The woollen carpet in the KBZ is dirty. A few months ago, I saw some videos on YouTube of a professional carpet cleaning company from the USA. Can’t you wash carpets yourself?

Eco? Logical!

Wool carpets are not only beautiful to look at, they also bring cosiness and warmth into the home. Over time, however, dirt, dust and stains accumulate and detract from the carpet’s beautiful appearance.

My wife has a retro eco-natural tic. She particularly likes these colourless wool carpets. The entire attic is covered with woollen carpets (fitted carpet). So she has fulfilled her dream of a better, more natural time.

I am a big fan of our chemical industry and loved the red Vorwerk carpet in my former playroom. Nothing could touch it. Coffee? He laughs at it! A leaking ink cartridge? The stains can be completely removed with a washing vacuum cleaner. A truly grateful and long-lasting quality.

And these natural carpets? A total disaster! You only have to give them a nasty look and there’s already a stain. If a cat throws up on it, you can never get the stains out again. I even had to cut a piece out of the carpet and replace it.

Cat meeting centre

Be that as it may. There was also a large loose woollen rug like this in the KBZ. I’m allergic to dust, pollen and cat hair. All that collects in a rug like that. When I took over the cat meeting centre, my first official act was to clear it away because it had become dirty. No, not from the cats, but if you walk through the garden to the centre in the rain, the carpet gets stains from the earth.

Problems

The carpet is too big for the washing machine or the bathtub. Cleaning it in the shower would also have been a real chore. It would certainly have been possible with a washing vacuum cleaner, but that’s also work because the carpet would keep slipping away. But there are these satisfying videos ..

Yes, of course this gentleman only publishes videos of filthy carpets. Cleaning our carpet was nowhere near as satisfying. It’s also completely baffling to me how you can ruin carpets like that. But maybe they add a little help for the special effect and pour a load of soil onto the carpets?

There are two things we can’t do at home that are available to a professional cleaning company:

1. Electric brush
2. Vacuum drying chamber

We compensate for the first with muscle power, the second with time, air and sun. 🙂

Cleaning

We need the following for cleaning:

• large tarpaulin
• Watering can
• Scrubbing brush
• Cleaning agent
• High-pressure cleaner

Liquid detergents or all-purpose cleaners can be used as cleaning agents. I strongly advise against using bleaching cleaning agents, especially on carpets made of natural fibres! I have already left more discolouration on wool carpets than there was before.

My approach is this:

1. Vacuum the carpet thoroughly
2. Lay out the tarpaulin, preferably on a slope
3. Lay the carpet on the tarpaulin
4. Thoroughly dampen the carpet
5. Apply a large amount of diluted cleaning agent with a watering can
6. Spread and rub in with a scrubbing brush
7. Leave to take effect
8. Clean with a high-pressure cleaner
9. Turn the carpet over and clean the reverse side in the same way
10. Thoroughly blast the front again
11. Leave the carpet to dry in the sun on a slope
12. Allow the carpet to dry for 24 hours over a carpet rail or railing

Repeat cleaning steps if necessary. Do not hold the nozzle of the high-pressure cleaner too close to the carpet, otherwise there will be holes in the carpet! I accept no liability for your mishaps! You need to know for yourself which cleaning agent is suitable for your carpet and how best to clean it. But this is how it has worked for me several times.

Pictures

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the finished result. Currently the carpet is also rolled up in the guest room. But if I remember, I’ll add them when it’s back in place.