It’s not secret I love vintage rugs! We currently have eight of them in our home, all different sizes. After our kitchen renovation last summer, I added a vintage runner in the kitchen. It gets stepped on and spilled on constantly. A smoothie was recently spilled on it, so I knew it was time to give it a good cleaning. Here’s how to clean a vintage rug using a pressure washer.
I’ve tried spot cleaning vintage rugs, which works if you have a fresh spill. We have a Bissel Green Machine that I tried as well. It got some dirt out, but it wasn’t great. In doing some research, I saw that a pressure washer might do the trick. Of course I was scared to try this out because I didn’t want to damage my vintage rug (these aren’t cheap)! One side of the rug was really dirty, so I decided to just go for it! I’m so happy I did.
How to Clean A Vintage Rug Using a Pressure Washer
- We already had a pressure washer. It’s not heavy duty, but useful for our needs. It’s linked here and around $100.
- First, I shook the rug outside to get any dust and debris off of it.
- I wanted to do this on a sunny day so the rug could dry in the sun all afternoon.
- Plug in the pressure washer, hook it up to your water source, and start to become satisfied with every spray!
- I didn’t use any cleaning supplies, just water and the pressure
- Tread lightly at first to make sure you aren’t damaging the fibers of the rug. The closer and harder the spray gets it cleaner, but I didn’t want to damage the rug in general. I was able to get in there pretty good, enough to make a HUGE difference.
Before and After Cleaning
Here is the rug before. Of course vintage rugs are used and old so they are never going to be perfect. That is part of the charm for me. Vintage rugs are also very forgiving. I didn’t need this rug to be perfect, just cleaner than it was. This particular side was very dirty and what bothered me the most!
Here is after it was pressure washed and dried in the sun. So much better, I can’t believe it! So satisfying.
Here’s a video of the dirt coming right up with the pressure washer. You can see how close I got and how much pressure I applied.
After Cleaning a Vintage Rug Using A Pressure Washer
Once the entire rug was wet and cleaned, I kept it outside on the driveway to dry in the sun. It was still a little damp when it was time to bring it inside for the night, so I just laid it in the garage and by morning it was ready to bring back inside.
I purchased this rug pad to go underneath the runner. It’s the best I’ve ever tried! Our kitchen is a high traffic zone, and this rug pad keeps the runner from moving around. You can cut the rug pad to size easily too.
I’m so happy I discovered that this method works well for cleaning vintage rugs! I hope this helps push you forward if you’ve been thinking about it! XO