How to Care for Natural Fiber Rugs Including Basic Repairs

Hi All!

Natural fiber rugs like, sisal, hemp, sea grass, and jute, have been some of the most popular and widely purchased rugs in the last few years. But these beautiful rugs come with a special set of care instructions and today I am here to share those with you. Because nothing is worse then spending the money to buy something nice and damaging it. For some added help I have also included a guide on how to make basic repairs.

Extending the Life of Your Natural Fiber Rug

1. Protecting Your Rug From The Bottom Up

The number one way to extend the life of your Natural Fiber Rug or any rug for that matter is with a high quality rug pad. Seriously, I know it isn’t the most exciting option but it is the most important! A high quality rug pad like the ones from Rug Pad USA can increase the life of both your rug and floor.

These eco friendly rug pads from Rug Pads USA can prevent spills and excess dirt from ruining the flooring underneath your rug. They provides airflow through and around your rug allowing dirt and debris to be removed easily.

Rug Pads USA products prevent bunching and stretching, which is a huge deal when talking about Natural Fiber Rugs. Once these rugs begin to stretch out the begin to unravel. Once the unraveling starts it it very, very hard to stop. Not to mention the tripping hazard a bunched up rug can cause.

Last but not least they turn turn your other wise rough and hard natural fiber rug into a cushy comfortable place sit a play with the kids or simply kick up your feet. Our new rug pad from Rug Pad USA has made our new rug such a welcoming place to be. The comfort difference before we added the rug pad and after it was in place is incredible!

90/10 Vacuum split

When you vacuum your rug 90% of the time you either want to use the “bare floor” setting, i.e. no beater bar. or use the fabric attachment tool to vacuum your rug. This helps to keep the ends the natural twine used to weave the rug in place. The beater bar can cause these ends to pop up which can lead to unraveling. Now the reason why I say 90% of the time. Is because I still vacuum mine using the “carpet” setting on occasion. Why you ask? Because I have two large dogs and a back yard that refuses to grow grass no matter what I do to it. Which means a lot of dirt, hair and other debris. To get rid of it all that mess requires the occasional vacuum using the beaterbar.

Prepping Tassels for long term use

Tassels are beautiful and a great way to add a texture and detail to a room! There is just something about them that can really make a rug stand out, but they can also be a bit of a pain. If you walk on your rug with any kind of regularity these tassels begin to unravel and rather quickly. Which would be fine if they all unraveled equally, but they don’t. They unravel very quickly in the places where you walk over them constantly and they don’t unravel at all in the places you don’t. Ending up with two very different looks. Not the best.

So what are your options for stopping this all this unraveling? 1. you could tie little knots at the end of each one. Which is okay, it even looks okay. But it’s not as great when you step on all those little knots with bare feet. Can you say ouch!! Or option number 2. Super glue. Yes that’s right. Super glue. By adding a small amount at the end of each tassel and rolling it around in your finger tips it will help hold the tassel together keeping it looking great, even in high traffic areas.

Making Basic Repairs

So now that you know how to take care of these delicate but beautiful rugs, now we can talk about how to fix them.

There are a few items you’ll need to perform basic repairs to your natural fiber rugs

Scissors
Super Glue
Latex (or similar gloves)
Something about the size of a pen, without the ink cartridge, or in my case I use an allen wrench.

Problem #1: The Dreaded Pop Up

A pop up is caused when the end of one strand of your weaved natural fiber rug comes loose and pops up from the rest of the rug. Not only are these little popups unsightly but they are also really, really bad for your rug. Because they can cause your rug to start to unravel if left unattended. So how do you deal with them? First you have to identify the type of Pop Up.

Type #1

Has an opening in the weave that the pop up can be easily be tucked back into.

Type #2

Does not have an opening to tuck it back into

Fixing Pop Up Type #1

Now the easiest fix would seem like you would just trim these off. But I disagree with this completely. If you trim this type of Pop Up away it leaves a small hole in your rug. If you have pets this is a great place for them to catch their nails and cause an even bigger snag.

So to fix this first I apply a small dab of super glue to the end of the pop up and roll it between my finger until all the fibers are grouped back together. Let it dry for a few minutes.

Next apply a small a small dab of super glue in the hole and using barrel of a pen, or similar item to push the end back into the hole with the glue. Once the glue dries it will help lock the pop up back into place. Preventing unraveling and a vulnerable hole.

Fixing Pop Up Type #2

Fixing Pop Up Type #2 is really easy. Since there is no hole left in the rug, there is nothing that can be caught if the pop up is trimmed away. So simply grab a pair of scissors and trim the pop up away. To lock the fibers together and secure it to the rug after the pop up has been removed apply a small dab of super glue to the remaining fibers. This helps keep them together and locks them into place with the surrounding weave.

Problem #2: The Unraveled Tassel

If you have a tassel that has completely unraveled there is an easy fix. First start by combing through the tassel with your fingers as best as possible to regroup the fibers.

To start repairing the tassel divide it back into 2+ sections, whatever the tassel was originally made up of.

Then apply a small amount of super glue to each section.

Work the glue through each section using your fingers.

Next begin twisting each section individually. Once they are twisted hold them for about 30 seconds before letting go. This will help keep the twist together.

To finish the repair apply another small amount of glue and twist the sections together. Hold again for 30 seconds – 1 minute to allow the glue time to set.

That is it! Now your frayed tassel is fixed and ready to be walked on again!

Thank you so much for stopping by to read my tips on taking care of your natural