What do people do when their rugs get a bit grubby?!

[jennymac]

I have a really nice rug in my living room which I have only had for a couple of years but with small kids in the house it has got a bit grubby. I don't really want to bin it as I like it and it has plenty of wear left but not sure how to restore it to its former beauty. I only have a normal Henry hoover and not sure that it is worth hiring a carpet washer for such a small item. What do other people do??

Dunno, but am going to hang around for some tips for mine!!

What do people think of that shaky carpet cleaner thingy? Would that work?

Oxycleaner (I get mine in a big tub from Lidl), a washing up sponge & an evening (although I do mine over three evening because it's huge).

It stinks whilst you're doing it but rug looks brand new. For 10 minutes. Until 23m Old DS1 pours milk everywhere.

I have a cream rug with lots of strands on it. It's too big for washing machine. In the summer I washed it in the bath and then left it on the garden table for 3 days to dry. It was ridiculously heavy though. I think a rug doctor might have been a better idea.

Marking place as I want to do something about the runner in my hall, but not sure how to go about it, and know it would be too heavy for the washing line!

My neighbours stuck their's over the washing line and cleaned it with the jet washer last week. No idea if it worked or not.

What material is your rug?
What colour?

Mine is dark teal and synthetic. Stains don't show on it and a thorough hoovering usually does the trick.

Not exactly a tip on how to clean them but on how to save some money. I have wooden floors and rugs around the house. At some point I put all the rugs in a single room and ring a carpet cleaner so I get all the rugs cleaned for the price of a room.

Cheap rugs are better binned, they don't wash that well.

Hire a RugDoctor... You can rent them at most large Tescos.

Or buy them for £30 from ikea and replace them after a year or so which is what we seem to be doing at the moment

Thanks everyone. Might try the oxycleaner idea. Haven't heard of the rug doctor. Any idea how much it costs to hire?

I had a look at a rug doctor think it was around £24 to hire but you need to buy the cleaning fluids on top I think. Maybe £35 all in?

Thanks puds. Will def look into it.

I have taken my rugs to dry cleaners before cost about £12

I've done the shaky Vac thing - I tried it on a largish area of carpet and was a bit disappointed but it is great on small areas or things like my rug, there is a definite improvement.

www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Natural--Clean-Dry-Carpet-Cleaner/56026011
This stuff is great (the brush isn't up to much so you will need something else)
We have a large long strand rug and with dd age 3, 3 cats and 2 dogs it need refreshing!

As it is just a rug, can you bear to clean it by hand? I seem to remember my mother doing entire carpets by hand when we were little (when you couldn't hire a carpet cleaner).

this stuff looks promising

The shakey vanish powder works REALLY well. Scrub it in with a broom for ages. Wait 30min till its dry and Hoover off.

If rugs are too large for washing machine, one can buy a carpet cleaner (Bissell I think), but best cleaner is lukewarm solution of any bio washing powder, used on a wrung-out cloth so rug is just damp, not wet. Finish by using similar nearly-dry cloth with plain water. This is hard work on hands & knees, but always works well.

I took MIL's to the local laundrette and washed it in a large washing machine at a low temperature. It turned out beautifully.

Had mine cleaned professionally from a contact via tge local carpet shop.