In America today, one modern interior trend that has become commonplace in most homes are Shag Carpets. Credits go to the warm feeling, aesthetics, elegance, and luxury look it gives to rooms. And recently, you may have been seeing them featured in magazines and television shows.
However, designers who fondly speak on this interior design fail to highlight one awful thing about shag carpets. Could that be the reason you are here? Okay! Have you noticed that shag carpets are exceedingly harder to clean than regular carpets? Exactly!
Discarding this elegant item would be the last thing on your list, if it weren’t, you’d not be here. But first, let’s analyze why it could be difficult for you to clean. Could it be that dust and dirt have gotten so deep into the crevices between the fibers?
Could it be that it’s larger and that way it’s more burdensome for cleaning? Are you using a fluffy white shag carpet? Whatever your reasons are, you are at the right spot where you’ll learn about cleaning methods that will return your shag carpet to the way it looked like when you bought it.
Indeed, there are numerous types of shag rugs in the market, and that might even account for the complexity in the cleaning, but below are DIY and straightforward ways to clean your shag carpet regardless of how you feel about it.
Note: Before you apply any method discussed below, first test it in a small hidden part of your rug. You must take this to heart, especially if you will be using chemical products. And to be sure you are entirely safe, read the instructions carefully.
Vacuum
Yes, you can vacuum a shag carpet but not in a carefree manner. Since there are different ways to vacuum, you must choose the vacuum that is best for shag carpets. So these are the cautions you need to take:
- Only vacuum once or twice a week and that’s essentially noteworthy if the shag carpet is placed in areas with high traffic in the house.
- Don’t use the regular upright vacuum to clean your shag carpet. If you do, you will end up ruining your carpet.
Therefore, these are the types of vacuum that could be used on the shag carpet.
- Purchase a suction-only vacuum that has no beater bar if the shag covers a large area.
- If your budget is low, purchase vacuum attachments like an upholstery accessory.
- If you have funds for a standard vacuum, you can purchase it and then uncouple its beater bar.
Try Shaking and Smacking
If you currently don’t have funds for a vacuum cleaner, then you can resort to this method and still get amazing results. But how would you carry out this step and attain maximum cleaning?
- Take your carpet outside and shake it. You might need a person’s help if you have larger shag.
- Then hang it somewhere. For example, it could be on a cloth line and thoroughly beat it either with a hard broom or a mop handle.
Your motive is to get the dirt out and not to destroy the carpet. So, be gentle on it. For faster and quicker results, you can start by leaving it inside the sun for a few hours. The sun will first, dry off any moisture inside the rug; then it will kill any bacteria or virus inside. However, don’t leave it in a harsh sun for the color not to be damaged.
Note: This method can only function for sheep-dog-like carpet. So don’t use it on synthetic shag carpets.
Do a Dry Bath
Depending on how dirty your shag carpet is, in some cases, vacuuming and shaking will only get rid of dust, and your shag might still wear a dirty look. You’d not have a hard time believing this if your shag carpet is pink, white, or grey. The light color tone makes them sensitive to dirt and dust. Since you’ve gushed out the dust and dirt, a dry bath with shampoo will be an easy way out to complete the job. How would you accomplish that?
- First, invest in a dry shampoo of any trusted brand.
- Purchase a brush that has soft bristles.
- Make ready an open area where you can be comfortable with the mess that
- washing your shampoo could bring.
To start the cleaning, first, sprinkle the dry shampoo on the carpet. Take the brush and gently clean the rug. But before you start to brush, let it set adequately. Setting time depends on the manufacturer’s guide. Thereby, you have to read the manual and instructions on that.
But ideally, it shouldn’t span beyond 10 minutes. And if you like, you might even use your vacuum on it after setting instead of using a bristle brush. A vacuum cleaner will aid in cleaning the dirt off the fiber strand.
Spot Clean Shag Rug
If you’ve been using shag Carpets for quite a long time, you’d agree that there exist crazy moments like spilling of either juice and curry on your shaggy. When stuff like that happens, it might make you bitter. But those stains can go just within a few moments. How? See the rules here.
First, vigorously use a clean white cloth to clean the spills before they penetrate inside the carpet. This is to hinder the transfer of stains from the fabric to the carpet. If you don’t have white cloth, let it be a neutral color.
You can put a bowl beside you where you will drain the spill soaked with the cloth. But be sure to do it thoroughly. Don’t rub, just dab on the spot.
Then, bring a clean wet cloth and start dabbing it on the stained part. Keep it on until the stain disappears. You can use either baby whites or wet paper in place of a damp cloth. Just ensure they are alcohol-free so they won’t ruin your shag carpet.
But if the spot on your shag hasn’t gone at this point, use detergent and soap and gently use a cloth to wipe off.
In place of soap or detergent, you can thoroughly and effectively use vinegar. But dilute it before use. It would be helpful to dilute it with an equal amount of water before use.
Steam Cleaning
Another incredible option for cleaning a shag carpet is using a steam cleaner. This method is highly fantastic because it gets rid of all odors, dust, and dirt that may have settled inside the carpet. How should you carry out this process? Simple!
First, vacuum your rug to get rid of the dirt that could be found on the top layer of the shag carpet. Then use the steam cleaner to focus more on the dirt buried deep inside. How would you use the vacuum cleaner?
Pour water and detergents inside a steam cleaner. Don’t pour in excess. Then, from one side to another, keep running the cleaner over the Shag. Do it until you achieve the desired look – when it’s spotless and well maintained. When you are done, allow the spot you clean to be exposed to proper ventilation.
Washing
Maintenance is undoubtedly one of the ways to give proper attention to your carpet. That sure means you shouldn’t let it get bitterly dirty before you find a solution to it. So, try your best to vacuum weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. If you keep doing that, you will not tolerate the sticking of dirt inside for a long time.
After you are done with light cleaning your shag carpet, clean thoroughly at least once or twice in a year. If your shag carpet doesn’t have a rubber back, you can wash them in a gentle cycle and cold water washing machine. Yet, I still opined that it isn’t a suitable method.
Conclusion
It’s a great pleasure to see you read all these tips and that you made it to the concluding part. You may have seen the one that you’d correctly apply to make your shag feel spotless ones more.
While these ways are useful, it would be nice too if you can take your time to use your shag carpet well. Be careful of what spills on it, dust it regularly, and be gentle when cleaning. If you do all these, you will obtain the best reward that comes from using a shag carpet.
