Wool Carpet: cleaning and care
The premium natural choice: springy, warm and long-lived, but chemically delicate. Wool hides soil well and cleans beautifully with the right products — and is quickly ruined by the wrong ones.
Wool is a natural protein fibre, chemically similar to your own hair. Anything that would wreck hair — bleach, strong alkalis, high heat — wrecks wool. Use WoolSafe-approved products, keep water cool and sparing, and blot rather than scrub so the pile does not felt.
Safe cleaning methods
- Blotting with cool water and a WoolSafe-approved detergent
- Mild acid solutions such as diluted white vinegar
- Professional low-moisture or hot water extraction by a wool-trained technician
- Regular vacuuming with a suction-only head
Never use these
- chlorine bleach
- oxygen bleach
- high-alkaline carpet shampoos
- hot water above about 40 degrees C
Do and don’t
Do
- Check any product for WoolSafe approval before it touches the pile
- Blot spills immediately with a dry white cloth
- Vacuum weekly to stop grit cutting the fibre
- Dry any damp patch fully within 24 hours
Don’t
- Never use chlorine or oxygen bleach — both dissolve protein fibre
- Never scrub in circles; wool felts like a jumper in a hot wash
- Never soak the backing — wool holds water and can shrink or brown
- Never use a beater bar on loop-pile wool
Drying
Wool holds far more moisture than synthetics — allow up to 24 hours after damp cleaning and keep the room ventilated.
Stain guides for this material
- How to get red wine out of a wool carpet
- How to get coffee out of a wool carpet
- How to get tea out of a wool carpet
- How to get blood out of a wool carpet
- How to get pet urine out of a wool carpet
- How to get vomit out of a wool carpet
Wool Carpet FAQs
How do you clean a wool carpet?
Blotting with cool water and a WoolSafe-approved detergent. Wool is a natural protein fibre, chemically similar to your own hair. Anything that would wreck hair — bleach, strong alkalis, high heat — wrecks wool. Use WoolSafe-approved products, keep water cool and sparing, and blot rather than scrub so the pile does not felt.
What should you never use on a wool carpet?
Avoid chlorine bleach; oxygen bleach; high-alkaline carpet shampoos; hot water above about 40 degrees C. These are the products and habits that cause the permanent damage — usually worse damage than the original stain.
Is a wool carpet safe to wet-clean?
Only with real care. Wool Carpet is moisture-sensitive: keep any water-based cleaning to a barely damp cloth, and dry the area promptly and completely.
How long does a wool carpet take to dry?
Wool holds far more moisture than synthetics — allow up to 24 hours after damp cleaning and keep the room ventilated.
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