Caring rugs is also a common part of a household routine. As rugs get daily foot traffic, it also invites diverse dust particles. And those particles later settle on rugs.
When this happens frequently, you have to clean the rug at least once a week. Sometimes, twice a week.
However, did you know that such habit can lead to damage of rugs? Moreover, there are several other factors that can affect the health of a rug.
Rugs are prone to dust when left untreated. Besides, that dust can stick up on the surface like glue, which requires challenging efforts for the removal process.
Those hard efforts can damage your rug if you’re performing those actions on several occasions. Also, it’s crucial to follow the gentle cleaning routine.
Signs of the Rug Damage Process
These are signs based on various reasons. You’ve to figure out what’s causing them and then take recommended actions accordingly.
You can easily figure it out as everything is precisely described, follow the pattern, and find the root cause.
1. Rigid Surface of the Rug
It’s the first sign of a rug damage. The fabric of the rug start feeling hard. Moreover, it appears dry as well.
You may also notice the shrinking of the rug piles. This causes the rug to appear a little smaller than its original size. Because the rug growth gets stopped when the fabric becomes hard.
This makes a rug appear dull with negative vibes. Also, rugs with rigid fabrics are prone to suck the moisture out of the environment. That moisture sometimes contains dust which later sticks on the hard surface of the rug.
Additionally, smudge spots plunged on the harsh surface of a rug becomes tough to remove. In the process of eliminating them, you end up harming the rug even more.
2. Color Fading
Fading a rug usually have benefits, but it’s not ideal when you don’t want your rug to fade away. When your rug is fading its color without any external fading efforts, it’s time to be warned.
The negative effects of a faded rug can be seen when it doesn’t match with the overall theme of your room.
For example: You want a specific dark shade of the gray color, but a faded rug will give you another shade, which will be light in color. Consequently, it’ll ruin the expectations.
Therefore, in this scenario, you’ve to look at your laundry routine, to figure out the root cause. Or if it’s a new rug and fading its color, it’s usually a sign of poor fabric quality.
3. Dark Spots All Over the Rug
Dark spots, also called dirty spots, are the sign of poor maintenance. These marks happen on a frequent basis such as your kids dropping piece of chocolates or spilling the soft drinks by accident.
Moreover, indoors pets also play a significant role like your dog urine on the rugs. And sometimes, they come from the outside, and their dirty paws get printed on the rug.
In the worst scenario, your lousy neighbors may barge in on you and causing mess on your rugs with their foot traffic.
If all of this is not cleaned with an immediate effect, it can cause those spots to pick a permanent spot on your rug. And a few weeks or months later, you rug stars appearing filthy.
4. Fabric Tearing
It’s the most common complaint by the house owners. After a few months of usage, the rug starts shedding its fabric. The quality of rug degrades when this happens.
A rug with tearing fabric not only looks bizarre, but it also puts a negative impression. Furthermore, if you’ve indoor pets, they will tear it apart even more.
Although, the root cause of this problem are two things: Poor cleaning habits and the indoors pets themselves. Additional cause would be the poor quality fabric.
Pets have the tendency to scratch every surface with their sharp nails. This tears apart the rug slowly. And this often happens with cats and dogs, because they’re always curious for new adventures.
Apart from pets, poor cleaning habits also damage the quality of the rugs. When you use different versions of non-branded detergents, it deteriorates the quality of a rug’s fabric. Also, mixing different chemicals is also a bad laundry practice.
Why Does It Happen and How to Prevent?
Based on the signs above, there are five possible reasons that could be responsible for crumbling the quality of your rug.
Frequently Washing a Rug
Washing is a good process, but over-washing is something you must be worried about. If you’re someone who over-care the rug, maybe it’s time to limit the obsession.
Regular washing takes the moisture out of the rug. This can make a rug surface rigid, like the sign #1. It’s not only limited to that, it can also lower the quality of a rug’s fabric and makes it easier for pets to tear it apart.
Follow this Instead:
- Use vacuum cleaner and gentle stick-beating process for regular cleaning.
- Wash a rug once every two weeks.
- Avoid over-washing to prevent fabric weakening.
Applying Harsh Detergent
Harsh detergent contains chemicals that harm a rug’s fabric. People often buy detergent because they’re cheap and probably on hefty discounts.
That’s a wrong practice. Without knowing the acid concentration, it’s hard to determine whether it would be good for rugs or not.
A rug’s fabric is more prone to get damage by a low-grade detergent. This can lead to the color fading and tearing of the fabric.
Ultimately, if the rug’s fabric is of inferior standard, you’ll see worse results from the regular use of harsh detergents or trashy rug shampoos.
How to Avoid This Damage?
- Use reputable detergents and rug shampoos.
- Use the detergent in moderation.
- Make sure to rinse the rug properly after washing.
Scrubbing the Rug with Extreme Force
Scrubbing is the habitual part of a rug cleaning. But did you know that it can lower the quality of a rug’s fabric?
If not, then you must be aware of this fact. Sometimes, during spot cleaning process, we push out limits way too hard. And the end results of this practice may not appear the way you want them to be.
It’s not an ethical cleaning process and you must avoid this. However, scrubbing itself isn’t bad. In fact, it helps deep cleaning the spots. But only if you do it gently.
Ethical Method of Scrubbing:
- Use a soft brush.
- Scrub the affected area slowly and smoothly.
- Take note of bristles health, replace when it’s necessary.
- Do not scrub without applying a good-quality detergent.
Leaving Rug into Sunlight for Long Hours
Sunlight not only helps the rug into dry, but it also helps eliminating the bugs inside of it. Howbeit, it can also lead to the health damage of a rug.
If you are someone who leaves the rug in sunlight for long hours, you’d already have encountered issues such as hard surface, color fading, and fabric quality issues.
Sunlight can be beneficial and dangerous if you’re not utilizing it properly. Therefore, it’s wise not to leave the rug into sunlight for an excessive period.
Let the rug dry a bit then take it away from the sunlight, and let it air dry somewhere. When it’s fully dry, you can lay it on the floor.
Mixing Different Bleach Agents
Bleach agents are one of the best source of cleaning smudgy spots on a rug. Within a few minutes, stubborn marks are annihilated.
Bleach agents like Baking Soda and Vinegar are the most used agents. Moreover, with mixing salt, they become more effective. Even some laundry experts mix vinegar and salt with detergent to boost the cleaning outcome.
However, overdoing can lead to serious issues like fading of a fabric, rug fabric damage, and even ripping of the rug.
How to Prevent?
- Don’t ever mix Baking Soda with Vinegar.
- The good combinations are: Baking Soda + Salt + Detergent.
- And, Vinegar + Salt + Detergent.
Final Words
Washing a rug is a simple, yet can be complicated process if you’re not following the ethical actions. Therefore, following the correct washing guides to avoid the train wreck in your laundry’s results. Moreover, be cautious about mixing the chemical agents without knowing their outcome.
