Do you know how a rug should be stored?

Carpets are made of delicate fabrics. And as such, they cannot be saved for an indefinite time. Some factors such as temperature, humidity, cleaning or folding influence when it comes to preserving the fibers.

Incorrectly storing a rug can even influence the appearance of fungi that deteriorate the fabrics. For example, bad odors and even animals such as moths are frequent in cabinets with little ventilation or light and high humidity. We explain how a rug should be stored.

When to store a rug?

We should first ask ourselves whether or not we want to store the rug and when to do it. In the UK, the climate is variable throughout the year to have defined periods in which the rug is almost certainly stored. Like in summer.

However, not all homes have to opt to leave their rug locked up for months, as it is not a seasonal addition. In addition, its fibers, even in summer, can help regulate soil temperature.

For example, a rug under a south-facing window will receive much of the sun's rays but will store less heat than if the sun were to hit wood or polished concrete. Sometimes keeping the carpet in the summer helps to cool down the house.

Not too cold, not too hot

Our carpet is not suitable for extreme temperatures. It never occurs to anyone to rug storage bag outdoors, but it can be common to store it in very cold storage rooms or attics with very high temperatures in July and August. The same applies to fitted wardrobes with walls facing north or south.

Ideally, rug storage bag in a cool (but not cold) place where the temperature does not rise too high. To find out how much is too much, let's think about whether in summer there is a comfortable temperature to be where we leave the carpet like the one we have inside our home. Suppose we are comfortable, the carpet too.

The same happens with other stored fabrics, such as sheets in winter or stuffed animals when the little ones grow up.

Otherwise, we will not only be encouraging the fibers to deteriorate due to heat or freezing. We also contribute to promoting the growth of fungi that gradually eat away at the tissues. Finding ourselves after months with the surprise that our carpet smells bad or has stains will not be pleasant.

A fight against humidity

Something similar happens with humidity or with the salt concentration in the air. Fungi, as well as some insects, take advantage of humidity and lack of light to reproduce. As there is usually little light in the closets, your thing is to choose one with little or no humidity and with occasional ventilation.

For example, in some areas of northern Spain, cabinets are common that go from one room to another to prevent high humidity from destroying what is stored in them. However, this measure is not usually necessary in lifting areas since a small degree of salinity in the environment helps to disinfect the air from fungi and bacteria.

If we are aware of those areas of the house that are more humid (which even have leaks and humidity), we should avoid them.

Vacuum, shake, clean and dry before storing

If we already have the place in mind, we should carry out a complete disinfection before storing a rug. That is, reduce the number of microorganisms and dirt as much as possible.

In case of not go through the dye, the order to be followed by us is the following:

1. Vacuum to remove dirt that has settled on the carpet, such as dust;
2. Shake to remove all that dirt that had already soaked into the interior;
3. Wash (better by hand than by machine) to eliminate what had been embedded in the fabrics;
4. Dry, removing moisture from the carpet.

Vacuuming and dusting can be reversed depending on how clean you are, but obviously, drying will come last.

Fold up the rug

The rug should be stored (at least domestically) to prevent the fabrics from suffering. But we can even place a fabric that covers the rug. We can also use small packages of bicarbonates and salts that absorb moisture. These serve as a maintenance disinfectant, as we see in this video:

The idea is to make a package where we store the rug, like a bag, so that moisture and external germs do not enter. But only if we have cleaned it well and removed the moisture because otherwise, we will have a small greenhouse of bacteria.

When rolling up the rug, we must not force even the first segment that we fold on itself. Nothing happens because there is a little air left inside the rug, and thus the fabrics will not be pressed.

Storing a rug is not a complex process, but these steps should be followed if we want to preserve it over time and avoid surprises when unrolling it for the following winter.

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