How to Stop Rug Shedding
Imagine you've just redone your entire house. Spent months planning and decorating the rooms again, updating the designs, and adding a rug that enhances the look beautifully. You just found the rug you like - the perfect color, material, design, and size. But a few weeks have passed by, and you realize your rug keeps shedding! Rug maintenance is a task most people overlook when deciding which one to buy. Shaggy rugs are especially more challenging to maintain.
This blog will tell you why rugs shed fibers and several rug maintenance tips you can implement to prevent a rug from shedding!
Let's get started!
Before we take you through the reasons your rug might be shedding, it is essential to remember that a rug may shed for a couple of weeks when bought. It depends on the quality and material of your rug but can be solved by light vacuuming. New rugs generally stop shedding after normal wear. But if it has been quite some time since you bought your rug and it still keeps shedding, go ahead and finish reading this blog.
Why Do Rugs Shed?
Rug shedding is entirely normal. It happens when the fibers are not tightly bound to the backing or each other. Rug shedding is mainly observed on wool rugs, but the severity may depend on the quality and fibers used. A low-quality rug is likely to shed more than a high-quality rug made out of natural fibers or high-quality wool.
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How to Minimize Shedding?
It is absolutely normal to feel like you bought a poor-quality rug when you find it shedding. Most rugs shed in varying degrees during their lifespan. There are several ways to deal with a shedding rug. But here are a few effective and easy ways for rug maintenance.
As tempting as it may seem to vacuum a
shaggy rugs to stop its shedding completely, it is not the way to do it. Vacuuming in different settings constantly might actually be doing more harm to your rug than good. When you vacuum on high suction, you'll only pull the fibers more and more, which would either reduce the life of the rug or worsen the shedding further.
Beater bar attachments and or brush extensions should be avoided when trying to fix a shedding rug. The key to reducing shedding is vacuuming lightly on the rug. Get rid of the vacuum attachments, set your vacuum cleaner to lower suction power, and gently vacuum on the rug without any beater touching the fibers. This will help ensure no fibers are being pulled out and that you are not weakening the binding. Run your vacuum cleaner gently against the pile in a straight direction to get rid of the loose fibers. Not just that, but it can also help loosen the dirt embedded in the rug. Vacuum lightly and regularly to reduce the shedding and maintain the quality of your rug for a longer period of time.
Trim Your Rug
This is another way to prevent rug shedding. Especially in woolen rugs, trimming the tufts to prevent further wear and tear is a good way to maintain the quality of your rug. When you have invested in a high-quality, expensive wool rug, you do not want to damage it. Pulling out these tufts by hand will weaken the binding of fibers in the rug and deteriorate the quality. Instead, trim the tufts with a pair of scissors and collect any loose fibers from the surface of the rug with clean hands.
The correct placement of your rug in the house can also improve the rug's maintenance. Placing the rug in an area of the house with high footfall can increase shedding. Instead, put it at a place where not many people walk over during the day. Say, for example, place it under a table or some furniture.
If the rug has to remain in an area with high traffic, consider moving the rug each day to clean out any loose fibers and turn the directions to even out the shedding. This way, instead of the rug spoiling in the same portion for a more extended period, you can maintain it to reduce the damage.
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Use a Rug Pad or Anti-Slip Underlay
Using rug pads or anti-slip underlays is another way to minimize shedding. Rug pads and anti-slip underlays on hardwood floors can help maintain the rug in the best condition for a longer time. Rug pads are basically extended buffers between the rug and floor to prevent the fibers from crushing. On the other hand, an anti-slip underlay helps keep the rug in place to minimize slipping or any movement of the rug for easy cleaning and maintenance. These pads should ideally be 2.5cm shorter than the actual size of the rug to ensure it is placed entirely on the pad and doesn't slip further away.
Last but the most important tip - buy high-quality rugs. A high-quality rug will last for a longer time, and managing shedding issues will be much easier for them. Before purchasing a rug, decide where you wish to place it and buy a rug with the quality as per. For areas with high-foot traffic, buy rugs that have better durability so as to reduce wear and tear. However, if you think the area where you plan to place the rug will not have much footfall, you may choose to pick a designer rug that is more delicate and needs care.
Low-quality rugs tend to shed more than natural fiber rugs, get worn and torn faster, and need replacement from time to time. Instead of investing in a low-quality rug that you might need to replace every couple of months, invest in a high-quality natural fiber rug that would last longer.
Although buying a rug might not always seem like too big a task, it can make or break the look of your room. Different rugs are designed differently for various qualities and materials. Visit our store to find the rug that will make your house beautiful. You can also check our website for any rugs sale Melbourne and order online.
