As reputable carpet and rug cleaning professionals, we get asked all the time which chemicals are safe and which aren’t when it comes to cleaning wool. There are several factors that need to be considered when choosing a cleaning product for anything made of wool if you want to ensure that it’s safe to use.
Here’s what to look for in a cleaning product and why these factors are important:
– Non-sticky residue – Cleaning products with sticky residues attract dirt to wool faster than usual. This causes your wool carpet or rug to appear dirty much quicker, which is not ideal. A cleaning product with little to no residue left behind is ideal. In addition, if you’re getting your rug professionally cleaned, we recommend having a protectant to you wool carpet or rug too. This will further help prevent dirt from clinging to the fibers.
– Low alkalinity – Sometimes, cleaning products with high alkalinity can cause color bleeding on dyed wool. It can also cause the pigments to bleed in natural fibers, like Berber. High alkalinity products can even cause wool to turn yellow and weaken the fibers altogether. It’s very important to choose a product with low alkalinity when cleaning wool to ensure the safety of your carpet or rug.
– No additives – Additives in cleaning products can change wool’s color (ex: bleach or added dyes) or cause an uneven cleaning. It’s important to stay away from cleaning products that have a bunch of unnecessary additives. Most of the time, these types of products are marketed to look like the additives are a necessity to ensure a powerful cleaning, but don’t believe everything you see! Harsh chemicals are never a good thing when it comes to cleaning wool.
– Quality cleaning product – It’s important to do some research and chose a product that’s reputable and known for producing good results. If you use a cleaning product that has poor cleaning performance, often the user will excessively agitated the pile of the carpet or rug which can lead to damage and distortion.