Hot water and rubbing can make wool felt and shrink, and the dye can bleed, so it is not cleaned on a living room floor. The price is from €10/m², and pick-up and return in Riga costs €10.
Why wool needs different cleaning from synthetics
Wool fibres have scales. In hot water they lift, and if the wool is rubbed or moved at the same time, the fibres catch on each other. This is how felt forms: the material becomes denser and shrinks, and usually it cannot be reversed.
Conservators name three more risks. Heat strips wool of its natural oils and weakens the threads. High humidity can damage the fibre and make the dyes bleed. Light dries the fibre and fades the colours. This is why a wool rug needs controlled wet cleaning and full drying, which a living room floor does not give.
Sources: UW-Extension “The Science of Felting” on felting; Canadian Conservation Institute “Basic care: carpets and rugs” on heat, humidity and light. Checked 10.11.2026.
Washing a wool rug at home: what you can and cannot do
At home you can vacuum regularly, rotate the rug from time to time so that it wears evenly, and blot a fresh stain with a clean cloth without rubbing. A blood stain is cleaned with cold water only, because heat sets it.
- Do not wash a wool rug in a washing machine or soak it in the bath.
- Do not use hot water or steam.
- Do not use shop-bought carpet shampoo: the Canadian Conservation Institute advises against it for important rugs.
- Do not dry it on a radiator or in direct sunlight.
- Before using any product, test the colourfastness on a hidden spot, because the dyes can bleed.
More on what happens to wool when it is washed at home: can a wool rug be washed at home.
Moths in a wool rug
Clothes moth larvae feed on wool and other materials of animal origin. They avoid light, so the parts of a rug under furniture and rugs kept in a dark place suffer most. Washington State University advises vacuuming and cleaning these places regularly and notes that insecticides are not an effective fix: in the long term only finding and removing the source helps.
If there are live moth larvae in the rug, it is a pest control job. If the moths are gone but there are eaten patches, add a photo: cleaning does not restore eaten patches. Carpet beetles also eat wool; for them, see pest control at dezinsekcijariga.lv.
Source: WSU PestSense, Casemaking clothes moth; Canadian Conservation Institute. Checked 10.11.2026.
What to write in the request about a wool rug
- The size in metres, measured without the fringe.
- Photos of the front, the back and the fringe up close.
- Whether the rug is machine-woven, tufted or hand-knotted, if you know.
- Stains, smell and pets.
- Moths or eaten patches.
- The floor, whether there is a lift, and where a car can stop.
Before cleaning, photograph any damage, worn areas and loose fringe. We do not do repairs or fringe restoration. If the rug is hand-made or antique, see also Persian and oriental rug cleaning, because then the price is given from a photo.
How much wool rug cleaning costs
Wool or cotton rug (with pick-up): from €10/m². Pick-up and return in Riga costs €10 (both ways together); in the Riga region up to about 15 km from the Riga boundary it is also €10, and further out another €10 is added. If there is urine or smell, urine or odour treatment is extra, from €3/m².
- A 2 × 3 m wool rug in Riga: 6 m² × €10 = from €60, plus pick-up and return €10, in total from €70.
- A 1.2 × 1.8 m wool rug in Riga: 2.16 m² × €10 = €21.60. The minimum order is €45: if the total is lower, you pay €45. Pick-up and return €10 is added, €55 in total.
After you fill in the form, a specialist contacts you and gives the price based on the size, the fibre and the photos. All prices: carpet and rug cleaning prices.
What to expect from wool rug cleaning
Usually comes out
- dust and sand in the pile;
- everyday greyness where people walk;
- fresh drink and food stains, if they have not been rubbed.
May stay
- patches eaten by moths and wear;
- fading from the sun;
- shrinking or felting from earlier washing at home;
- dye that has already bled;
- smell, if urine has reached the backing.
Before the job, a specialist tells you what to expect from your rug.
Sources
- Wool scales lift in hot water, catch together with rubbing, and the material shrinks checked 10 November 2026
- Heat, humidity and light damage wool and dyes; rotate the rug; do not use carpet shampoos checked 10 November 2026
- Moth larvae eat wool and avoid light; insecticides are not effective; the source must be removed checked 10 November 2026
- Blood stain: cold water, heat sets it checked 7 November 2026
- Test colourfastness on a hidden spot checked 7 November 2026
