Thick piles of shag, whether they are wool, cotton, sheepskin, or flokati, belong on your floors. They are luxurious and soft during the winter months and they can absorb both light and heat to keep you and your family nice and comfy. But lots of use means eventual spills and messes. The marvelous texture of a shag rug pairs well with other textures in your room but also poses particularly pesky cleaning challenges.
Shag carpets are known for their high pile and might leave you wondering if they are easy to clean. In the modern age of washing machines and vacuums, these rugs are simple to maintain. Unless these rugs have been heavily stained, you won’t need to have them professionally cleaned. Instead, use the following methods to keep your shag rugs soft, neat, and stylish.
Washable Shag Rugs: Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
Modern conveniences provide modern solutions for when your shag rug gets dirty. If your shag rug is machine washable, you can skip all these other steps and roll up the rug and throw it in the wash. Yup, Rugs USA washable rugs are one unified piece, so there’s no need to separate different layers before or after washing: Just toss the whole rug in your large-capacity washer. Rugs like this Luna Washable Shag Area Rug in white, found at Rugs USA, provide all the style and luxury associated with shag, but can be easily cleaned.
How to Regularly Care for Your Shag Rug
Your pets may run from the vacuum, but your shag rug prefers to be vacuumed once a week to keep the dust and dirt away from it. Take a handheld vacuum and flip your rug over so that the shaggy side faces down. Use the hose to suck the dirt from the back of the rug. If your regular vacuum has a “high pile” setting that works on other rugs, test to see if your shag rug can handle it. Dirt left in the high pile of the rug can damage the rug, so make sure your vacuuming technique is thorough, especially if you have children or pets in the house.
Rugs like this Carved Moroccan Diamonds Area Rug found at Rugs USA offer a soft place for children and pets to play. Keeping them clean and fresh requires only a simple vacuum a few times a month.
Clean Your Shag Rug the Old-Fashioned Way
Consider adding this activity to your spring cleaning to-do list.
There’s no better way to clean a rug without damaging it than beating it with a stick–the old-fashioned way! Pin up your shag rug on a laundry line outside or in the garage and whack away at it with a broom or some kind of pole. Not only will this method help you work out some aggression if you’ve had a hard day, but it will also loosen dust and allergens from your shag rug. After you’re done, hang it outside in the bright sunlight or the cold wind for a couple of hours. The extreme temperature will help kill any bacteria trapped in the rug.
Rugs like this Fluffy Speckled Shag Area Rug in ivory will occasionally need to be shaken or beaten in some way to get rid of the excess dirt, dust, pet hair, or crumbs that get trapped in its thick pile.
Clean Up Stained Shags with Dry Shampoo
Dry shampoo isn’t just for a bad hair day anymore! Sprinkle some loose, dry shampoo powder on your rug, or a specific stained area on your rug, and take a hand-held vacuum to the area to vacuum up the shampoo. Check out the elements used to make your shag rug and make sure to match the shampoo to the specific material: If it’s a wool rug, make sure your shampoo works with wool. If you aren’t sure, test out a small area first to see if the shampoo properly cleans your shag rug.
Rugs like this Multi Vibrant Moroccan Diamond Shag Area Rug hide stains very well, but when those stains are too obvious or need to be cleaned off before a party, try some dry shampoo to see if the stain can be removed.
Freshen Up Your Shag Rug Over Time
If your rug looks clean but needs a quick refresh, sprinkle some baking soda on it to absorb any bad odors or dust. Let it sit for four hours or more. You can shake baking soda on the rug first thing in the morning before you leave for work, and then beat the powder from the rug in the garage when you get home at night. Baking soda is a natural, easy way to make sure your rug doesn’t smell or contain allergens that might make you and your children sneeze.
If your pets like to sleep on soft rugs like this Solid Shag Area Rug in white, shake a little baking soda on some of the well-used spots to keep them from smelling. Use a brush to work the powder into the pile.
Small shag rugs can be put in the dryer on a low setting with very little heat to have the dirt shaken out of them. The dryer can also help rejuvenate the shag rug and make it fluffy and soft again, especially if you’ve just cleaned it by hand or beaten it with a broom.
Put Some Elbow Grease into It
After a long life in the playroom, the living room, or the dining room, your rug might have seen some better days. If your rug isn’t machine-washable (see above) and really needs to be cleaned but you don’t want to use a professional service, fill up a bathtub or a plastic bin with warm water. Take a mild, all-natural detergent and pour a cup of it into the water. Stir until bubbles form. Throw your shag rug in the water and let it sit ten minutes or longer. If there are stains, take a brush and scrub the stained areas. Take the rug out and hang it up to dry after you’ve rinsed all the soap out.
Rugs like this Double Diamond Shag Area Rug in white from Rugs USA last well in any location and can handle traffic, stains, and more from friends, family, and pets. If you get a rug that’s too big to be put in a tub or bin, then hang it up somewhere that can handle water and soap and rinse it down with the soapy mixture. Take a small brush and scrub the damaged or stained areas to help get the stains out.
What to Do When Something Spills
When someone spills milk on your shag rug, there is no need to completely clean the rug to get one small stain out. Small stains can be easily addressed with a detergent pen and some warm water. Make sure to get to these stains as soon as you can, since the longer you wait the harder it will be to remove the stain. Plain vinegar and water work effectively as well to remove stains without destroying the rug or harming the weave.
Find Your Washable Shag Rugs and More at Rugs USA
Whether you want an easy, soft, machine-washable shag rug from Rugs USA or any of our other shag options to make your room comfortable and warm, Rugs USA has plenty of styles available to match your style needs. Check out our shag rugs here.
