How to Dry a rug

How to Dry a Rug - Do’s

If you want to speed up the rug’s drying process, you can follow some of these steps. Note that if your entire rug has been washed, it will likely take longer than just drying an unexpected, isolated spill. 

Using Towels and Cloths

• This method primarily applies to spot cleaning, isolated spills, or small rugs. If you see the spill happen and immediately take action, you can absorb the water with a towel or cloth. This works well with rugs that aren’t particularly water absorbent, since you will soak up the moisture before it has a chance to settle deeper into the rug. 

Hang The Rug

• Hanging the rug is another method for removing moisture from a particular spot or drying the entire rug. The rug can be hung on a clothesline or an indoor rod. In both of these cases, it’s vital to spread the rug out evenly to ensure there are no wrinkles holding in moisture. Another area to consider is your rug’s reaction to sunlight: if you are hanging your rug outdoors on a washline, be sure that your rug isn’t prone to fade with heavy exposure to natural light. 

How to Dry a Rug - Do’s (Continued)

Fans

• A simple fan can help dry the entire surface or a small area of the rug. When using a fan, be sure that the fan is placed close to the rug and that the wet areas all receive airflow from the fan. It’s also important to turn the rug over periodically to make sure that both sides of the rug dry evenly and no moisture is hiding in the rug’s backing or deepest fibers. 

Open Windows

• Natural air and ventilation can also help dry your rug more quickly. Open windows and doors are well suited to provide airflow and remove moisture from your rug. Once again, flip your rug every once in a while to be sure that both sides are drying. 

Dehumidifiers

• High humidity impacts how long and how easy it is for a rug to dry. With that in mind, you can place a dehumidifier in the same room as the rug to combat the humidity and help your rug dry more completely. Not only does this speed up the drying process, but it also reduces the chances of mold or mildew growing in the rug’s fibers. 

How To Dry a Rug - Don’ts

Don’t Use a Dryer

• Most rugs are not suitable to be thrown in the dryer, even if they are small rugs. If the rug has a rubber backing, then that rubber will be destroyed in the dryer and deteriorate from the heat. Even with rugs without backing, the rug fibers can be damaged by the heat. The rug may shrink, have color bleeding, or present a fire hazard. 

Don’t Use a Heater

• In a similar vein, heaters and space heaters are not approved methods for drying rugs. You may be able to keep the heater at a distance, but the extra heat still risks damaging the rug’s fibers and is a serious fire hazard. 

How To Dry a Large Rug

Large area rugs can be dried with some of the methods listed above. Ventilation and hanging the rug are two of the most straightforward ways to dry the rug, although this method does require time and patience. To speed up the process, consider squeezing the water out of the rug with a squeegee or a long-handled brush. Towels and cloths can also absorb excess moisture from the rug’s surface and the top fibers. After you’ve completed these steps, you can hang the large rug on a washline or lay it on a flat surface to dry. No matter what methods you use to dry your large rug, periodically rotate it and flip it to make sure the entire rug is drying.