If you recently bought a shag rug, it is vital to understand that these are not your typical carpets. Unlike other plain carpets, shag rugs are fluffy and soft to the feet and can feel like you are stepping on a cloud. Additionally, shag rugs are warm; hence, they are ideal for homes with tiled floors. However, since shag rugs are more plush compared to ordinary carpets, it is easier for dirt to sink deeper and become challenging to get rid of using normal cleaning methods. For this reason, care must be taken when using carpet cleaning techniques on shag rugs, and this article highlights tips on how to do it without damaging your shag rug.
Turn Carpet Upside Down
A common mistake people make when cleaning shag rugs is using a brush to try to remove dirt lodged deep in the plush. While this will help get rid of floating dirt, deep-lying debris will remain, and your insistence will only damage the plush. Therefore, the first thing you should do is to roll and turn the carpet upside down. By doing so, the deep-lying dirt and debris will go to the surface or fall to the floor, thus making it easy to clean. However, you need to engage the beater bar on your vacuum cleaner to dislodge the trapped dirt. If your vacuum cleaner does not have this feature, use a rod as an alternative. Tap gently on the rag's underside, and make sure you cover every inch of the carpet. The best thing about using the beater bar is that you kill two birds with one stone; you get to dislodge trapped dirt, and at the same time, vacuum the underside.
Use a Crevice Tool
As mentioned earlier, you should never use a brush to clean your shag rug because doing so will only damage the thick fibres. How about a standard vacuum cleaning? This, too, will not work effectively because shag rugs are too thick for normal vacuum cleaning. Therefore, your only recourse in as far as vacuuming a shag rug goes is to buy a crevice tool. Attach the crevice tool to the vacuum cleaner's hose since it will not be affected by the thick plush. Most importantly, make sure that you hang the carpet on a railing so that the plush can open up. This allows the crevice tool easy access to the deeper parts of the shag rug.
Steer Clear of Hand Knots/Fringe Details
Shag rugs come in varying designs, and you will come across some that have decorative hand knots or fringe details. If you have such a design on your shag rug, then it is vital to steer clear because you will ruin the carpet design and your vacuum cleaner. It usually happens when you engage the beater bar brush feature on your vacuum cleaner. If you want to vacuum clean a shag rug with fringe details safely, make sure that you use a vacuum cleaner that allows you to switch off the beater bar option.
