It's Snowing Rug Fluff

Today's blog topic is area rugs that shed and shed and then shed some more.

This area rug came to us a few days ago for cleaning. This fluffy shag area rug is very soft to touch and I love the chocolate brown colour

The client had to stop using the rug because of the excessive shedding. When we unrolled the rug and rolled it back up there were six little tufts of fibers on the floor.

If that is what comes out from just unrolling I would hate to see what comes out after it is walked on.

The fibers of the area rug are wool, but in two different textures. There are the fuzzy thick tufts and twisted narrow fibers.

The two different types of textures make the area rug harder to clean because the long narrow fibers lay down and trap the soil underneath them.

To thoroughly clean these rugs it would take a lot of hours separating the fibers and making them stand up and even then we still couldn't guarantee 100% soil removal the rug is just too dense.

Why do these shag area rugs shed so much before and after cleaning?

The construction of these rugs has the fibers looped through the backing with no knots used.

Another reason could be the quality of wool used to make these rugs. If they use low quality or shorter pieces of wool it would tend to shed more than a better quality and longer strands.

What can you do to not buy an area rug that sheds?

Easy, rub your hand in a circle on the rug. If you are getting a fur ball or a lot of fluff walk away. Check the back of the rug. If it looks like the fibers are looped through like above, tug on a single fiber. Sometimes they can easily be pulled out.

When there is a fabric backing on the rug smell the rug front and back. Some rugs can have a permanent bad odour.

By smelling and rubbing an area rug you can avoid buying a rug that you will not be happy with.

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary.