Thread: Totally dumb question ~ how to wash large area rug?

The only carpet we have upstairs is a semi large area rug with a hard back. It needs to be washed badly as the kids have apparently gotten some ground in food in it.

My dad says take it outside, hose it off, scrub with soap and let it dry on the deck railing. It got up to 70* here yesterday, but I don't know how long it would take to dry that.

Or I suppose I could do spot cleaning, even though the whole thing could really use a wash since I've been spot cleaning it for a year now.

Yes, I am nesting.

I recently paid someone to professionally clean my area rug (approx. 6x8'). He was a friend's DH so he only charged me $10. Price will depend on the fiber content though. Happy nesting!

:hahaha: When I was growing up, my mom would wash it outside with a hose and some Woolite and hang dry over a small clothing line. It sometims gets really cold here in Ohio ~ but she still does the hand washing/drying in the wintertime. It'll dry, but it'll become really hard and maybe icy (if no wind) ~ I remember her coming out with a broom often and she would "pound" the rug to get rid of excess water.

I am not much help, aren't I?

My folks live in the country so for professional cleaning, it can be :drop: expensive!! But if it was me, it'd be worth every penny! LOL!

We took our inlaws' rug to a professional cleaner because our cat had peed on it several times. When we got it back, it still stunk. So, the man offered to clean it again and didn't charge us at all for either cleaning. Well, it still stunk when we got it back. So, my FIL took it to the carwash (the kind you use the hose yourself) and washed it there. It never stunk again! Go figure! Oh, and we hung it out on the deck to dry. It took a couple of days but the stink was gone so it was worth it. HTH!

Thanks! It's really not big enough to rent a cleaner, I don't think. I would if we had more carpeting! LOL Okay, so it's large for us, but it's probably not considered that large at all. (I can roll it up and fit it in my buick trunk if that helps! LOL)

The drying was the part I was most wondering. I may just do it today and see what happens. Better hurry since the sun is coming out.