Three Tips For Caring For Your Wool Carpet

Wool carpet can look luxurious, and many homeowners prefer it because it's a natural alternative to nylon carpeting. However, in order to keep wool looking its best, you'll need to be quite careful with its care. Here are a few tips for keeping your wool carpet clean and tidy without causing any damage.

Set your vacuum height to "high" whenever vacuuming.

If you're used to vacuuming nylon carpets, you're probably in the habit of setting the vacuum height pretty low so the brushes "comb" through the carpet and suck up more debris. However, this would be a big mistake with wool carpeting. Setting the vacuum too low would cause the brush to break apart the tidy, compacted wool fibers, giving them a fluffy look that you'll never be able to calm down again. Set the vacuum to as high a level as possible, and just make sure you keep up with vacuuming every few days so remove the debris before it has a chance to sink deep into the carpet.

Use a wool-safe detergent for removing stains.

Most carpet cleaning and stain removing solutions are not safe for wool. They might stain it or cause it to shrink. To ensure you don't damage your wool carpet, clean up stains with a mixture of water and a wool detergent that's made for washing wool clothes. Just add a teaspoon of wool detergent to a spray bottle, fill it with warm water, and spray this on the stain. Let it sit for a minute or two, and then blot (don't rub) to soak up the liquid.

Have the carpet professionally cleaned once a year.

Home cleaning with a carpet shampooer is not recommended for wool carpet, since these machines don't usually suck up enough water to dry the wool quickly. If you wash your wool carpet with a carpet shampooer, there's a good chance it will shrink.  Professional carpet cleaners, like Harper's Carpet Cleaners, have special equipment to ensure that as much water as possible is removed from the carpet after cleaning so it does not shrink. They also have access to special wool-safe cleaners that they can use to remove stains, debris and odors.  For most homeowners, having the carpet cleaned once a year is adequate. However, if you have pets or are allergy-prone, you may want to have the carpet cleaned every 6 months instead.

If you are careful with your vacuum, use wool-safe cleaners, and have your carpet professionally cleaned, it should stay looking new and fresh for years to come.

About Me

reducing your workload around the holidays

I do look forward to all of the holidays each year. These are the days that I know that my home will be filled with my closest friends and the family that I don't get to see often enough. Preparing the house for company is a lot of work that I used to do on my own. I would spend days cleaning, organizing and rearranging things. Two years ago, I started hiring a cleaning service to come out a day or two before the holidays to perform a deep cleaning of everything. If you struggle to find the time to get your house ready for the holidays, read through the tips on my blog to find ways to make it less work for yourself.

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