Wool carpets can look beautiful and quite refined in a home. Plus, they're gaining popularity since they are made from a renewable, all-natural material. But many homeowners are not quite sure how to care for a wool carpet. Indeed, maintaining a wool carpet is a bit different than caring for a standard, synthetic one. Here's how to proceed.

Vacuuming

Dirt tends to stay on top of a wool carpet rather than sinking down into the fibers as it does on a synthetic carpet. But the more you walk on a wool carpet, the deeper the dirt goes. Since you won't want to vacuum your wool carpet with a brush (doing so will just make it look fluffy), it's important to vacuum it often to ensure you're removing dirt before it gets pushed deeper into the fibers. Make sure you set the vacuum brush as high as possible, or if your vacuum has a no-brush floor attachment, use that.

Stain Removing

 If you pull the average stain remover off the shelf and look at the label, it will say it's recommended for use on synthetic carpets only. The manufacturers are not lying! If you use a standard carpet stain remover on wool, you may end up with a bigger stain, a bleached area, or even a place where the carpet fibers shrink and contract. You may have to do some searching to find a wool-safe carpet stain remover, but the search is worth it.

When removing stains from your wool carpet, you need to be very careful to only blot the stain. Don't rub it. If you rub the stain back and forth or in a circle, you will cause the wool fibers to separate and develop a frayed, fluffed-up appearance.

Carpet Cleaning

Leave your carpet shampooer in the closet, and rely on the professionals for your annual steam cleaning. While wool carpeting can be cleaned with conventional steam cleaning methods, it is very sensitive to the rate at which it dies. Many home carpet shampooers leave a lot of water behind, which can cause the wool to shrink. They may also not heat the water high enough to properly extract dirt from the dense fibers. Professional equipment removes more water, so the carpet dries evenly. And an experienced carpet cleaning technician will know just what products and what temperature of water to use to clean your carpet without causing any stains or wear.

Maintaining a wool carpet is not hard – it just requires a little attention to detail. Contact a carpet cleaning company, such as Harper's Carpet Cleaners, for more information. 

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