after wet washing. If it doesn’t dry, then your wool rug may end up with a mildewy odor.
• It’s not a good idea to assume that your ordinary detergent can be used on wool, so it’s important to double-check the bottle to make sure it won’t damage your rug.
• Never use bleach on a wool rug or carpet, because it may actually damage the fibers and ruin your rug.
• Wool rugs have a sort of natural, waxy coating that protects them, but leaving stains too long may make them permanent.

It’s essential to wrap your head around the potential challenges before you get out your cleaning products and start scrubbing away at your rug.

What Cleaning Products and Supplies Do I Need to Clean Wool Rugs?

Here’s a list of some of the cleaning products and supplies you may need to get your wool rugs and carpets clean.

You won’t need much in the way of supplies to remove stains and dirt from your favorite wool rug, as you can see.

How to Clean a Wool Area Rug

It’s not super challenging to clean a wool area rug, but you do need to follow these practical and easy-to-execute steps.

Step 1: Grab an ordinary broom or carpet beater and put it to good use removing excess dirt, dust, and pet hair from your wool area rug.

Step 2: Lay that rug back on the floor and vacuum it. Don’t be too rough when vacuuming, since vigorous vacuuming can disturb and even displace fibers from the rug.

Step 3: Fill up a bucket with clean, cool water, and add one or two tablespoons of wool-safe detergent—Woolite is an example—and stir gently to combine. You could also try our DIY carpet shampoo recipe.

Step 4: Start at one end of the area rug. Take a clean sponge (not your dish sponge!) and dip it in the bucket. Wring it out so it’s not dripping, and use it to gently go over the rug. Re-dip as needed and repeat the process until the entire rug has been cleaned.

Step 5: Use one or more clean towels to soak up as much of the moisture as possible.

Step 6: After you’ve gone over the entire rug, hang it up to dry. We don’t recommend leaving it on the floor, since it may stay wet and develop mildew.

It’s important not to make the water too soapy or to let the rug get too wet. If you have stubborn stains, use the method in the next section.

How to Spot Clean Wool Rugs and Carpets

You won’t need to clean your entire carpet or rug every time. If you’ve got some spilled milk or juice to clean up thanks to your kids, or you’ve noticed grime in a high-traffic area, you can use this spot-cleaning technique to get rid of those stains.

Step 1: Sweep, shake, and vacuum the rug or carpet as outlined in the previous section.

Step 2: Use a wool-safe stain remover and apply it to the impacted places on your wool rug or carpet.

Step 4: Use a clean, damp sponge to dab away at the affected area. You should see the stain remover start to do some good. As the stain lifts, use another clean sponge or cloth dipped in clean water to absorb moisture.

Step 5: After you’ve removed all the stains, hang your area rug up to dry. If you’re cleaning wall-to-wall carpet, you may want to use a fan to accelerate the drying process.

Watch this video to see the spot-cleaning process in action!

How to Use a Steam Cleaner on a Wool Carpet

Once a year, our Pros recommend that you steam clean your wool carpet to make sure that it’s always looking its best. 

Step 1: Gently massage a powder-based conditioner into the carpet. Allow it to sit there for a few minutes.

Step 2: Thoroughly vacuum the carpet to remove dirt and debris.

Step 3: Identify heavily trafficked or stained areas and spot treat them as we’ve outlined in the previous section. Keep in mind that some stains may respond better to vinegar or rubbing alcohol than they will to wool-safe detergent. For example, you can add a few drops of vinegar to your soap and water mixture, or use alcohol for oil-based stains such as nail polish.

Step 4: Put some water in the steamer and place it at the lowest setting possible. This is important: do not apply the steamer directly to the wool carpet. Instead, hold it about six inches over the carpet to avoid damaging the fibers in the carpet.

Step 5: Position fans to speed up the drying process and prevent odors from forming.

As a rule, you won’t need to go to the time and expense of steam cleaning an area rug. Just use the cleaning process we’ve outlined above.

Should You Hire a Pro Cleaner for Your Wool Rug?

There are some times when you may want to consider professional dry cleaning or bringing in a cleaning pro to clean your wool rugs. Here are a few examples.

• Someone in your home has allergies. Professional cleaning is the best way to keep your wool rugs free of allergens that may impact your health.
• Your rug is old and/or valuable. Wool’s appearance might make you think it’s a very sturdy fabric, but it’s not. If you’ve invested in a rare or expensive rug, entrust it to a pro instead of attempting to DIY the cleaning process.
• Spot cleaning hasn’t worked. Sometimes, a stain just won’t come out no matter what you try. If you’ve attempted every method we’ve suggested here and you’ve still got a stain, then dry cleaning may be the best way to get rid of it.
• You’ve got a lot of carpet to clean. One of the biggest benefits of hiring a pro is that they’re likely to get through the cleaning process far more quickly and efficiently than you can.

DIY wool rug cleaning is going to be just fine in most cases, but if you’ve got a tricky stain or an heirloom rug, it’s worth the money to hire an expert.

FAQs

Conclusion

Cleaning wool carpets and area rugs doesn’t have to be a massive headache for you. If you stick to the super-easy DIY steps that we’ve outlined here, you should have no problem keeping your wool rugs and carpets looking like new!