Properly Maintaining Your Rug

Rug maintenance is easy when you know the basic details. The primary tools are vacuuming and stain care. Although it is good to keep in mind that rugs should be professionally cleaned annually.
When vacuuming, it is good to consider the materials and thickness of your rug. Many vacuums come with adjustable height brush roll.

Generally the thicker the smaller the brush roll height.  This will prevent pulling of the rug fibers and damaging the pile. With shorter pile, it is better to use a brush roll with a larger height. There is less mechanical damage on the rug fibers and it will clean out dirt. In addition, it is good to start in one area and slowly go over the rug several times. This will help clean out more dirt.  Then it will be fine to move on to another section.

The other thing to consider is rug material. With natural or delicate rug pile, a medium brush roll height should be used or no brush roll at all. Primarily, vacuum the rug slowly in sections. If possible find a vacuum that has softer less stiff bristles. This will prevent mechanical damage and stop the rug fibers from thinning. For especially fine delicate rugs a third option is to have the rug shaken outside and not vacuumed at all. It depends on the quality and age of the rug.

Vacuuming should be done weekly and it is important to use a wand component to reach under furniture.