How to Hand Wash a Large Wool Rug

Dirty Hand Made Wool Rug

Today I washed a dirty wool rug from my living room.

This hand made wool rug was covered with dust and dirt but I didn’t feel comfortable tossing it in the washing machine.

I have had it for years, so I wanted to keep it in great shape.

The first step is to dust the item outside or you can dust it in your trash bin if you are unable to get outside with the rug.

This will get off all a lot of hair and other bits of trash.

Fill Tub with Cold Water

This is an important step, fill the tub with COLD water and then add some detergent. 

Don’t over do the detergent.  Too much soap will not clean the rug any better and will be harder to rinse out.

I like to use a few drops of dish soap or you can use something that will safely wash the wool item.

The next step is to give the rug a good scrubbing and then a good rinsing.

I allowed the carpet to soak in the cold water for about five minutes before rinsing.

Scrub and rinse your tub out with clear water after you remove the rug. 

Only clean your rugs on a nice warm day so the sun will dry them out faster.

We are going to have a hot day today in the 80’s so my rug should dry nicely.

If you have a super sized rug, allow more than one day of nice weather to dry it out.

Cleaned Rug on Drying Rack Rug Drying Flat in the Sun

Since this is a hand made wool rug, I am using my drying rack. 

If the wet wool rug is dried on a flat surface, it should not stretch out of place.

Using Clothespins on Drying Rack

One edge of the rug was hanging over the drying rack, so I clipped together two clothespins to hold up the end of the rug.

This photograph shows a close up view of the end of the drying rug with a clothespin adjustment.

This rug took a little longer to dry than I originally thought it should.  Our weather wasn’t cooperating so I had to bring the whole rack downstairs to the basement. 

Fortunately, we have a dehumidifier down there and I set up the carpet next to it. 

The dehumidifier pretty much pulled out all the extra water but it took a couple of extra days to the rug totally dry.

Edge of Rug Uplifted by Clothespins

As always, Farmhouse Magic Blog hopes you enjoyed the blog on hand washing a wool rug.

Have a great day and feel free to leave us a reply below.

If Your Rug is Dirty, it’s Time to . . .

Hand Wash Your Wool Rug.