A Detailed Guide to Cleaning and Maintaining Silk Carpets

The stunning and royal look of silk cannot be overlooked. It is one of the most expensive natural fibers that is made by silkworms. If you want to make any area in your home look lavish and sophisticated, you cannot go wrong with a silk carpet.

However just like all natural fibres, silk too is difficult to clean and can get easily stained. In this blog we give you a detailed view on how to clean as well as maintain your silk carpet perfectly.

Let’s get started!

Cleaning Your Silk Carpet

Silk as a fabric is easily prone to wear and tear which is why cleaning it becomes absolutely crucial. Deterioration in no time is what happens when one fails to clean the silk carpet.

Cleaning a silk carpet can be a tedious process which is why having patience is key. Here are the steps you need to follow:

• Start by vacuuming your silk carpet to eliminate all the dirt and dust particles.
• Sweep the silk carpet with a soft broom to remove all debris accumulated in the fibres.
• Now hang your silk carpet and beat it lightly to remove any remaining dust particles.
• Now, if there is a spill causing a stain, blot this stain with a gentle White dry cloth to soak up the liquid. In case, the stain has solidified, use a spoon to gently scoop it out.
• Now pour club soda on the affected silk carpet area and blot with a dry cloth.
• Now make an equal mixture of water and vinegar and use this on the stain and odour on the carpet. This step is another option that can be used instead of club soda. The water and vinegar solution gives an extra added benefit of removing odours as opposed to the club soda that can only remove stains.
• Finally, leave the carpet to air dry. Remember do not use high temperature or other forms of heat sources as the silk fabric cannot withstand it.

Guidelines to Follow to Maintain Your Silk Carpet

The silk fabric has a tendency to absorb huge amounts of moisture from the surroundings. Almost soaking up water vapours up to a third of its weight.

While this seems like a great benefit for air quality indoors, it can prove to be detrimental for the carpet itself as it can weaken the fibres and risk the growth of mold and mildew.

Silk is an investment and one that demands utmost care and attention. A careless approach towards your silk carpet, means instant regret!

Taking a proactive approach towards maintenance is crucial to ensure longevity and appearance.

1. Low Traffic Areas are Silk Carpet’s Best Companion

Silk carpets have such amazing designs, intricate colours as well as provide such a luxurious feel to any home. Of Course you want to flaunt them in your home.

Unfortunately, placing silk carpet’s in high footfall areas is foolish due to their inability to withstand wear and tear or abrasion as read earlier.

Expert Advice: if your household has the presence of pets or children or even both, ensure that you place your silk carpet away from the areas where they generally roam or play around a lot.

2. Prevent Stains and Spills

Imagine staining your beautiful silk carpet. Horrible isn’t it? To prevent such a mishap from happening, taking a proactive approach is the best option.

Change the placement of the silk carpet if you think there is high footfall or this is where you normally eat or drink.

Expert advice: Silk carpets can absorb huge amounts of moisture, thus, liquid stains can lead to the buildup of mold and mildew.

But like all mishaps, a spill can occur even if you are careful. When this happens, immediately air-dry your silk carpet, use your spot removal cleaners and again place it back in a dry location.

Remember, no moisture should remain as this can cause mold and mildew.

3. Weekly Vacuuming is Key

Even if you have asked everyone to not step on the silk carpet with their shoes on, it isn’t something that is enough to keep your carpet clean.

Consistent vacuuming (once a week or once in two weeks) is important. This is because not doing this can lead to the silk carpet losing its look as dirt accumulates within the fibres.

Now, you don’t want that to occur to such a royal looking and stunning carpet, would you?

Expert Advice: When vacuuming make sure you use the brushless suction head. This is because when it comes to cleaning a silk carpet, being gentle is crucial so that damaging the fibres is avoided.

4. Get Rid of Dirt Buildup

Apart from just consistent vacuuming, you also need to use a broom to eliminate dirt buildup.

Ensure that you do this gently and avoid using too much pressure, as you know silk carpet is very delicate.

Another option is to go the traditional route by shaking the silk carpet. This option not only helps to get rid of unwanted odours but also ensures that your carpet’s fibres are not damaged.

5. Don’t Treat a Silk Carpet Like You Would Any Other Ordinary Carpet

Silk is a highly vulnerable material that cannot survive extremities such as heat, moisture and use of harsh chemicals.

This is one of the most important ways you can avoid irreparable damage to your silk carpet’s fibres.

Don’t blindly trust any cleaning agent, as cleaning agents contain harmful chemicals that can do more harm than good.

Go the Professional Carpet Cleaning Route

The safest and most fool-proof way to get your silk carpet cleaned is by a professional. At My Fair Cleaning, our carpet cleaning experts have immense patience and knowledge.

Hiring them, means getting to relax and achieve a perfect clean without worrying about damaging your carpet with countless DIY’s. Our experts inspect your silk carpet to determine the kind of stain before they implement the best solution.

Final Thoughts

As we all know, silk carpets are lavish, lustrous, stunning and just dead-drop alluring. Of Course they earn a special place in the heart of owners and the sight of them being dirty, really bothers them.

Patience and consistency are key to ensure you keep your silk carpet looking good.

Not only will you have to inculcate ways to prevent unnecessary spills and other stains but have a plan if those do occur.

Ali November 29, 2021 Carpet Cleaning