Did you know an antique rug could be worth as much as $1 million? When you care for such a rug properly, it could stay in your family for generations.

If you own an antique rug, it’s vital you know how to take care of it and how to clean it properly. Here are 7 greats tips for antique rug cleaning.

1. Consider Treating Them Like Art

If you own an antique rug, you’re aware of how beautiful they can be. In order to reduce wear and tear and the need for cleaning, you could consider displaying your rug like a piece of art instead of using them conventionally.

For example, you could display them on a wall. When you show off your rugs like this, the need for you to clean and care for them is significantly reduced. In the long-run, displaying your rugs in this way is going to make them last a lot longer.

2. Get Them Professionally Cleaned Every Five Years

When you look after your antique rug properly, it could last for generations to come. But if you want it to, just cleaning it yourself isn’t enough; you’ll need to bring it to a professional cleaner now and then.

On average, you should send in your rug to be cleaned around once every five years. A professional rug cleaner will have the skills and equipment necessary to ensure your rug isn’t damaged during the cleaning process. They’ll also have the necessary facilities to make sure it dries at the right temperature.

3. Position the Rug Right

If you do decide to use your antique rug as an actual rug, where you choose to place it in your home can make a big difference as to how dirty it gets. If you place it in a location where it’s going to get a lot of foot traffic going over it, it’s going to suffer from more wear and tear and will need cleaning more often.

Consider repositioning your rug somewhere it can be seen and enjoyed, but won’t be stepped on as frequently. When you place your antique rug in the right place, it’ll significantly reduce the need for having it cleaned.

Generally speaking, you need to have your rug cleaned around once every five years. But if you place it in the optimal location, you might be able to get away with waiting longer. On the other hand, if your rug is placed in a high foot traffic area, you might need to have it cleaned more frequently.

4. Be Wary of Cleaning Solutions

Most antique rug experts would agree that using chemical cleaning solutions on an antique rug is not a good idea at all. If you use any chemical cleaning solutions on your rug, you run the risk of doing irreparable damage to it.

Professional antique rug cleaners will almost never use any kind of chemical cleaning solution. Instead, they would use warm water and gentle chemical-free ones.

You should avoid using any chemical-based cleaning solutions on your rug at all costs since they can be corrosive and harsh. If such a solution somehow ends up getting on your rug, you should contact a professional for emergency cleaning.

As a rule of thumb, if you’re in doubt about using a certain type of cleaning product on your rug, don’t do it! It’s not worth the risk; leave these kinds of decisions to the professionals.

5. Handle Spills Correctly

If you accidentally spill something on your antique rug, the first thing to keep in mind is not to panic! You should blot the area of the spill as quickly as possible. Then, you should put a towel or cloth under the rug and pour warm water through the rug until it rinses out.

Before doing this, you need to make sure it isn’t going to cause the colors to bleed. To test this, use a wet cloth on a small area of the rug to see if any color transfers over. If it does, you should probably get in touch with a professional rug cleaner who will be able to help you.

6. Keep It in the Right Environment

To keep your rug in optimal condition, you need to keep it in the right kind of conditions. For example, you should keep it in the driest environment possible. Plus, you should also keep it out of direct sunlight.

Ideally, you should also avoid placing it in any areas that are going to get too hot or too humid. There are a whole lot of factors which can influence the condition of your antique rug, so it pays to take the time to do research. Even things like smoking near it could potentially cause damage to it.

7. Don’t Worry Too Much

If you have an antique rug, it could easily be over a century old. If it’s managed to stay in good condition for that long, it’s probably going to be fine for years to come. In fact, the oldest rug ever found was around 2,500 years old and was in almost perfect condition!

As long as you do your due diligence, have it cleaned regularly, and take care of it properly, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about. Many people assume that just because something is an antique it means it’s fragile. But if your antique rug was that fragile, would it really have lasted so many decades, allowing it to come into your possession?

Work With Antique Rug Cleaning Professionals

If you are unfortunate enough to damage your antique rug, all is not lost. Not only can antique rug cleaning pros help you to clean your rug, but they can also assist you with restoring it to its former glory in the event of any damage. So relax and keep our 7 tips in mind when dealing with your beautiful rug.

Thinking of buying an antique rug to display in your living room? Then take a look at our collection of 17th century rugs.