Cleaning Wool Carpets - A Boulder Carpet Cleaning Guide
If you have recently purchased a wool carpet please go to your pantry which holds all your carpet cleaning spotters and throw them away. Never use soaps or carpet cleaning chemicals on wool carpet unless it has a PH between 4.5 and 8.5. To be completely safe you could stay below a PH of 7 (neutral and will not cause the dyes to bleed) or look for your carpet cleaning product at fernmark.com.
Be especially careful of using bleach products near your wool carpet. Bleach will actually dissolve wool carpet and leave you with a giant hole. Bleach is a great way to test your carpet for wool content if you’re not sure if your carpet has wool in it. Another way to test your carpet for wool content is to take a small piece of the wool carpet and hold it in some tongs. In a safe place, light the carpet fiber on fire. If the fiber will hold a flame it is not 100 % wool. You may still have wool content but we know it is not a pure wool carpet since wool is non flammable and will not hold a flame, it will sizzle.
Even if your carpet is 1% wool, you must clean it as if it is 100% wool or you will probably ruin the carpet. Now that we have discussed what not to do, we can establish how to better maintain your wool carpet.
Vacuum as often as you can. This is akin to washing your hair. How many days a week do you skip washing your hair? Only use low PH cleaners. Using over the counter products on wool carpets is like using Tide on your hair! High PH cleaners will break down the cuticle or hard scaly surface that holds the fiber together. Breaking down the cuticle would leave us with a fuzzy mess.
When using a wool safe product - blot. Scrubbing will also cause the fiber to fuzz out. I also recommend that you blot up the wool safe spotter with an acidic rinse (1 part white vinegar 3 part water). This will remove any residue and leave the wool fiber slightly acidic which will help maintain the wools softness. You also want to speed dry your wool carpet. If the carpet takes too long to dry it can turn yellow or brown. Using too high a PH cleaner on your wool carpet can also turn the fibers brown or yellow. We call this PH browning.
In conclusion, vacuum as often as you can. Spot clean with wool safe products. Blot rinse with an acidic rinse and never use bleach (causes wool to dissolve) or products with a high PH. Have your carpets cleaned at least once a year by a professional carpet cleaner who uses wool safe products. For more information on carpets, carpet cleaning, carpet repair, water damage, or allergies please visit our website.
This guide is written to help you maintain your wall to wall wool carpet. It is not meant for wool Oriental rugs. These rugs may have loose dye that will bleed or crock. I recommend that you have these rugs taken to a rug plant that specializes in wool rugs. Oriental rugs should never be cleaned at your home since the dyes may bleed. If a professional carpet cleaner insists, make sure he tests every color on the Oriental rug for color fastness before he begins. Once a wool rug starts to bleed in your home, their is very little you can do to keep the rug from being ruined.
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