Rugs are one of the essential parts of a house. Without them, the floors appear irksome. Whenever you choose a rug for your house, you make sure it lasts for a long duration. But is it really true that rugs can last for a longer duration?
Well, yes. Rugs like Polypropylene can last up to 5 years and Wool rugs can last up to 30 years, depending upon the fabric quality. Ultimately, it’s very common for expensive rugs like Persian, to last for a century, if it’s original and handcrafted by an expert.
Moreover, the more exposure to dust means regular cleaning of the rugs. And sometimes, you’ve to perform deep cleaning twice a month because of the heavy foot traffic. This often results in less lifespan of a rug.
List of Different Rugs with their Lifespan
| Rug Type | Life in Years |
|---|---|
| Wool | 25-30 |
| Polypropylene | 25-100 |
| Persian | 50-100 |
| Area | 5-10 |
| Jute | 3-5 |
| Outdoor | 10-20 |
| Sisal | 5-10 |
| Cowhide | 7-14 |
| Hand Tufted | 3-7 |
| Bear Skin | 20-50 |
| Sheepskin | 8-20 |
Dos and Don’ts for Rugs’ Long Life
DOs
- Regular Vacuuming
- Good Detergent
- Proper Dry After Wash
- Clean Once a Month
Don’ts
- Hard Rubbing
- Over Cleaning
- Harsh Chemicals
- Prolonged Exposure to Sunlight
Tips for a Long Lasting Rug
Since now you already know the lifespan of different types of rugs, it’s time to learn the signs of a long lasting rug.
If you aren’t sure about the quality of your rug or you’ve a doubt regarding the manufacturer, here are the signs from which you can figure out the quality of a rug.
1. High-Quality Fabric
Fabric is the first aspect of rug that one must look for. Fabric decides the life of a rug. Rugs are always on the floor, constantly getting the foot traffic and exposure to countless dust particles. In such conditions, fabric has to work hard to fight with stains over time.
The more the stains, the more frequent washes. If the rug fabric is durable enough, it can go through the repeated washing process 3-4 times a month. This cleans a rug thoroughly but if the fabric is not durable, it’ll do a damage to the rug in a long run.
2. Type of Foot Traffic
It’s true that heavy foot traffic allows more dust on the rugs. But which type of foot traffic is that, it’s also an important factor. Everyone have different types of visitors to their houses. Some clean their footwear before entering and some don’t.
Especially kids and pets have the tendency to mess things around the houses. This often results in children spilling liquids on rugs and in worst scenario, your pet pees on the rug. It leads to damage of rug piles when done frequently.
Moreover, If you’ve hardwood floor, pet pee stains and carbonated liquids can damage the floor as well. Therefore, it’s important to train your pet not to pee indoors and prevent kids from spilling liquid on rugs.
3. Careful Washing
Washing also plays a vital role in any rug’s health. Many people tend to choose unethical practices to clean rugs such as over-washing, mixing bleach agents with different chemicals, exposing rugs to sunlight for a longer duration, rubbing the rug with hard surfaces, etc.
These practices lead to either fade a rug or completely shatter its fabric. Hence, one must avoid such practices at any cost. It’s mandatory to wash the rugs properly by following the right rug cleaning guides.
Avoid mixing the different bleach agents without knowing their outcome. It can damage your expensive rugs ultimately. As a result, follow these rug cleaning steps for a healthy washing practice.
4. Vacuuming and Spot Cleaning
The cleaning process of a house stats from vacuuming. And it’s mandatory to vacuum the floor on a regular basis to avoid any complications. But it’s also important to daily vacuum clean a rug. This ensures the extra dust is removed from the rug to prevent it from sticking on the fabric threads.
Moreover, kids sometimes accidentally spill soft drinks on the rugs. Therefore, it’s mandatory that you clean them on the spot. The longer you leave it there, the more it will be glutinous. Consequently, it’ll be much harder to remove that and the cleaning process may end up harming rug’s overall quality.
This step is more important for rugs under the couch, as they’re prone to drink spills. Besides, it’s also salient for area rugs as they handle the most dust from visitors from the outside.
Additional Tips for a Rug’s Lifespan
Usually, people check for everything before buying a good quality rug. However, there is still a chance that its quality will degrade over time. And this span can be more or less, depending on various reasons.
Rotate & Use Rug Pads
Rugs underneath the furniture holds the heavy weight of overall furniture. If left for a longer duration, it result in fabric puncture. In worse cases, the rug piles from the pressured area will start getting damage.
Therefore, besides regular cleaning, it’s also important to rotate rugs at least once a weak to prevent the fabric puncture. It boosts the life of a rug and saves it from the daily small damages that can shape a bigger damage in the future.
Moreover, rugs laid in an open area can slip by walking sometimes. When it happens frequently, it can damage the rug’s health. Hence, always use rug pads. Pads stick rugs with the floor from its corners and prevent the slipping from any type of friction.
Avoid Direct Sunlight & Harsh Chemicals
Sunlight is one of the prominent cause of fading a rug and damaging its fabric. Sunlight can also dry the fabric if left for a long exposure which further gives a rough feeling. And such hard surfaces of rug often cause irritation and scratches upon contact with skin.
Also, the dry surface is left unprotected from dust and smudges. When that happens, it becomes a challenging task to clean and recover a rug’s health.
The harsh chemicals on the other hand do exactly as the sunlight, but in a different and an effective manner. The damage done by harsh chemicals can be seen just with one wash. But if you continue to use harsh chemicals regardlessly, say goodbye to your beautiful rug.
Check for Damages Regularly
Rugs encounter with different types of beings and dust accumulated from the environment. Inevitably, there will be in the loss of rug’s quality and health.
Thus, checking for regular damaged and fixing with a suitable solution is a crucial part of rug care routine. It helps you maintain your rug’s growth and increases its lifespan.
Final Verdict
It doesn’t matter how much expensive rug you buy for your house, if you’re careless for its health, it’ll eventually doom. Most of the rugs in the market are durable and manufactured for a long-lasting life. However, it’s now buyer’s responsibility to take care of them.
