Flokati rugs offer a unique and luxurious effect on the house’s overall interior. Their woolly and fluffy appearance makes every room they’re in a bit more elegant and warm, making many homeowners fall in love with them.
However, many of these homeowners probably share the sentiments as us that the rugs can also make the room look shabby whenever they get dirty. One drop of coffee and the stylistic effect they bring to our home is gone.
To make sure we’re able to enjoy these beautiful rugs for a long time, we came up with a guide that can help you clean flokati rugs without ruining them and their beauty.
What is a flokati rug?
Flokati rugs are handwoven rugs made with heavy sheep wool. The rugs are thick, and soft, with long fibers of wool, making them a perfect choice for living rooms and bedrooms.
Flokati rugs originated in Greece where their name literally translates to “fluffy rugs.”
How to Clean Small Flokati Rugs
Small flokati rugs are a lot easier to clean compared to larger ones. They can fit in washing machines, so unless they require special care, you don’t have to worry about hand washing them.
How to Clean Small Flokati Rugs without Washing
To clean flokati rugs that don’t exceed 24 square feet, here’s what you can do monthly:
1. Shake
Take your flokati rug outside and give it a good powerful shake. Do not stop shaking the rug until all of the dirt that was on it has been removed.
Shaking your flokati rug doesn’t only help remove dirt and debris but also lifts woolen fibers that have become compressed over time.
2. Air-dry
After giving your flokati a shake, let it sit outside for a few hours, but make sure that it’s not under direct sunlight, as it can damage and discolor the rug.
Letting the flokati dry out outdoors helps kill bacteria you weren’t able to remove when you shook the rug. It also helps take out the odor.
3. Brush
Use a soft bristle brush or one of those metal brushes for dogs for your rugs. Brushing your rug helps untangle woolen fibers that have been matted over time.
Start brushing from the center towards the edges of the rug for a much better result.
Don’t worry if you notice some fibers getting caught in your brush, as this is normal.
How to Wash Small Flokati Rugs
Shaking and air-drying the flokati is not enough to keep it white and fluffy. It’s suggested to wash it at least once or twice a year.
Here’s how you can wash your small flokati rugs without damaging them:
1. Wash
Since the flokati is relatively small, you can just put it in your washing machine. Just make sure though that the tag doesn’t prohibit the use of a washer.
Choose the gentle or delicate cycle and use a mild detergent to make sure the rug will be fine during washing.
Additionally, make sure that you’re not using hot water, as this can shrink your rug.
2. Air dry
After washing, bring your flokati outdoors and let it dry. We absolutely advise against putting it in a dryer, as this can ruin your flokati.
Make sure that the place where you’ll hang your flokati isn’t under direct sunlight to avoid discoloration.
3. Brush
Once the flokati is completely dry, brush the flokati with a brush.
If there are still some matted fibers after brushing, you can lift them up using a rake.
How to Clean Large Flokati Rugs
Large flokati rugs offer a more stylistic effect on the house’s interior, but they can be really frustrating to clean because of how big and heavy they are. Luckily though, you don’t have to wash them every day.
How to Clean Large Flokati Rugs without Washing
Here’s a guide on what you can do to clean your large flokati rugs without washing them:
1: Shake
To shake large flokati rugs, you’ll need the help of another person, as doing it alone may not be enough to remove all the debris and dirt they have.
Hold the flokati on the corners and vigorously shake it to remove as much dirt as possible. If there is still a lot of debris or if it’s too big to shake, hang it on a clothesline and give one side a powerful pat and shake.
2. Air dry
After all the visible specks of dirt are gone, leave the rug outside to eliminate as much bacteria and odor as possible.
Again, make sure that the rug is not under direct sunlight to prevent any possible damage.
3. Brush
Use a clean ordinary plastic rake to brush the woolen fibers. A dog brush is too small for rugs of this size and will take too much time, so a rake is a better option.
Gently brush them by placing the rake on the center and brush towards the end of the rug.
The fibers that get caught on the rake won’t cause damage to your rugs, so just continue brushing them up.
How to Wash Large Flokati Rugs
Shaking and air-drying flokati rugs can only do so much. You still need to wash them at least once a year, especially considering how much dirt large flokati rugs can accumulate.
Here’s a guide on how to properly wash your large flokati rugs without damaging them:
1. Wash
A flokati rug of this size is too much for a washing machine to handle, so you’ll have to wash it by hand.
To do this, you’ll have to hang your flokati over a clothesline or lay it on the grass. Spray some water and brush it with a metal or soft bristle brush.
Continue brushing until you get most of the dirt out and the rug appears almost white.
2. Air dry
After washing, hang the flokati rug to dry. Keep it in a place that gets enough wind but isn’t under direct sunlight.
It might take hours before it’s completely dry due to its size.
3. Brush
Brush off any tangled and matted woolen fibers using a clean plastic garden rake to make your flokati rug fluffy again.
How to Spot Clean Flokati Rugs
Stains can ruin beautiful flokati rugs, so when we see them, we want to get rid of them as soon as possible. However, it can be very inefficient to wash a whole rug just because we spilled coffee on a small portion of it.
Spot cleaning allows us to remove these stains without washing the entire rug. It’s a great method to keep our flokati rugs beautiful and clean.
Here’s what you can do to spot clean flokati rugs:
1. Remove anything that hasn’t been absorbed
If you dropped food on your rug, remove anything you can pick up to avoid further stains.
Additionally, eliminate excess water or liquid by patting the spot with a white cloth. Don’t rub the spot, as this will only spread the stain.
2. Use mild soap and pat the stain away
Drop a small amount of mild soap specifically designed for wool products, and use a white clean cloth to pat the stain away. You have to make sure that you’re using a white cloth to prevent dye transfer.
Wetting the cloth with cold water can help remove stains better, so consider doing that.
Don’t rub the stain, as this can cause more damage to the rug.
3. Remove soap residue
Use clean cold water to remove any soap residue left. Hot water will likely cause shrinkage in your rug, so make sure to avoid it.
Using a spray bottle is highly suggested as this will help you control the amount of water you use better.
After spraying water on the spot, get a new cloth and pat the area to remove the remaining residue.
4. Let it dry
After removing all the soap residue in the spot, let it dry for a few hours.
How to Vacuum a Flokati Rug
Vacuuming a flokati rug is a great way to remove dust and keep it as clean as possible. However, if done wrong, you may do more harm than good.
When vacuuming a flokati rug, make sure that you’re only using the suction setting, as the beater brush function can pull the fibers of the rug.
Make sure that you’re only vacuuming in one direction. Do not go back and forth like we do with other surfaces, as this can pull out the wool fibers.
Vacuum the rug the same way you brush it. Start in the middle and work towards the edge before lifting it up back to the center to vacuum a different section.
