How would you wash rugs if you don't have a carpet cleaner?
Question:I don't have one of those vacum things that shampoo rugs,nor can I afford someone to come in and do it, so how would I go about washing these?
should I just take them outside and rinse them down with a hose?
If I did this how long would it take for them to dry?
one rug is a big one we put in the middle of the living room.
the others are the kinds that have some rubber like stuff on the underside but carpet on the top.
any suggestions?
Answers:
way back in the old days, before rug shampooers and vacuum cleaners they took rugs outside and beat them clean. Also they would sprinkle damp tea leaves onto the carpets, them sweep them up. The dirt and dust stick to the tea leaves, and tea leaves are easy to sweep
You should just rent the carpet cleaner from your grocery or home improvement store. If you try to wash a large rug outside, it might not dry enough and you can have mold. Also, your neighbors might not appreciate a large rug hanging outside for a few days.
You can use oxy clean. Just put as much as you need with a little water, wait for a bit. Maybe an hour or so, than rinse and scrub down real well. The smaller rugs can be washed in a machine. Just make sure to put it on delicate if there are some fragile areas and either tumble dry or hang to dry. Good luck!
Depending on how big the rug is and what it's made off, you probably don't want to wash it. Either renting a shampooer at the store, or buying a Little Green Clean machine would be your best bet. But, you should be careful with how much water you use. Most larger rugs are made of wool, and they can be ruined if you use the hose on them.
The alternative would be to hang it over a close line and beat it.
I live in an apartment so I didn't have my own hose available
I went to the "do it yourself" car wash and used those clips they have mounted on the wall for the car rugs. I never used the high pressure water but got it wet, sprayed it with oxy clean stuff (I'm sure any carpet cleaner will work) let the soap work for a bit then rinsed with the water hose again. I did have to wait a while for most of the water to drip out of the rug but I put plastic trash bags down in the back of my car then at home I laid the rugs out on my apartment patio in the sun for a day, then flipped it over for another day in the sun then brought the rug in. It didn't cost much $ but it was a little time consuming.
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