Hand held steamer on area rugs?

Question

I have two area rugs that need cleaned. They aren't stained, just a bit dingy looking from my lab laying on them. One is a jute type rug, 8x10, and the other is a mixed type blend 7x9, it does have some wool in it. I was just wondering if I could use my hand held steamer, I have a Shark Steamer, to clean these? Will it hurt them?
If I do this, what should I use with it, just water or some kind of carpet cleaner, etc?

The steamer I have is not one that sucks the water back up, I was thinking of hanging the rugs over my deck rail and cleaning them, that way the water can run off as I do it.

Answer 1

It is not a bunch of money to have them cleaned by professionals.

It is cheaper if you take them to the cleaning company and pick up.

I highly recommend Serve Pro, if they are in your locale.
When they know what the soil or stains are, they're very successful. Pets leave oil from their fur and skin.

I am not associated with them. I've used them when I owned my own floor covering business, 35 years, Ret.

Jute can be tricky. The mixed fiber rug may have polypropylene and should not be cleaned at a high temperature.

Answer 2

Follow the instructions on the tag. Or if there are not any call the manufacture of the rug. They may be able to help you with the cleaning. In my experience, you can try and clean on your own it will be the cheapest way to do it. And if you ruin the rug, you can always buy a new one. The ones you have now are dingy and if you cant clean them you need to get new ones anyway. I recommend getting a cheap rug for the dog to lay on that way you can replace once he messes it up without it being a big expense on you.

Answer 3

I have an iron that has that feature for vertical steaming, and it works very well. It delivers a lot of steam (using the powerful blast of steam button). I was surprised at how effective it is, as long as you don't place the soleplate too close to the fabric, particularly if there is synthetic fibre in the material. I also had one of the larger steamers, but I think the iron with the steamer feature works better than the other one. The brand is by T-fal, and the link below shows it (mine was "on sale", much lower than the price shown):

Answer 4

hmm, well when you say Shark Steamer i think that model can't extract water back so my thoughts would be no you can't use that kind of steamer for this (it would probably need to be an extractor type steamer cleaner)