Care & Maintenance

Our rugs are infused with a rich history of ancient craftsmanship. To preserve their beauty and prolong their life, follow these suggestions for rug care.

Every six months, rotate rugs from end to end or place them in different parts of the house to share the wear.

Direct sunlight and heat sources, such as gas heaters and fireplaces, can cause the natural fibers to dry out and fade. Position your rug away from both.

Reduce bacteria build-up with sunlight. Every few months, turn your rug over and place it in the sun for an hour. Vacuum the back of your rug before repositioning.

Keep rugs dry and out of dark places, such as tucked tightly under sofas or furniture.

Clean hard floors regularly with microfiber mops and water only (no detergents), or use a steam mop if appropriate. Detergent and soap residues can become sticky and collect other dirt, which is then walked onto your rug. By keeping your hard floors clean, your rug will stay cleaner for longer.

Move rugs a few inches every month to soften any fading on carpet or hardwood floors underneath. When the rugs are eventually moved from the room, the fading on the floor will be graduated and less noticeable.

Rugs made from natural fibers can be specially treated to help increase their life span and provide protection against stains, mold, mildew and sun fading. This treatment is applied after delivery by a third party. Some professionals are able to apply the treatment at your premises, whether a residential or commercial setting, while others may require the removal of the rug for treatment. Contact us at shop@armadillo-co.com for a recommendation of an authorized professional.

To ensure the longevity of your Armadillo rug, please vacuum your rug regularly. Shedding of loose fibers will occur with a new rug. We do not recommend using rotating or brush head vacuum cleaners on our rugs if possible.

Even with regular vacuuming and careful use, you may find dirt and debris will build up on your rug. It is possible to refresh your rug with gentle treatment or professional rug cleaning. You can contact your local Armadillo store for a list of recommended carpet cleaning professionals in your area.

Use caution if you use a robotic vacuum in your home. Longer length pile and tassels can become entangled in the vacuum and may cause damage to your rug or device. We recommend keeping this in mind when programming your device.

Sand, grit, dust, clothing fibers and hair are examples of dry particle soils. Most of these will be removed with regular vacuuming. For those that remain deep within the fibers, a thorough vacuuming should remove them and restore the original beauty of your rug.

Vacuum the front of the rug, then turn it over and vacuum the reverse side. You may find some dirt loosens from the weave as the rug bends. Turn the rug over and vacuum the front again. To ensure even wear and minimize the natural fading that occurs from sunlight, rotate your rug end-to-end when repositioning.

Carefully scrape up as much of the spill as possible with a spoon or dustpan and blot any liquid residue with damp chamois or other colorfast absorbent material. Do not rub.

Taclean piece of absorbent material and fold it into a thick wad. Cover the spill with this and add a weight (such as a heavy book) on top to help draw the liquid upward. Leave it for ten minutes.

Next, gently dab the affected area with a clean cloth moistened with water to continue to draw the stain out and periodically assess whether you have been able to remove the stain, if not contact an Approved Professional Rug Cleaner.

We recommend that no detergent be used as it can be very hard to completely remove
detergent from the rug.

Please test on small inconspicuous area prior to attempting to treat the stain.

Using a clean colorfast absorbent cloth and gently blot to absorb any liquid.  Clean the cloth, dampen slightly and continue to blot stain.  Be careful not to rub as this may cause fibers to become disordered. Where possible, attend to any spillages before they dry. Once dry, stains can be difficult to remove.

Contact a Professional Rug Cleaner as above.

Highly-colored products, such as paint, nail polish, shoe polish, lipstick, urine and glue, may not respond to simple treatments. We advise you not to treat these spills yourself, as doing so may create a larger or permanent stain. These types of spills are best treated by a Professional Rug Cleaner.

A build-up of oily soils can result in your rug looking dull and gray, despite regular vacuuming. Pollution, cooking fumes and road grime are examples of this soiling, which is resistant to cleaning with water alone.

To clean this type of build-up, contact a Professional Rug Cleaner.

Professional cleaning is recommended on occasion to ensure the long life of your rug. Please contact your local Armadillo store for a list of recommended carpet cleaning professionals in your area.

‘Pop-ups’ are a very natural part of the settling period of a handmade rug. Due to the hand-crafted nature of our products, sometimes tightly spun yarn is hiding beneath the surface of the pile. With vacuuming, foot traction and general use, these strands of yarn can begin to unfurl and lengthen themselves, causing them to ‘pop-up’ above the usual pile height. These pop ups can be carefully trimmed to be level with the rest of the pile, or pushed back through without affecting the integrity of the rug.  Pop ups may not appear until there is foot traffic across a rug which is why it can take pop ups a while to appear on rugs that aren’t being used often and will lessen over time.

Our handmade rugs are made from all-natural fibers. Natural fiber rugs will initially shed loose fibers; this is a normal process and will subside over time. The removal of any loose fibers will be hastened by regular vacuuming using a good quality upright vacuum cleaner.