How to Clean an Area Rug on a Hardwood Floor

Area rugs protect your hardwood floor from scratches and other damages, but they also have an additional responsibility: cleaning and maintenance! Regular area rug cleaning prevents odor, dirt, dust, and stain build-up.

Due to its delicate fabrics and tightly woven fibers, an area rug is more complicated to clean than a carpet. It's even more complicated when the area rug is on a hardwood floor. Knowing how to clean an area rug on a hardwood floor helps extend the life of the rug and the hardwood floor.

Always lay a plastic sheet between the floor and the rug to prevent chemical contamination, staining, and water damage.

Read on as I guide you on correctly cleaning area rugs on hardwood floors without causing damage.

How to Clean an Area Rug Without Damaging the Wood Floor?

Vacuum your area rugs once or twice weekly to avoid dust, dirt, stain, or odor build-up. Give them an in-depth cleaning every 2 to 3 times annually or more if there's high foot traffic.

Before starting, choose the correct cleaning method and protect your hardwood floor when cleaning an area rug.

Follow the following steps to clean your area rug on a hardwood floor.

Dust the Rug

Debris, dirt, and dust accumulate under the area rug/padding. Before vacuum cleaning, if the weather permits, take your rug outside and shake it to remove the embedded dust particles. You can also use a tennis racket or a broom handle to beat it to remove all the loose dirt.

This step makes cleaning the area rug much easier and faster.

Before placing the area rug on the floor, dust or sweep the hardwood floor to remove debris, dirt, and dust to prevent scratching when vacuuming the area rug. You can also mop the hardwood floor to remove embedded dust, but you must allow it to dry completely before replacing the rug.

Dusty hardwood floors are slippery, so it's crucial to mop or sweep them before placing the area rugs.

Vacuum

If the care instructions permit vacuuming the rug, proceed. Vacuuming removes pet dander and the embedded dust particles. Use the correct attachment to avoid damaging your rug. A floor nozzle is suitable for cleaning most area rugs.

Starting from one end to the other, gently vacuum the rug, ensuring you cover every part. To avoid damaging the rug's fibers, vacuum in the direction of the pile.

Spot Clean

Drinks, food, and pet pee stains are common on rugs, so clean them immediately to prevent them from setting, which becomes harder to fix.

Use a microfiber towel to blot excess liquid (don't rub). Determine the right cleaning solution based on the type of stain you're dealing with. Use regular carpet cleaning detergent to spot-clean food stains and enzymatic cleaners to fix pet urine stains and odors. When using store-bought cleaners, religiously follow the manufacturer's cleaning instructions.

Before spot cleaning, place a plastic sheet under the area rug where the stain is to prevent moisture from seeping through and damaging your wooden floor.

Be extra careful when dealing with larger stains; excess water could warp the hardwood floor or cause discoloration. You may want to engage Zerorez®, the experts in cleaning rugs, carpets, and all types of floors.

Protect the Hardwood Floor

To protect the hardwood floor, lay a plastic sheet beneath the rug to prevent chemical contamination, staining, and water damage.

Roll the rug halfway to set the sheet under it. Unroll the rug so the half sits on the plastic sheet, then fold it from the other side until you reach the sheet. Gently pull the plastic sheet to cover the rug's underside.

Shampoo the Rug

Test environmentally friendly carpet shampoo on a small area of your rug to see if there is any discoloration or dye transfer. If there's no damage, clean the rug. Be careful not to overwet it.

Overwetting could dampen the rug, making it difficult to dry fast, resulting in mildew growth. Under-soaking could make it difficult to successfully remove dirt and dust.

Follow the instructions on the shampoo label to determine how long to leave the shampoo on the carpet to avoid irreversible damage. Avoid using a brush to scrub the area rug; you could damage the wooden floor.

To avoid damage to rugs with a "dry clean only" label, hire area rug cleaning experts.

Rinse the Rug

Use a carpet steamer to rinse the shampoo, as it doesn't create a mess. Give your rug at least 24 to 48 hours to dry completely, ensuring the room is well-ventilated.

You may also run fans to allow proper air circulation for fast rug drying.

Can You Steam Clean Area Rugs on Hardwood Floors?

You can steam clean area rugs on hardwood floors, but this is better done by experts than DIY. The high temperatures used during steam cleaning rugs could damage your hardwood floor, causing it to warp.

For DIY, move your area rug onto a tiled, concrete, or heat-safe floor and steam clean it.

How to Steam Clean an Area Rug on Hardwood Floor SAFELY!

To safely steam clean an area rug, use a thick rug pad on the hardwood floor. A 6 inches thick rug pad would be ideal. The pad creates a barrier between the rug and the wooden floor, preventing warping due to high steam temperatures.

Follow the following steps to steam clean an area rug safely while it sits on a hardwood floor.

• Roll the area rug and place the plastic sheet on the floor

• Unroll the rug and set the steamer to low heat to prevent damaging the hardwood floor or the rug fibers.

• Steam clean the rug from the furthest corner towards the door.

• Run fans and open all the windows for 4 to 5 hours to allow the rug to dry completely.

• Once dry, roll the rug to remove the plastic sheet and unroll to cover your hardwood floor.

If you saturate the rug with steam, it will not dry fast, and it could cause damage to your hardwood floor. The Best Way to Clean Area Rugs on Hardwood Floors

The best way to clean area rugs on hardwood floors is by first protecting the wooden floor from cleaning agents, water, and heat damage. Always place a plastic sheet or any other waterproof material under a padded rug to prevent water from penetrating and causing damage.

Steam cleaning area rugs on a wooden floor help to disinfect the rug and kill germs, but the hot moisture could cause the wooden surface to warp.

Hiring professionals to steam clean area rugs on hardwood floors is better than taking risks.

Zerorez® offers the best area rug and hardwood floor cleaning services in the United States of America. Let us help you clean your rug while maintaining the quality of your hardwood floor.

Schedule your service online to have your rugs professionally cleaned.