Area rugs are beautiful decor items that ties your room together and while regular care and cleaning is easy, your furry loveable pets can be the biggest problem.

Animal urine on a rug, especially natural fibre rugs like ours, often causes damage that is permanent because it is acidic. It penetrates into the inner fibres and means that what you see on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg and cleaning only the surface will never make the problem go away. Over time urine can cause mildew and dry rot and the salt in the urine attracts insects like moths.

Urine can actually cause permanent yellow discolourations. Over time the acid urine stains also become alkaline and this begins a process of “dissolving” the acid dye bond to the wool fibres, causing areas that bleed, even when the rug has colourfast dyes.

If your pet has had an accident, immediately blot the stain to remove as much liquid as possible. The odour will remain unless washed out. We recommend you call a professional rug cleaner to give you the best chance of minimising further damage.

The cleaning level of success is going to depend on the fibre type (natural or synthetic), dye type (colourfast or bleeder), construction type (woven or tufted) and how quickly you act on a fresh accident.

Please remember that pet urine equals damage and there is a low likelihood that the rug can be restored to its original state. It is not covered under The Rug Establishment’s structural warranty because it is not a manufacturer’s defect. However we do recommend that you try to claim it under your insurance instead.

For more information on pet cleaning, please contact our recommended cleaner in your area.

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