Carpet Cleaning Wool. Get the Brown Out.
Carpet Cleaning. Wool Rug/Carpet Browning
Carpet Cleaning Blog of the Day. Among the priciest of carpets are those with natural fibers, or fibers from animal fur. The most common of these is that fine natural fiber we know as wool – (and cashmere)! Sheepishly enough, that’s where wool comes from, sheep. Wool is durable, and easy to care for; it lasts for years, adding an aristocratic beauty to a home. That’s why so many carpets and rugs, including expensive orientals, are made from wool. By the way, carpets and rugs made from wool are said to be easy cleaning, and that is true, but there are some caveats.
Cleaning Wool Carpets Requires Some Understanding.
wool is not without its downside. A snippet that non-farmers may not be privy to, is that sheep do not like to get wet, and for that matter, nor does wool. Sheep are also known to prefer a cooler environment, and just so, wool too, does not take kindly to heat, as in hot water. I don’t know what color a sheep turns in the rain, or in the heat, but wool turns brown.
Make haste, your wool carpet may not be ruined.
Minerals in the water, soiling, and heat can cause a ph imbalance in the wool, turning it alkaline. The goal in cleaning these wool carpets is to bring the ph back into balance, which often will restore the wool’s original color.
When cleaning wool carpets with browning, we can use a mild acid solution!
A mild solution of water & vinegar, or water & lemon juice, will likely remove the browning. Just dilute the juice well into the water, and use the solution sparingly, blotting it on and blotting it off, until the brown goes away.
And that’s it. Best of luck!
Some may recall my warning regarding excessive water usage in carpet cleaning. Always beware over watering. And for that matter, beware of Steam Cleaning. Steam cleaning carpets, put simply, just infuses way more water into the carpet than the vacuum can every possibly get out. You want to go with Low Moisture Foam Cleaning, where the soiling gets suspended in the foam, and is then easily removed. Dries up in hours and no over-watering, no mold, no mildew, and no more brown wool rugs.
My Steam Cleaning friends say, “Baaahh”
All the best and until next time. Gerry The Carpet Cleaner