Running a vacuum cleaner over your flooring and rugs every couple of days picks up the dirt and grime you can see, but what about the harmful particles hiding deeper in the fibres? Rugs can attract a great deal of floor dust and dirt, oil, mould and microorganisms. After all, anything that’s on your shoes, feet or pet’s paws ends up on your rug – and can often become embedded for months or years.
The trouble is, dirty rugs can become breeding grounds for bacteria, trigger allergies and even attract household pests like fleas and roaches. Not to mention becoming a bit stinky as well, if you haven’t done any deep cleaning for a while! The good news is, our experienced steam cleaning team can disinfect and restore your rug to a fresh, squeaky-clean state.
Yes, most Persian rugs can be professionally steam cleaned in your home – and this is what we specialise in. However, checking the colours on your rug won’t run is important, so we’ll often do a quick test on-site to determine the specific treatment required, before we start the steam cleaning process.
Here’s what you can expect from start to finish.
When you call Sydney Steam Cleaners, our specialist team will ask you a few questions to identify the type of rug you have. You’ll either know the material of the rug already, or you may have to turn the rug over to find the info on the label.
Most rugs we deal with are synthetic, wool or plant-based cotton or linen. Once we know whether you’re after stain removal or a routine maintenance clean, we’ll work out a customised plan, give you an estimate and schedule a time to visit your home.
When we arrive, we’ll take a look at the rug that requires treatment and cleaning. We’re able to do light furniture removal at this stage if required, to enable us to access the entire surface of the rug.
Once we’ve properly assessed the rug, we’ll do a pre-vacuum and a colour test before applying the shampoo to the rug’s fibres. If the rug has a fringe, that will be cleaned too. We’ll also apply spot removers, before steam cleaning. This process includes hot-water extraction to clean and remove soiling from the rug’s fibres.
While spot cleaning is part of the service we offer, if your rug is stained with something like paint, red wine, faeces, blood or urine, we may need to take a different approach. Usually, these kinds of stains require an additional cleaning service, which we’ll discuss with you before proceeding.
Once the steam clean has been completed, we’ll advise you to ventilate the room as much as you can and leave the rug to dry. This takes around 4-6 hours depending on the type of material of your rug. Wool rugs may take slightly longer than synthetic rugs to dry completely.
Rugs and carpets can last for years, and gather bacteria, dirt and grime that’s not visible to the naked eye. This is where regular steam cleaning can agitate the fibres, lift stubborn dirt – and prolong the life of your rugs. However, it’s important to hire knowledgeable, experienced steam cleaning professionals who use industrial-grade equipment and high-quality Australian products that are safe for kids and pets.
The team at Sydney Steam Cleaners perform regular cleaning for a range of residential clients, and we’ve worked on all kinds of rugs. Deep pile, wool, synthetic polyester or polypropylene – we know how to clean them all without damaging your investment. And we’ll be honest with you too, if your rug requires a specific cleaning process, which can be the case with Persian or silk rugs. We’ll also let you know what we can do if it’s a material that won’t respond well to typical cleaning methods. Book your professional rug steam cleaning treatment today and let our expert team restore your rug to a cleaner, fresher state.
Don’t attempt to DIY your rug cleaning! You might think it’s easy to spray a cleaning product over your rug and be done with it – but be warned: you could cause permanent damage. For example, if your rug is wool, you need to use products that are pH neutral – or you may cause discolouration or bleaching of the rug. It’s better to call in experts like us to tackle your rug cleaning from the start.
Can you remove rug stains that have been there for years?
In many cases, yes – even older stains can be treated successfully. If it’s red wine and it hasn’t been tampered with (ie, you haven’t already tried to clean it yourself and possibly set the stain further), your rug may be salvageable. Give us a call to discuss.
How do you treat rugs in high-traffic areas – like hallways?
Depending on the type of rug – whether it’s a cut or loop, or high or low pile – we can apply special products for high-traffic areas. This helps break down the oils and soiling that may be happening, to stop any stains penetrating and setting into the fibres.
How long does it take to clean a rug?
Anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on how much work is involved and if there’s stain removal required. Afterwards, you’ll need to air the room as much as possible and stay off the rug for 4-6 hours until it’s completely dry.
I’ve put too much cleaning product in my rug – what do I do?
This is a common situation we help with and what we do is put a solution into the cleaning water during the steam cleaning process which neutralises and crystallises excess products lingering in the rug fibres. Allowing a deeper clean and removal of remaining residue, leaving your rug softer, cleaner and more enjoyable to walk on.