Area Rug Cleaning for Seattle Metro & Greater Eastside
Area Rug Steam Cleaning Services in Seattle Metro & Greater Eastside
Professionally cleaning your area rugs can greatly improve their appearance and lifespan. At Anderson Carpet Cleaning for Seattle Metro & Greater Eastside, we have the knowledge to clean almost all types of rugs with our area rug steam cleaning services.
Area rug cleaning is much more complex than what most people are aware of, especially when it comes to rugs made of natural fibers like cotton, wool or silk. These natural fibers are super sensitive to high pH chemicals, high heat and too much agitation.
Cleaning Synthetic Area Rugs
Synthetic area rugs (you know, from Home Depot or Fred Meyers) are cleaned using the steam-cleaning method just like your carpet. We first apply an enzyme-based pre-treatment, which we then extract using our truck-mounted carpet-cleaning unit. On these rugs, it’s safe to use the powerful vacuum system and high heat that a truck-mounted carpet-cleaning system offers.
Types of synthetic rugs:
Cleaning natural fiber rugs
There are a few important bits of information about properly maintaining the more expensive natural fiber area rugs that most consumers are not so aware of. You see, wool and other natural fibers have many cleaning sensitivities. For example, they are sensitive to high pH levels, high heat (although wool is flame retardant) and high agitation. Some, like silk, are even sensitive to over-wetting. There are a few ways you can go about cleaning natural fiber rugs. Some wool rugs you can quickly and safely steam-clean with low heat and low moisture. But this is more of a surface cleaning, which in some situations is just fine. Silk and cotton are to never be steam-cleaned. And we are happy to refer you to a company that specializes in this process.
Types of natural fiber rugs:
Wool, Cotton, Silk, Jute/Sisal
Optional Area Rug Cleaning Services
Area Rug Protection
A great way to prolong the life of your area rug, and add some repellency is to have it treated with a protector. This invisible barrier will help repel dry and wet soils, making them easier to clean.
Area Rug Cleaning FAQ’s
How long does it take the area rugs to dry after cleaning?
It depends on what type of rug it is. Synthetic rugs will dry within a couple of hours. Natural fiber rugs like wool and cotton can take several hours.
Will “steam” cleaning damage my area rugs?
It will not damage synthetic area rugs and some wool rugs. All synthetics are safe to steam clean and can be cleaned just like we would your carpet. Some wool rugs are safe to steam clean too as long as the heat is low, water pressure is low and safe chemicals are used. Other wool and natural fiber rugs like cotton and silk must be cleaned by hand using the foam method.
What kind of results should I expect?
Again, synthetic rugs clean much like carpet so you can expect very clean and refreshed rugs. Natural fibers are more absorbent so they are more easily stained.
How often should I clean my area rugs?
It depends on the amount of traffic the rug gets. For rugs that get high traffic, we recommend at least once a year.