How to clean an old braided rug?

You didn't say how large it is. I would fill the bath tub with warmish/cool water, mix in some Tide and let it soak. Then wiggle it around in there a bit to loosen the lodged dirt and grime. Repeat a second time. Then, with some help because it will be heavy, lift it until much of the water runs out. If you live on a lake, like me, take it down to the lake and drag it out where the water is clean until it is thoroughly rinsed. Then drag it back to where you can roll it up, place in a plastic bag, and take to a laundromat. Place in the largest machine and spin dry it. Drag it out and find a place to lay it in the sun until dry. Stretch it out from time to time to avoid bumps. OR - you can have it professionally cleaned. (If they use those dry cleaning chemicals on it, it will give off toxic fumes). Have fun with this.

My mother's house had the original carpet, and she refused to change it while she was still living there. I used a Rug Doctor machine on it and that made a huge difference in how it looked. It took several days to do the job because we had to move the furniture, then use the machine, then wait for the rug to dry before moving the furniture back in. But it really made her rugs look so much nicer. There were still worn paths but it truly helped. You will need the machine, one or two bottles of the concentrated rug shampoo, the stain remover, and a traffic lane cleaner (all of which are sold at the Rug Doctor kiosk at the grocery store). If your grandparents have a dog or cat you may want to put in some concentrated flea killer in the wash water. Pre treat the traffic lanes and stains. Use VERY hot tap water in the tank with the shampoo and additives. After you shampoo the rugs, RINSE at least twice with clean hot water. You will be putting a lot of water in the rug and padding, most of which will be pulled back out by the shampoo machine. Use fans set on high to help dry the rugs. The problem with cleaning old rugs is there is a deep layer of packed in dirt at the root of the fibers on top of the backing. If you can borrow a Kirby vacuum cleaner to help break out some of that dirt it will help a lot. This is quite a big project and is a lot of work, but is a LOT cheaper than replacing the rugs. Hopefully you can get them to help you with moving the furniture.

This Site Might Help You.

RE:

How to clean an old braided rug?

I don't know if it is an antique (probably older than I am, anyway). I got it from my grandparents house, and I am not sure what it is made of, but it might be some kind of wool. It smells terrible (from years of pet accidents), and collects dust like nothing I have ever seen. I have used...

Try mixing some liquid laundry soap with water in a spray bottle. Take it out side and hang it over something like a fence or a couple of chairs spray it down real good with the soap and then use the water hose with a nozzle on it to spray it down. Leave out it the sun to dry . You might have to turn it over in a few hours to help both sides dry. I would also clean both sides. Hope this helps.

HI. If it's wool have it dry cleaned; you will shrink it or ruin it if you wash it. If not, we use a solution of white vinegar and water to clean stains off of antique tablecloths, then hand wash them very gently with woolite.

We've also had luck with various products we found at antique car shows. Those guys are serious about restoring their cars and go out of their way to keep it original! Check online.

Good Luck!

ASK maryantiques... GET maryanswers!

http://maryantiques.com/

my mom used to take the rug outside and lay it on the driveway and blast it with the power washer, since it sounds like you live in an apartment maybe borrow a friends truck and lay it in the truck box and take it to the car wash and blast it with the power washer there. if that sounds like too much work get it professionally cleaned. you can call around some laundrymats might do it for you.

Gotta take it out in the yard and beat those things. Airing it out should get rid of the smell, but to get rid of the dust, you need a rug beater. Good way to relieve some stress, too.

Doesn't lay flat anymore after cleaning how would I get it to look new again