A well-made wool rug is built to last 80–100 years. With basic care it'll outlive your mortgage. With bad care — wrong cleaner, wrong technique, wrong moment of panic — you can ruin a $4,000 rug in 30 seconds. Here's the full care manual we send to every customer.
Daily and weekly care
Vacuum once a week (usually)
- Use suction only — turn off the beater bar. Beater bars chop wool fibers and damage the foundation.
- Vacuum in the direction of the pile (run your hand over the rug to feel which way is "with the grain").
- Twice a year, vacuum the back of the rug too — that's where embedded dirt lives.
Rotate every six months
If your rug sits in sunlight or under heavy traffic, rotate it 180° twice a year. Even wear, even fading, double the lifespan.
Don't use a robot vacuum
Roomba-style vacuums catch on tassels and fringes and yank out wool fibers. Use them everywhere except the rug.
Spot cleaning spills
The single most important rule: blot, never rub. Rubbing forces the spill into the foundation and damages fiber.
Liquid spills (water, wine, juice)
- Blot immediately with a clean white cloth or paper towel. Press, don't rub. Repeat with fresh cloth until you stop pulling up liquid.
- Mix 1 teaspoon dish soap (clear, fragrance-free) into 1 cup cold water. Dab onto the spot with a clean cloth.
- Blot again with plain cold water to rinse.
- Cover the damp spot with a thick stack of paper towels weighed down by a heavy book. Leave overnight.
Solid spills (food, mud)
- Let it dry completely. Do not panic-wipe wet mud — you'll grind it in.
- Once dry, scrape off the bulk with a dull knife or spoon.
- Vacuum.
- If a stain remains, treat as liquid spill above.
Pet accidents
- Blot urine immediately with clean cloths until dry.
- Apply enzyme-based pet stain remover (Nature's Miracle is the standard). Test on a corner first.
- Blot, rinse with cold water, blot again.
- If the smell persists, the urine has reached the foundation — call a professional cleaner.
Deep cleaning
Every 2–3 years: professional
Hand-knotted wool rugs need professional cleaning every 24–36 months in residential use, more often if you have pets or kids. Look for a rug-specialty cleaner (not a carpet steamer) — they wash rugs in a dedicated bath, not on your floor.
Cost: typically $3–$6 per square foot. So an 8×10 rug runs $240–$480 to clean. Still cheaper than replacing a $2,500 rug.
What to ask a rug cleaner
- Do you use a wash pit (good) or in-home steam cleaning (bad for fine wool)?
- Do you use pH-balanced wool-specific shampoo?
- Do you air-dry or heat-dry? (Air-dry only.)
- Do you carry insurance against rug damage?
What never to do
- Never steam-clean a hand-knotted wool rug at home. Heat and moisture shrink wool and weaken the foundation.
- Never use bleach or oxygen cleaners. They strip natural dyes and weaken fibers.
- Never put a wet rug in direct sunlight. Causes patchy fading.
- Never store a damp rug. Wool is hygroscopic — store damp and you get mildew, dry rot, and moths.
- Never use a beater-bar vacuum. Worth saying twice.
Storage
If you're storing a rug for more than two months:
- Vacuum thoroughly, both sides.
- Roll (don't fold) with the pile facing in.
- Wrap in unbleached muslin or breathable fabric (never plastic — plastic traps moisture).
- Store off the ground, in a cool dry place. Add cedar blocks or lavender sachets to deter moths.
- Unroll and air every 6 months.
Moths: prevention is everything
Wool moths lay eggs in undisturbed wool. The eggs hatch into larvae that eat the wool. Prevention:
- Vacuum regularly — moths love undisturbed surfaces.
- Rotate rugs to disturb potential nesting.
- If you store a rug, use cedar or lavender, and check it every 3 months.
- If you find moth damage (small bald patches, fine sand-like debris): isolate the rug, vacuum thoroughly, freeze it for 72 hours (rolled, in a heavy-duty bag), then air for a week before returning to use.
The 30-second daily routine
Walk in. Sweep your eyes across the rug. Spot-blot anything spilled in the last day. Done. That's all the day-to-day care a wool rug needs.
For more, read our rug size guide and Persian rug guide.