How to clean large rugs?

How to clean large rugs?
We are living in my Grandmas huge 2 story house. We live in the 2 bedrooms upstairs (us in one and both kids in the other). She had taken out the carpeting years ago and since we moved in we have bought very lareg rugs due to it being very cold here in Oregon on a hard wood floor.

We have two 15'X15' synthetic fiber rugs in our room and 2 12'X12' synthetic fiber rugs in our kids room. They are not wool, they are basically just a real roll of carpet the has been cut into the size and have a, what feels like, bed sheet material around the border to keep from fraying. My buddy lays carpet and he got these left over for us and had em seamed for us also.

So the rugs are huge, not wool or oriental style rugs, no stringy edges like a small area rug and are synthetic. We have tried spot treatments, spray foam that you rub into the carpet, let dry and vacuum... It takes about 8 cans to do all the rugs with one very quick coating. We were gonna borrow my friends carpet cleaner/shampooer. We are unsure if this will ruin the hardwood underneath or if it will even dry since its basically a carpet on top on hard wood and no padding. The floor has been sealed, my Grandma had it done 3 years ago.

Thanks for any help from a carpet layer or carpet cleaning pro!


Answers:

Rob M:  as long as you don't over wet them there will be no problem. Contrary to popular opinion hardwood floors are not easily damaged by water.
Cleaning carpet on top them should be no problem, the carpets will dry, and the hardwood floors will not be damaged, as long as you don't soak down the carpets.
2010-09-19 06:03:30
clayton:  If you have access to an air mover, you can actually blow air underneath the rugs, while they are damp, to allow the carpets and floor to promptly dry. I do this in my shop, on a concrete floor, to assist in the drying effort, as the rugs being cleaned were 100 per cent saturated in hot water, then fully extracted. One of my air movers has the ability, a built in feature, to allow clamping/attaching the rug to the machine while the quick drying process takes place.Just thought I would mention this, I have used this procedure with out a problem on hundreds of large rugs. Often times a dehumidifier is also employed to remove moisture coming off of the rug to be trapped and speed up the drying process.
2010-09-19 12:42:20
arizonakal:  I have area rugs too although they aren't quite as big as yours. I wouldn't advise cleaning them on the wood floors. To much chance of mold or mildew growth or warping the floor boards. I take mine outside on the patio or driveway and clean them with a Rug Doctor rug cleaner. The I put some crates we have under all four corners and one in the middle and let it dry before taking it back in the house.
2010-09-19 16:49:06
Chosen Answer
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe:  Hi,
I'm Dr. Kay a Certified Rug Expert. I do not recommend that you use any of these commercial products since there is a very high chance of them damaging the fiber of the rug. They can also cause the rug to bleed its color which will be very costly to fix. The best way is to really take it to a professional rug cleaner. Not carpet cleaners because they will only steam clean your rug which does not remove anything from the rug. Just google and find a good deal. Not everyone is expensive. My company in los angeles personally has a deal now to clean rugs for $1.95 per square foot. If you have more questions, feel free to contact me. You can find out more information on how to restore and clean your rug on one of my websites http://wwwlosangelesrugcleaning.com
2010-09-21 14:31:31