Shedding, spills, vacuuming, the lot. How to keep your rug looking good for years.
You made a rug. It's on your floor or your wall, it's brilliant, and now you want it to stay that way.
Good news: tufted rugs are tougher than they look, and looking after one is genuinely easy. Here's everything you actually need to know, minus the faff.
Day to day, barely anything. Give it a shake outside every so often and a gentle vacuum now and then. That's most of the job done.
The one rule: go easy with the vacuum. Use suction only and keep any spinning brush or beater bar well away from it. Those rotating bristles grab at the tufts and can pull them loose, which is the one thing that genuinely damages a handmade rug. Suction on its own is totally fine. A handheld is perfect.
For cut pile especially, a quick shake does a lot. It lifts the fibres back up and shifts any dust sitting in there.
First few weeks, a bit of shedding is completely normal. Loose fibres from the making process work their way out, and then it settles down and stops. You haven't done anything wrong, the rug isn't falling apart, it's just having a stretch.
Give it a shake outside and a light vacuum during this period and it'll calm down quickly.
Move fast and stay gentle. Blot a spill straight away with a clean cloth, don't rub it, rubbing just works it deeper and messes up the pile.
For anything that needs more, a little mild soap in lukewarm water, dab it on, blot it off, let it air dry. Work from the outside of the mark inwards so you don't spread it.
The thing to avoid is soaking the whole rug. There's a glue backing holding everything together, and drowning it isn't great for the long run. Spot clean, don't submerge. For a big rug that's really had it, a professional rug cleaner is the safe call.
Like most things, prolonged direct sunlight will gently lighten the colours over time. If your rug lives in a sunbeam all day every day, it'll fade eventually.
Nothing to panic about. If you can, just avoid hanging it somewhere that gets blasted all afternoon, or rotate it occasionally so it ages evenly. Our cheekyarn holds its colour well, but no yarn on earth fully beats the sun.
Not really, they're both low-maintenance. Loop pile is a touch more hard-wearing because the loops are locked in, so it shrugs off foot traffic nicely. Cut pile you can tidy up now and then by trimming any stray fibres that poke up above the rest with sharp scissors. (Here's the full difference between the two if you're curious.)
Either way, the same basics apply: shake, gentle vacuum, blot spills, keep it out of permanent sun.
Years, easily, if you treat it kindly. These aren't delicate. People worry a handmade rug is somehow fragile, but a well-finished tufted piece is built to be lived with. The backing keeps it solid, the yarn is hard-wearing, and the care routine is about as low-effort as it gets.
Make it, hang it or lay it down, give it the odd shake, and enjoy it.
Come make a rug at our Hackney Wick studio and we'll send you off knowing exactly how to keep it looking good.
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Standard Rug (40x40cm, 3 hours): £145Grand Rug (55x55cm, 5 hours): £195
How do you clean a tufted rug?Shake it out and vacuum gently using suction only. Keep any rotating brush or beater bar away from it, as that can pull the tufts loose. For spills, blot with a clean cloth straight away and spot clean with a little mild soapy water if needed.
Can you wash a tufted rug?Spot clean yes, fully soak no. A tufted rug has a glue backing that doesn't like being saturated, so avoid putting it in water. For a deep clean on a larger rug, use a professional rug cleaner.
Why is my tufted rug shedding?A little shedding in the first few weeks is normal as loose fibres from the making process settle out. It stops on its own. A gentle vacuum and a shake outside will speed it along.
How long does a tufted rug last?Years, with very little effort. A well-finished tufted rug is hard-wearing and built to be used. Shake it occasionally, vacuum gently, blot spills quickly and keep it out of permanent direct sunlight.
