Cleaning an area rug on your own is an easy way to ruin and expensive investment. Especially since large area rug tend to look better than smaller ones.
While it is possible to clean an area rug on your own having it professionally cleaned is also a good idea. If your rug is made of delicate materials, an exotic persian or oriental rug, or you just aren’t talented at cleaning, you won’t regret having a personally handle it.
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In This Article We'll Discuss
Cost of Cleaning Area Rugs
The first thing you’ll need is the square footage of the area rug. So you’ll need to multiply the length by the width. For example a 5’ x 8 ‘ rug is 40 square feet.
The most common way to be charged for rug cleaning services is by square footage. If they present the price to you in a total amount and don’t disclose the price per square foot make sure you ask. This will prevent you from being overcharged.
Depending on the rug material the average cost is 2-5$ per square foot.
The average cost to clean a 3’ x 5’ rug is 15$ to 75$
The average cost to clean a 4’ x 6’ rug is 48$ to 120$
The average cost to clean a 5’ x 8’ rug is 80$ to 200$
The average cost to clean a 8’ x 10’ rug is 160$ to 400$
The average cost to clean a 9’ x 12’ rug is 216$ to 540$
The average cost to clean a 10’ x 14’ rug is 280$ to 700$
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The more delicate the material the higher the cost. This price doesn’t include the cost for extra services such as stain removal and protection. Also these prices are for machine washing through steaming. Hand washing is more labor intensive and will be pricier.
Rug Material
As with most everything else, synthetic materials will be the lease delicate. They will have the lowest cost to clean.
Rugs made out of natural materials like woo, silk, or jute require more laborious processes to clean. You can expect the price to increase 20-35% for these materials.
The way the rug is created also needs to be taken into consideration. Machine made or hand-tied rugs have different needs. Machine made are more resilient to wear and tear while hand-tied rugs are luxurious but delicate.
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The dying process of the rug also has an impact. If the proper method isn’t used the colors can run and the rug will lose its vibrancy.
Take all these things into consideration when receiving a price for a rug cleaning service. If your being charged on the high end and you know your rug is a synthetic machine made rug it can be a warning sign.
Carpet style rugs
These rugs look more like a cut out piece of carpet. They are usually made out of triexta, polyester, or nylon. If the name sounds foriegn it’s most likely a synthetic material but always google it if you’re in doubt. These are the least expensive to clean. These will be in the 2$ (sometimes less)/Square foot to clean. You may be better off just cleaning it yourself carefully at home.
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Synthetic Machine Woven Rugs
These rugs usually have designs on them and vary from tight woven to shag rugs. The materials are still synthetic but they do require more care when cleaning. These are good to get professionally cleaned once a year and to clean yourself if you need to more often. Thost should be 2-3$ / square foot.
Oriental Rug HandMade Wool, Silk, And Natural Materials
The most delicate of the rug types are handmade from natural materials. They are beautiful and well worth having them professionally cleaned when you need it. The risk of messing with the dyes or damaging them is not worth it.
These will be 4$-5$+ a square foot. Depending on how they are made and what dyes were used.
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Can Your Rug Be Cleaned?
Area rugs have to handle the constant wear and tear of foot traffic. Therefore they are made to withstand abuse and are made with the thought of cleanability in mind.
There aren’t any types of area rugs that cannot be cleaned. Materials vary to the proper care and attention just need to be given to each kind of rug.
How Long Does it Take to Clean a Rug?
Most carpet and rug cleaning companies should be able to get your rug cleaned within a week. If you have special instructions or need stains or orders removed then it can take up to an additional week.
Information for Pet Owners & Parents
Everyone has an arch nemesis. For me it sweets. For rugs, it’s kids and pets.
All jokes aside, new parents and pet owners are well aware of the extra risk towards furniture and a home in general in these situations. Kids can get mud, dirt, food, and many other things in rugs at a very fast pace.
New puppies and pets can sometimes forget outside is the place to do number 1 and number 2 and a poor carpet they’re target. Try to get the rug cleaned and disinfected as the longer the stain or odor is in them the harder it is to take out. Also, if your pet smells their urine in the rug they’ll want to do it again.
You can buy at home DIY pet cleaners, stain, and odor removers but for big messes or delicate carpets opt for a professional
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Is it Worth it Getting a Carpet Cleaned
Yes, always get your carpet professionally cleaned no matter what type of carpet you have and at least every month.
Just Kidding.
Typically getting it cleaned once every 6-12 months (or more if you have allergies) is enough unless there’s a major stain or situation. If your rug is inexpensive cleaning it at home is relatively safe. Just pay attention to what the tag on the carpet says. Synthetic machine made rugs are the most durable and hardest to destroy.
If you have an antique carpet, have one with delicate materials, are terrible at cleaning, or purchase an expensive rug(totally worth it BTW) then it is definitely worth getting a professional to do the job.
How They’re Cleaned
The most common cleaning process is so start by vacuuming. This will begin to get the first layer of dirt and debris out. Next, they are steamed with water and cleaner. This will soak the rug and start removing deep dirt and stains.
If you have tough stains they will spot treat them during the cleaning process. After, it takes a few days for large rug to dry and different materials take different amounts of time to dry. This is why it can take up to a week for a rug to be cleaned.
If you have a delicate rug expect it to be hand washed. Due to the labor, this is the most costly method.
The Verdict
To wrap it all up, it can cost anywhere from 2$-5$ a square foot to clean a carpet. The materials used, dyes, and whether it was hand or machine made will determine the cost.
Is it worth it? Depending on how much you paid for the rug and how delicate it is. For less expensive synthetic materials a yearly professional cleaning or just doing it yourself should be sufficient. For delicate handmade and luxury rugs, go for professionally. The savings of doing it yourself isn’t worth the risk of ruining the rug. Oriental and persian rugs typically fall into this category.
Lastly, the size of the rug is a big factor as it’s determined by square footage. The larger the rug the harder it can be to clean yourself.