What’s the Difference Between Carpets and Rugs?

Both carpets and rugs are used as floor covers with probably the most obvious difference being in size. Some households use them for aesthetic purposes as well. This leaves us to base our choice according to our specific needs and wants. Sometimes, cleaning these floor decorations can be the ultimate deciding factor as this might also make it easier for you to see which one really suits your lifestyle.

To make life easier for you, here are some key points that you might want to consider in choosing between carpets or rugs. Let’s try to figure out the differences between the two, especially when it comes to maintaining their cleanliness.

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Check out the materials used

Both carpets and rugs may come in different styles, designs and forms and each kind should be dealt with accordingly when it comes to cleaning. For instance, with carpets, we normally use a vacuum cleaner. However, depending on the type of material and the kind of cleaning necessary for them, the vacuum cleaner may either be used before or after certain processes.

Rugs, on the other hand, might appear easier to deal with, but could also need some rigorous procedure especially in cases where odor treatment and sanitation is necessary. And this method varies according to the material components of the rugs.

Chemicals and solutions

Different cleaning procedures both for carpets and rugs might also require particular chemicals and cleaning solutions. There are many options to choose from based on what actually suits you, but among the choices are:

●     Detergents, rinses and shampoos

●     Deodorizers, odor and stain removers

●     Dry Foam, defoamers and descalers

●     Boosters, carpet protectors and dyeing chemicals

All these are applicable to both carpets and rugs, but since environment-friendly solutions are now a thing you can actually explore home-made solutions using regular washing detergents, solvents and even vinegar to clean your floor covers.

Cleaning methods

For carpets, professional help and services might be needed more compared to when cleaning rugs. Here are the most common cleaning methods.

• Bonnet cleaning – use of chemical solutions, vacuum and an absorbent pad
•  Dry cleaning – use of powdered compound detergents and is known to be one of the fastest ways to clean your carpet.
•  Steam cleaning – use of hot water, chemical solution and vacuuming and is known to be effective when dealing with heavily ingrained dirt and stains.

Because rugs can be moved, rolled up and carried easily, good old washing can already do the trick – except when dealing with odor-related concerns particularly pet urines and other stains. This requires a specific odor removal and treatment procedure. In some worse cases, intense sanitizing and neutralizing chemicals are being applied first before the odor can be vanished.  

Written by Eric Sappington, owner of Sappington’s Carpet Care, the leading company for carpet cleaning in Columbia, MO.