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Berber area rugs are perfect for high traffic areas in your home or any spot which needs an accent or focal point. The term "Berber area rugs" refers to a style of carpet which was originally tufted from hand spun natural fiber by members of the Berber tribe of Africa.
Today, Berber area rugs are used to refer to any type of tufted rug which contains two or more shades using the style of tufting which give Berber area rugs their unique look. These area rugs generally have texture created by the Berber tufting rather than flat-cut pile. The hand-crafted look of parallel looped pile adds to their popularity.
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How to Clean and Care for Berber Area Rugs
Berber area rugs can be crafted from 100% wool, nylon, olefin which is a man-made plastic-like fiber, or a combination of these fibers. The carpet cleaning and care methods differ only slightly based on the exact fiber content of the Berber area rug. While no area rugs are completely care-free or never require cleaning, it must be said that Berber carpet is very low maintenance.
The short length of the loops used in the unique Berber weave style means that these area rugs will not develop traffic wear patterns as easily as other types of area carpet. Because Berber area rugs have a very dense weave, with each loop containing varying numbers of twists in the strand of fiber, it can be difficult to remove dirt particles which have gotten deep into the rug unless you take it outdoors and beat it in the old-fashioned manner. This same density, however, means it is difficult for dirt to get that far into the weave, so this type of extra cleaning is not required frequently. Vacuuming will remove dirt particles which are less deeply in the Berber area rug weave.
Because 100% wool Berber area rugs are the most expensive, take good care with regular vacuuming. For thorough cleaning, contact a professional carpet cleaning service to use a dry cleaning method on your area rug.
Olefin, perhaps one of the most common fibers in Berber area rugs today is easy to maintain with regular vacuuming and thorough cleaning can be done with steam carpet cleaning equipment. The same guidelines apply to nylon fiber Berber area rugs.
If your Berber area rugs are a blend of fiber, determine whether the wool content is high. If so, use the guidelines for cleaning wool Berber area rugs. If it is very low, you can use the guidelines for olefin or nylon, but make sure the steam cleaner does not have a rough brush or beater bar that might damage the wool content.
With regular vacuuming, more thorough cleaning of your Berber area rugs is not required very frequently. When vacuuming, turn the beater bar or rotating brush function on your sweeper off so that no area rug loops can become snagged and unravel. A vacuum with strong suction is the best choice for cleaning Berber area rugs as well as other carpet in your home.
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