It’s not easy to make an interesting article about rug storage, but this one will keep you on the edge of your seat! I will start by sharing some pictures of all the bad things that can happen if you put a rug in storage incorrectly, because if it bleeds, it leads and rugs improperly stored can be bleeders.
- Moisture retention leads to mildew and mold and color migration (bleeding)
Area Rug with Color Bleed
Area Rug with Mold/Algae
- Damage from moths or carpet beetles that find their way inside the packaging.
- Feces and urine from rodents that make a nest in your cozy rolled up rug.
- Other bugs not known for eating wool (silverfish, termites, and other creepy crawlies) can eat wool if there is something spilled on the fibers that they find appetizing. The wool is just the “holder” of the meal for them, and gets eaten away in the process. This is why it is always very important to clean up spills quickly, so that the residue does not soak into the cotton interior fibers. Insects find dirty rugs much more appetizing than clean rugs.
- Flood damage from rugs stored on the floor.
So, now that you have witnessed the horrible things that can happen when you improperly wrap and neglect a rug, below are the steps/tips for properly storing your area rugs.
- Clean the rug – as I said before, insects find dirty rugs much more appealing than clean rugs. It also ensures that the rug is bug free before it is wrapped.
- Spray the (clean and dry) rug with an insect repellent or stuff them with cedar and lavender. At Mother Nature’s Cleaning, we do both. Rugs get an essential oil moth repellent spray and each end of the rug is rolled up with lavender and cedar satchels.
- Wrap the rug in Tyvek – yes, it’s the same stuff we wrap our houses in before siding goes up. Why? It insulates but still breathes. Allowing moisture out but not in, and sealing against pests. Wool rugs in particular have a naturally high moisture content, this is also why wool rugs and carpets are fire resistant – they put the fire out before it spreads because they are naturally moist. The downside to this natural moisture content is that if they are sealed in plastic, they will sweat and rot. Wool and plastic do not a great partnership make.
- Seal the rug with packing tape. It is important that bugs and rodents cannot find their way into the packaging, because once they get in, they have found a perfect habitat and will eradicate the rug in short time. An adult moth will lay 40-50 eggs each, which hatch into larvae that will feed on the proteins in your rug fibers for up to two years. If you do the math, you can see how quickly a single moth can cause complete decimation of a rug. Seal it up tightly – it will still breathe because of the tyvek.
- Store the rug elevated. The ground or floor of your garage is no place for a rug. Keep it elevated to prevent it from being bent or crushed, and prevent water damage from flooding.
- Try to avoid extreme temperatures when storing, although most rugs can handle it. The attic is not a great place for storage – a basement or temperature controlled storage unit is great if the rugs are wrapped properly.
- Inspect the rugs every year. Label and date the rug so that you know when it went into storage and set a reminder to check on it. Tyvek is strong, but the tape can lose adhesion and/or the paper can tear at the seams. Completely open your rug annually to make sure it is free of pests and excess moisture. Respray with an all natural insect repellant (ideally essential oils, as many scented repellants are toxic to people as well as the bugs you are targeting.)
If you follow these tips, you can keep your rugs in storage for years. Good quality rugs never lose their value, and do not deteriorate with time when properly stored.
Call your rug professional for help and questions and make sure you never store a dirty rug in plastic!
Happy Cleaning!
