How To Clean Shag Carpet

Who doesn’t love Shag? We are sure that most housewives dream of laying such a thing in their cozy bedroom or spacious living room. However, if the risks of staining the carpet in the bedroom are quite small, then the living room is a place where some kind of movement occurs everyday.

Small children spill food on the carpet, pets run into the house with dirty paws, friends accidentally spill a glass of beer on the floor while watching a movie. Anything can happen!

Do you have the same problem? Then we know how to help you!

What is a shag carpet?

Shag is a newly invented material. In fact, it repeats the well-known “Saxony” but has a denser structure and a higher pile. Shag fits perfectly into almost any design, from rustic to loft.

However, the pile height creates several cleaning problems, since tightly twisted fibers can be up to 30-40 mm. This means that your feet fall into a carpet like grass.

How to clean a shag carpet?

First, you need to decide if you just want to remove the dust and restore color of the thing, or if you want to remove some recently occurred stain. We will cover both types of cleaning.

How to clean dust from the shag carpet?

The dust lies both on the surface and deep in the root of the carpet, at the base of the pile. If the dust on the surface is easy to get with a vacuum cleaner, the dust in the base requires more serious approach.

First, you can knock out the dust with a stick. Just put the carpet on the fence or on the stairs railing outdoor and beat it well with a special dusting agent or a thick branch.

Stand a little sideways to the carpet while knocking out dust to avoid getting sediment in your eyes and respiratory tract.

How to wash the carpet and restore its color?

The carpet can suffer from various situations. And even if you did not spill anything on it, it fades over time under the pressure of the dust that has settled on top. In such cases, it makes sense to think about wet cleaning.

You need a long-bristled brush, but it should be soft enough to separate the fluff and reach to the base of the carpet. You also need warm water and laundry soap.

It requires to work with your hands, but the effect will not be long in coming. Dampen the brush and lightly dampen the carpet with warm water. Rub the carpet with laundry soap, then use a brush to scrub the pile of the carpet in a circular motion.

This is a tedious process, so cleaning a large carpet can take a long time.

After the carpet is well soaped, you need to rinse the brush and repeat the cleaning with clean water. The carpet will foam, its color will return. You have to repeat the process several times to wash out all the soap.

Is there any alternative?

Sure! For example, washing with a hose. You will also need to lather the carpet and hang it over a fence or stair rail. Then plug in a high-pressure water hose and quickly rinse all soap out of the carpet base. Let the carpet dry for a few hours. Now you can return it to its rightful place!

How to clean stains from shag carpet?

The best companion for high pile rugs is baking soda and vinegar. They are quite harmless and can be found in any home.

So, use equal amounts of water, white vinegar and a little baking soda to end up with a mushy mixture. After that, apply the gruel to the stain and leave it on for about half an hour. Then wash off the mixture with warm water and let the carpet dry.

This method is suitable for almost all shaggy carpets. However, in more difficult cases, it’s worth using a special carpet stain remover.

Related Post: Best Outdoor Bleach

What else do you need to know about shag carpet cleaning?

In addition to cleaning, you need to understand that the carpet absorbs odors deeply. We recommend taking the carpet outside for a couple of hours once a month to eliminate unpleasant odors. This will create an additional source of freshness in your home.

Conclusions:

A shag carpet’s best friend is a vacuum cleaner. However, even without it, you can achieve impressive results and keep your carpet fresh. True, the manual method will require more effort, but its effect will last for a longer period.