I like viscose rugs for their exquisite look and noble glance of their fibers. Nevertheless, many of my readers never get viscose rugs because of their hard maintenance. I decided to go deep into this topic and share with you all the necessary tips on viscose rugs care.
As a rule, viscose rugs look great and cost not much. But they are hard to clean and maintain, that’s why many customers avoid getting them. Never use water or water-based cleaners to wash the viscose rug. Dry cleaning with a vacuum, a carpet brush, or a broom is the only thing, which is allowed to take away debris and dirt from the viscose carpet fiber. Read further to know homemade dry cleaning solutions for viscose rugs.
Is Viscose Good for Making Rugs?
As for me, I like viscose rugs. They look extremely luxurious and feel so good to touch. When my feet step on the grey viscose rug in my bedroom, it feels like soft sand to touch. Nevertheless, I got lots of letters from my readers, who criticized viscose as a material for rugs. To help you create your own opinion on viscose rugs, let’s go deeper into the topic.
Viscose is the fabric, which has lots of alternative names, like rayon or art silk. This semi-synthetic fiber is made by boiling wood pulp and some chemicals. At the end of the wood boiling process, they get pure cellulose, which later is pressed through a spinner to form yarn. From this yarn, the manufacturers later make a fabric – viscose. That’s why some viscose opponents call this fabric “a paper”.
From viscose talented designers create lots of things, including suits, T-shirts, skirts, etc. Of course, it is also a popular material for making rugs. But is this fiber good for making rugs? Let’s look through the pros and cons.
The Advantages of Viscose as Material for Rugs
Viscose rugs have the following advantages:
1. Viscose rugs look great and feel good
The lovers of viscose rugs find them very exquisite. Really, these rugs look not worse than those made of wool or silk. They feel super soft, when you touch them, too. You can easily go barefoot and your feet will like it.
2. Viscose rugs cost reasonably
Looking and feeling as great as natural materials, viscose rugs cost much less per square foot. That’s why many people invest in these rugs. Small viscose rugs cost $50 per item. The average price of a viscose rug is $200-$300. The more expensive and big items cost $1000. As you see, each customer can find the viscose rug up to his budget.
3. These rugs have a great variety of colors, patterns, shapes, and sizes
I am sure, my readers are very interested in home design. They look for rugs of a certain shape, size, and color, which suit their room the best. Among viscose rugs, anyone can find what he is looking for. These rugs come in any color of the rainbow.
These advantages of rayon rugs make them popular among homeowners. Very often the inexperienced person sees the super beautiful viscose rug and immediately gets it. Such a rush can lead to disappointment. So, look through the rayon rugs’ disadvantages list before making the final choice.
The Disadvantages of Viscose as Material for Rugs
The main problem with viscose rugs, which any homeowner meets one day, is their sensitivity to any kind of liquids. It is the main disadvantage of these rugs.
1. Sensitive to water leaks and spills
As I’ve already told you, viscose is actually “a paper”. Can you imagine, what happens with paper, which becomes wet? It gets:
- Heavy
- Its fibers become weak
- It loses colors
Even after getting completely dry, the paper never gains its initial shape. The same happens with viscose rugs. There’s unpleasant news. After getting wet, the viscose dyers deoxidize and gain light brown color. So, after getting dry, your viscose rug surface may be covered with light brown spots.
2. Weak durability
Viscose rugs are not suitable for high-traffic areas. They lose their great luxurious look after 70 walks on its surface. To compare, the silk rugs become worn out after 2000 walks. That’s why viscose rugs are more suitable for low-traffic areas, where you go barefoot, like bedrooms, family rooms, or home offices.
3. Difficult to maintain
The previous 2 disadvantages logically evolved into the 3rd one: they are hard to maintain. You can’t clean the viscose rugs with a steam cleaner, your usual carpet shampoo or soap.
But how do you clean viscose rugs? Read further to know!
How to Clean a Viscose Rug
I need to warn you if you have kids or pets at home, viscose rugs are not your ideal choice. Even if your dog or cat is super neat, they may have “accidents” from time to time. Your kids, who like to run around the house with a bottle of water or juice pack in their hands, may have occasional spills. And that’s destructive for viscose rugs.
But even if you live alone, you are super neat and never have spills, you may have a question, “How can I clean my viscose rug?” I am ready to answer this question in detail.
Viscose Rugs Care Daily
You should know that viscose rugs need everyday dry cleaning. The rugs, made of this super soft material, may shed. It’s necessary to clean the viscose pile every single day, especially if the carpet is a new one.
For everyday viscose rug dry cleaning from dust and debris you need:
- Vacuum cleaner
- Carpet brush
- Broom
Choose the rug cleaning instruments with super soft bristles, suitable for delicate fabric. The carpet brushes with stiff bristles may ruin fragile fibers of viscose fabric. So, avoid using them while cleaning your rug.
Always clean the carpet in the direction of the pile fibers. Sweep the viscose rug with a carpet brush or a broom gently. Your sweeping motions should be light. Don’t press on the rug fibers too much and don’t rub them
If you are using a vacuum cleaner, also try to move the nozzle in one direction, rather than rubbing the carpet surface back and forth. Vacuum the viscose carpet from both sides.
Never put the viscose rug on the wet floor. If you wash the floor in the room, roll up the viscose rug and take it away. Make sure that the floor got dry. After that, you can put the viscose rug on the floor again.
How often should I clean a viscose rug?
You should clean the viscose rug regularly. Vacuum it once a week, even if it looks visibly clean. Sweep the debris from the rug, if it appears on its surface. Try to clean dust, grains of sand, and bread crumbs from the carpet surface immediately as they can crawl into the carpet padding and you won’t be able to get them away without damaging the viscose fibers.
Once a week I recommend taking the viscose rug to a professional carpet cleaning company.
How to Maintain a Viscose Rug
If you have a kid or pets, viscose rugs may be the wrong choice for you. But if you live alone or with your partner and you can maintain the viscose rug correctly, you’ll completely enjoy all those benefits the viscose fiber has.
To maintain the viscose rug correctly, follow my tips.
1. Maintain the viscose rug neat
As you know from the previous unit of this post, you shouldn’t aggressively clean the viscose rugs. That means some complex stains, like chocolate or ink, can stay on the rug surface forever if you make them. That’s why put maximum effort to maintain the viscose rug clean. Do not put it in the kitchen, where food remnants or spills fall into the rug surface so often.
2. Never wash the viscose rug
I am sure, you’ve already learned how important it is to maintain the viscose rug dry. That’s why don’t even think about washing it or doing a wet cleaning of this carpet by your force. Never use steam cleaners or wet vacuums to wash the viscose carpets. Dry cleaning is the only way of getting such a rug from dirt.
Homemade solutions for viscose rugs dry cleaning
Salt
Take several teaspoons of dry salt (the quantity depends on the size of the area you need to clean). Sprinkle the salt on the entire viscose rug surface or on the stain you want to remove. Sweep back and force the salt on the rug surface with a soft broom. Then leave the salt on the rug surface for several minutes and then vacuum it properly.
CAUTION!
Clean the salt from the viscose fiber fast and thoroughly. Otherwise, its remnants will stay for long in the viscose pile. Salt absorbs water from the air immediately. The viscose fiber will get wet from the salt remnants, too.
Dry tea leaves
You may use dry tea leaves to clean the viscose rugs of dark colors only. Sprinkle several teaspoons of dry tea leaves on the rug surface, gently rub them with a soft broom in one direction and then clean it with a vacuum or carpet brush. Dry tea leaves will make the viscose colors brighter, will add some shine to the pile, and add a pleasant smell to it.
Get the viscose rug cleaner
You may get carpet shampoo or foam to clean the viscose carpet at home. Keep in mind that you should avoid water-based cleaners. Make sure, the cleaner you get is recommended for viscose rugs.
If you are not sure about your DIY skills, just take the viscose rug to a professional cleaning company in case it gets too dirty or some complex stain will appear on its surface.
Watch the video to see one more idea, how to clean a viscose rug.
Conclusion
To conclude, viscose rugs look luxurious. They come in a great variety of colors and patterns. They are inexpensive. That’s why many homeowners choose these rugs for their rooms. Nevertheless, viscose rug care may seem challenging to inexperienced carpet owners. I’ve collected lots of rules and tips to help you with it. The main thing you should keep in mind while maintaining the viscose rug is that you should keep it dry all the time as its fragile fibers become easily ruined by water.
I am sure, you’ll be able to maintain the viscose rug correctly and you’ll enjoy all those advantages this perfect fabric has.