Can you clean an area rug with a pressure washer
There is no doubt, an area rug is the best item that can magnify the aristocratic look of your living room, bedroom, or even your reading room. It’s an awesome and fabulous look, enhancing the home décor value a few times.
However, a dirty area rug that becomes dingy or overcast almost makes your living room garbage alike. Making your contaminated area rug clean, shiny, and free from dirt- a pressure washer is the best convenient trick. The high water pressure comes the pressure washer-easily can remove all stubborn dirt and debris from the rug’s surface.
So if you are going through a panic-thinking can you clean an area rug with a pressure washer or not, the short answer is yes mostly you can.
So how? Or what is the advantage of using a pressure washer for such cleaning?
Let’s read the whole article to get all your answers-
Can you clean an area rug with a pressure washer?
It mostly depends on the type of rug. If the rag is of synthetic made-yes you can clean it with pressure washers. But if you have wool rugs or natural fiber rug-you cannot wash them through the pressure washer. Oriental Rugs also fall in the same category you cannot wash these using the pressure washer.
Oriental rugs are made with delicate fiber, which can damage if you clean them through high water flow. You can clean these rugs either through vacuum cleaning or through a rug cleaning expert. For wool rug cleaning, the steam cleaning procedure is safe comparatively.
On the other hand, a rug made the natural fibers more sensitive, and rarely can tolerate excessive water! Pressure washing is almost impossible in that case. However, you also can see the user manual of the rug so that you can get a clear-cut idea about the cleaning procedure of your rug. n expert consultancy also is appreciable for better convenience.
So which type of rug can we clean through pressure washing? Not the wool rugs, nor the natural fiber rug’s surface even not the oriental rugs! Yes, only the polyester rug is the real-time candidate for the pressure washer.
As polyester comes from its mother product plastic, so it can go well even though the high water flows from the pressure washer. Before jumping to the next discussion, I would like to share one thing. Please do not take the risk of using a pressure washer, if you are confused about your rug materials.
How to clean an area rug with a pressure washer?
It is not so complicated you are unnecessarily worried about which. Only a few basic instructions you need to follow, that’s it.
However, the below-listed item you will need to clean your area rug.
- Normal water/warm water
- Rug cleaning solutions/mild detergent
- Rug cleaning brush or rug scrubber
- A pressure washer with garden hose and dryer
Here are all the step-by-step directions for rug pressure washing
Prepare all necessities:
Sincerely arrange all items, listed above. Also brings your rug, which you are going to clean. So where you will clean the rugs? As the rug has a wider surface, you will need a lot f water splashing to clean all the dirt from this, therefore outdoor cleaning is a must here. There are two ways, you can follow rules to set the rug.
Firstly, you can hang the rug on a larger iron hanger. Be sure this the iron hanger or the metal rail is sturdy enough to hold the rug’s weight. The second option is to lie down on an open flat surface in your backyard. Rather it is more convenient to clean the rug surface. When you clean the front surface of the rug in such a way, the underside of it cannot get loosened debris, therefore you do not need to afford double.
Moreover when the cleaning process of the entire rug is done, if the backyard/the cleaning area is contaminated with soapy water and debris, you can easily clean the whole area using the pressure washer. However, if you have a tight space the availability of the rail is a good option, but for the larger rugs, open space is a must.
Go for the pre-soak:
Once you have selected where you will clean the rugs, and also arrange all necessary items-now start the cleaning procedure. Pre-soak your rug using soapy water. You can use detergent too, but be sure it is mild dish soap graded. You can use mild hot water, it will help the soap or detergent to easily invade through the rug’s dirt.
Interestingly, liquid dishwashing soap also can meet your need here. However, how you can pre-soak the rug? It’s pretty simple, use a spray bottle keep the soapy water inside the spray bottle, and then spray the water onto the rug’s surface.
Or a large bucket also comes in your help here, just fill the bucket with a soapy water solution/water mixture and then slowly pour the water from the bucket into the rug’s surface. Before moving to the next step, wait at least 15 to 20 minutes. In the meanwhile, your rug will soften enough and will loosen all its dirt from its surface.
Beat the rug with the scrubber or brush:
If the carpet is messy with pet hair, or muck-only the high water flow is unable to remove these. Gently beat the rug with the brush/scrubber, if needed use water to enhance the scrubbing procedure.
Take a stiff brush with rubber bristles (metal bristles will damage the rug’s area). And rub well whole over the rug, all sides, top, and bottom. You can use a stain remover like gel stain remover to remove any stubborn stain from the rug’s area. Also, stain remover samely applicable to remove the stain.
Bring the pressure washer:
Now bring the pressure washer, and turn it on. Give the rug a general rinse with the high water flow coming from the pressure washer spray nozzles. However, you can go with another rinse, that is final rinse with the finest water spring from a close direction, just use the lighter spraying nozzles, and start after a trial on a shorter area of the carpet.
For carpet or rug cleaning, we suggest using 25 and 40 degrees angles in between the water spray and the surface, the spray distance needs to be a minimum of 12 inches far from the rug.
Dry the rug:
It is the final stage of your rug’s cleaning and it’s an outdoor task. You cannot dry the rug or carpet indoors, However, hang it over the carpet on a sturdy chair, or you can hang it on a metal rail as well. Just be sure you are keeping the rug under direct sun, it will dry the rug well.
What about the Power washing of your rug?
It’s a general question that we need to go through. Usually, all outdoor rugs are made with plastic materials that are polypropylene. This polypropylene can withstand a high flow of water very easily. Power washers are usually intended for more deep cleaning rugs. Though power washers are not so widely used, as pressure washers can easily remove all the grime and gunk from the carpet or rug surface.
Be sure about the spray nozzle, the angle of the water spray, and also the spray distance from the rug surface. You can use the power washer to clean the polyester rugs, but you might not need this. Using any sort of high pressure on the carpet could damage its lifespan.
FAQs:
How do you deep clean an area rug?
Generally, I use a pressure washer to deep clean an entire rug. However, I have some sturdy outdoor area rag in front of my garage floor. I heard my neighbor sometimes gives power washing to his outdoor rugs, it is quite effective for him.
What can I use to clean my carpet with a pressure washer?
Just the common cleaning item, like water, soap or detergent, and a carpet brush. Dishwashing soap and liquid dishwashers could a great alternatives to soap. However additionally you can take the carpet cleaner, and stain remover to better cleaning performance.
How do you clean an area rug without a machine?
Manual cleaning of the rug ensures it is not going to face excess pressure and that water comes from the pressure or the power washer. I just vacuum my carpet frequently to avoid wet cleaning frequently. However, at first, I pre-soak my area rug, then brush the whole area rug very well. Finally, I take a bucket filled with water and pour the water whole over the rug.
Finally,
So can you clean an area rug with a pressure washer or not actually depends totally on the rug type and your cleaning need. If your rug does not gather enough dirt for a deep clean, just vacuum it frequently. Vacuuming properly also will remove all the dirt and debris from the rug’s surface. Also, you can clean your area rugs with a professional once a year, It will make your rug durable.
Whatever you do, please read the care tag of your rug/cleaning instructions before you take any attempt to handle it. The fact is, the more softly you will care your rug, the more it will live for you.
