Having a wool rug in your home can brighten a room and give your overall decor a bit of an upscale look. Wool is an excellent rug fiber because it is naturally resilient for a long-lasting rug. Plus, the fibers resist dirt and water well, but one thing they are no match for is your pet’s urine. If the urine is allowed to sit on your wool rug, it can alter the look of the fibers and ruin the dye.
Even people with really well-behaved pets may find themselves with an accident occurring once in a while, so it is imperative that you know how to clean your rug. Getting to the urine stain quickly is actually half the battle of coming clean again!
Soak it Up
Using rubber gloves, you will want to use a thick pad of paper towels soak up as much of the urine as is possible. Place the towels on top of the soiled spot to allow them to absorb the liquid. Avoid pressing down on the towels as that can actually cause the urine to spread into the surrounding fibers and any padding underneath. As the pad of paper towels becomes saturated with urine, discard them and replace with a new pad until they are no longer absorbing urine.
Blot it Up
Once you have absorbed as much as possible by simply allowing the towels to sit on the urine spot, you will have to start blotting up the rest. Put a perimeter of clean paper towels around the wet spot, and then you can start blotting the wet spot with a new clean pad of towels. Start on the outside edges and work towards the middle to help prevent the urine from spreading.
Dilute it
Now that you have soaked up as much of the urine as you possibly can, you need to dilute and neutralize the stain. You will want to fill a bucket with a solution of cool water and distilled white vinegar at a ratio of 1 tablespoon of vinegar per 1 cup of water. Carefully dampen the urine spot with the water and vinegar mixture.
Absorb it
Once the urine spot has been saturated with the water and vinegar solution, it is time to soak it back up again. Using a white towel (so as not to accidentally transfer color to your rug) blot up the water and vinegar solution in the same manner as you did the urine. Start on the outside edge and work towards the middle of the spot.
Dry it
Once you have absorbed as much of the solution as you can, you will want to allow the rug to thoroughly dry. It is important to allow air to flow underneath the rug. However, some rugs are much to large to hang. If this is the case, you can place something underneath the rug to prop the spot up from the floor or pad.
At NYCleaners, we know that a wool rug can be quite the investment which means you want to keep it looking great for as long as possible. Use the information provided in this post to keep your rug looking its best for years to come, even if your home is full of pets.