Care & Cleaning Information

It is recommended that you vacuum your rug regularly and rotate it often to prevent uneven wear. Most spills can be cleaned with mild soap and warm water. Blot spills instead of rubbing. Rug pads will prolong the life of your rug by preventing the rug from sliping and sliding.

The following information may be useful to specific spills. NOTE: We do not guarantee that these methods work and they should be used as a guideline only! Rugs Express will not be liable for any damage caused to your rug using these methods. If in doubt, call a professional cleaner.

Type of Stain or Spill	Cleaning Method
Acids	Detergent/white vinegar
Alcoholic beverages	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Ammonia or Alkali	Detergent/White vinegar
Ball-point pen ink	Methylated spirits or turpentine
Beer	Detergent/White vinegar
Bleach	Detergent/White vinegar
Blood	Detergent/White vinegar or Starch Paste
Burning cigarette	Brush off with a hard edge
Butter	Cleaning fluid
Candy	Detergent/White vinegar or scrape and vacuum
Cellulose paint	Acetone
Chewing gum	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Chocolate	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Coffee	Glycerine
Cosmetics	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Crayon	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid or scrape and vacuum
Egg	Detergent/White vinegar
Excrement (human)	Detergent/White vinegar (remove at once: chemicals in excrement attack dyestuffs)
Excrement (pet)	Call a reputable cleaner
Fat and Oil	Tissue and iron, then cleaning fluid (Do not use iron after solvent)
Fruit and juices	Detergent/White vinegar
Furniture polish	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Glue	Alcohol
Grass	Methylated spirits
Gravy	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Grease	Cleaning fluid or scrape & vacuum
Household cement	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Ice cream	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Ink	Water only
Iodine	Alcohol
Jam	Lukewarm water
Lipstick	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Medicine	Call a reputable cleaner
Metal polish	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Mildew	Call a reputable cleaner
Milk	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Mud	Detergent/White vinegar
Mustard	Detergent/White vinegar
Nail polish	Polish Remover*
Oils	Cleaning fluid
Paint	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Perfume	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Permanent ink	Call a reputable cleaner
Rust	Call a reputable cleaner
Salad dressing	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Sauces	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Shoe polish	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid or scrape and vacuum
Soot	Vacuum, then cleaning fluid
Tar	Cleaning fluid
Tea	Detergent/White vinegar
Urine (human)	Detergent/White vinegar (remove at once: chemicals in urine attack dyestuffs)
Urine (pet)	Call a reputable cleaner
Vomit	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Wax	Cleaning fluid or scrape & vacuum
Wine	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid

Note: Almost all spills are removed by either dry cleaning fluid (follow manufacturer's instructions) or a simple solution of one teaspoon of mild detergent with one teaspoon of white vinegar in a quart of warm water.

*If recommended procedure is not effective call a reputable cleaner. Some stains are so complex that they should be treated by someone with a knowledge of textile chemistry. Don't wait for annual cleaning. It may be too late to remove the stain.


Nourison or Rugs Express do not guarantee that these methods work and should be used as a guideline only! If in doubt, call a reputable cleaner.

Nourison has reprinted, with permission, from the Wool Bureau Inc. "The Wool Library Volume 6". A special thank you to Nourison for this helpful information.