Removing Mud from Rugs

My husband loves it when our son is ‘all boy’.  I do not.  Let me rephrase that.  ‘All boy’ means he is outside, usually without shoes, rolling around in the mud, dirt, and grass, and then tracking all kinds of stuff into the house, and that typically translates into added work for me.  While we have instituted a no shoes past the kitchen policy in our house, that doesn’t do much when he doesn’t put shoes on to go outside.  When he finally comes in, his clothes (and feet) have mud, dirt, and grass stains all over them, but because he doesn’t have shoes on, he proceeds past the kitchen tromping on my dining room rug.  That’s the part I don’t like.

This year, we seem to have an unusually large amount of mud and dirt in our yard since Matt did a fair amount of weed killing and reseeding this spring.  I’ve gotten really good at getting mud out of our rug.  Here’s how I go about it:

1. Let the mud dry.  If you try cleaning it up while it’s wet, you’ll end up pushing the mud deeper into the fibers.
2. Once it’s dry, vacuum the area to remove as much of the dried mud as possible.  Vacuum slowly, multiple times, and in different directions. 
3. To remove any residual dirt, mix up a gentle soapy solution using cold water and a mild detergent like Woolite.  Gently blot the soapy water onto the area using a clean, white cloth.  Be sure not to scrub or rub too firmly.  Using a white cloth is important because it allows you to see if the stain is lifting, and if you use a cloth with color or print, the dye could transfer to the rug. 
4. Continue blotting, changing around the towel to see the stain transfer.
5. Once there the stain is no longer transferring to the cloth, rinse the area thoroughly with plain water and blot dry with a clean, white towel.
6. If this method doesn’t remove the mud, then stop.  Too many repeated attempts could cause permanent damage to the rug’s fiber.

If you have a stubborn dirt or mud stain that you need help with, give Greg with A Cleaner World Rug Cleaning a call at 336-804-0045 or e-mail him at acwcarpet@earthlink.net.  He has the expertise and equipment to easily remove any dirt and such that your child might track in.