Wool Carpet Maintenance

Wool carpet is a popular choice for the home these days, thanks to it being a hard-wearing and insulting product that provides year-round comfort, but even the hardiest products need a little help to excel in the pressures of day-to-day life. And since new carpet can be a substantial investment, we understand that you want to keep your carpet looking great so you can enjoy your refreshed space for as long as possible and we've put together this quick guide to help you out.

One of the easiest ways to protect your new wool carpet is to follow a regular maintenance schedule, which will help make sure your carpet looks its best for longer! Regular vacuuming is one of the most important steps you can take to help maintain your carpet, especially in high traffic areas like hallways, and helps to prolong the life of your carpet. Weekly vacuuming for carpet is best practice, though high traffic areas might need an extra pass during the week! Being consistent and thorough with your vacuuming helps to remove soil and debris before it has the chance to work its way beneath the pile surface and targets the mess when it's at its easiest to remove. After soil has worked beneath the surface, it can abrade the carpet or dull its appearance and becomes much harder to vacuum up.

When vacuuming, the first pass should be against the natural pile direction to help lift the pile and unsettle any dirt or grit. This also helps to reduce the potential for matting! Then, by vacuuming in the direction of the pile, it creates a more uniform finish. Three passes for lightly soiled areas is recommended, while areas with more severe dirt or grit can take five or seven passes to better unsettle the debris and remove it from the carpet.

Spot cleaning

While no carpet is 100% stain proof, by attending to spillages or stains promptly you can avoid a potential stain penetrating into the carpet fibres and becoming impossible to remove. If you do have a spill, don't panic! Rushed or haphazard cleaning can cause permanent stain setting or pile distortion, so your best bet is to follow these basic steps.

1. First, remove as much of the spill as possible. If you're dealing with liquids, blot them up by applying pressure with white paper towels or tissues to soak up as much of the moisture as possible. If dealing with solids, use a blunt knife or spoon to remove the mass prior to taking any further steps and then, if there's any liquid, proceed to blot up the moisture. Working from the outside of the stain and moving towards the middle helps to prevent the spillage being spread and potentially affecting a larger area of carpet when pressure is applied. And, most importantly, NEVER scrub or rub the carpet while cleaning, no matter what step you're on, as this can lead to a fuzzy area where the carpet fibres have been agitated.
2. Common household food and beverage stains can be lifted from wool carpet with warm, not hot, water. Immediately apply water to the stained area to flush it out before pressing it with a white cloth or towel to dry the area. Continue to flush the affected area and pat dry until there's no stain evident on the carpet or the cloth.
3. Once the cloth is coming away clean after flushing, ensure you fully dry the affected area. Using paper towels or a new clean white cloth is best suited for this, as coloured fabrics like dishwashing cloths can bleed into the carpet and create a new stain. Remember, don't rub at the affected zone while drying it!
4. If the stain remains after flushing with water and drying the zone, treating the area with a mixture of one teaspoon of wool laundry detergent and one teaspoon of white vinegar diluted in one litre of warm water can help draw out stubborn marks. Use a clean white cloth or sponge to blot the area and help draw the stain out before rinsing with plain warm water, repeating this process until no stain is evident on the cloth or carpet.
5. Once the stain is fully treated, its important to press dry the carpet and avoid walking on the affected area until fully dry for best results. Use several layers of paper towel to soak up the moisture and, if they become fully damp, replace the paper towel with dry layers to help ensure you draw out all the moisture possible.
6. Sometimes stains may reappear in a zone that seemed perfectly clean, but don't panic! This is caused by a process known as wicking, where the stain resurfaces as the carpet dries and the residual moisture moves along the carpet fibre. Wait until the carpet has fully dried and repeat the previous treatment steps until no stain is evident, but keep in mind this may take several treatments over multiple days.
7. If you've followed the above steps and the stain still won't come out completely, a professional carpet cleaner is your best option. With the tools they have on hand, they can help remove more stubborn stains — and, if its been a while since your last steam clean, it might be worth asking them to do a full clean while they're there to help revitalize the space!

Sometimes, residue from spills or cleaning mixtures can linger on the carpet even after a thorough cleaning. Sugary spills, such as soft drinks, can leave a sugar residue even after the stain has been removed. Similarly, cleaning with a detergent solution can leave a sticky residue if it's not rinsed sufficiently. This can cause soil or debris from foot traffic to settle in one spot, causing discolouration that can give the impression that the stain is reappearing. If this happens, don't stress! Simply run through the stain removal procedure again and ensure everything is thoroughly rinsed and dried once you're done to ensure any residue is fully removed.

A consistent vacuuming schedule and prompt response to any spills are the most effective ways to extend the life of your carpet. For even better results, consider engaging a professional carpet cleaner every twelve to eighteen months for steam cleaning of your carpet. Lighter carpets can especially benefit from this process, as they tend to show soiling earlier than darker carpets despite collecting the same amount of grit and dirt.

Looking for more ways to help extend the lifespan of your carpet? Preventative measures are your best friend!

• By placing mats at doorways, you can lessen the chances of dirt and outdoor substances being tracked into your home. Outdoor mats at entrances help to catch soil and debris before you set foot in the house and, especially in conjunction with indoor mats in high traffic zones, can absorb dirt and moisture before it has a chance to seep into the carpet which helps things keep looking fresh for longer.
• Heavy items of furniture can create something called pile crushing, where the fibres of your carpet are flattened beneath the legs. By moving heavy items of furniture occasionally, it can help prevent excessive pile crushing and keep your carpet looking even for longer. Furniture coasters under the legs of tables or chairs can also prevent pile crushing by distributing the weight more evenly in a wider zone.
• Protective chair pads underneath chairs or appliances with rollers or castor wheels can help prevent wear and damage to your carpet, especially in the home office! If you ever need to move heavy wheeled furniture, such as a piano or a buffet, creating a protective barrier between the carpet and the wheels with heavy cardboard or similar can help prevent embedded wheel tracks damaging the carpet.
• Rugs and mats are a great way to help protect your carpet from uneven wearing in high traffic areas, especially in zones like the living room, but its important to regularly remove and clean them to prevent any debris or contaminants seeping through. Great spots for protective rugs include in front of the couch, beneath the dining table, or underneath a desk that sees heavy usage.
• A steam clean can help revitalise your carpet and remove stubborn residue, but it's important to make sure your carpet is fully dry before replacing items like rugs to lessen the chances of dye bleeding through and staining your carpet. It's also important to routinely clean the rugs you use in your house, though make sure to remove them from the space first to avoid colour bleed! Moving rugs and mats helps prevent dirt building up beneath them where it can't otherwise be seen and by keeping them clean, it makes it much less likely for anything to transfer through.
• Over time, any flooring will eventually fade in the Australian sun — especially in rooms with large windows that let in a lot of light during the course of the day — but fading in your carpet and furnishings can be minimised with window tinting, blinds, shades, or awnings. Moving furniture periodically can expose all areas equally and help to avoid certain zones being visibly more faded due to higher sun exposure.

While nothing lasts forever and carpet is no exception to this rule, with a regular maintenance schedule and a proactive mindset towards preventative measures you can prolong the life of your carpet and keep it looking its best for longer. Wool carpet is a wonderful choice for your home, whether it's a new build or a renovation, and we hope that this guide can help you navigate the day-to-day maintenance with ease!