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SYNTHETIC RUGS
Synthetic rugs? Yes, even though we specialize in the cleaning and repair of fine hand woven, natural fiber area rugs at ABC, we are also pleased to clean your area rugs made of synthetic fibers such as nylon, olefin (polypropylene), polyester, acrylic, or any combination of those.
Specialized training is required of our staff in all aspects of the care of all types of rugs.
By far, the best fiber for rugs is wool. It is the strongest, most vibrant, and most resilient fiber to be walking on. It always washes beautifully as well. Even a low-quality wool rug will outlast the best synthetic fiber.
So many homes today have gone to hard surface flooring, at least for the main living areas, and the opportunity to use many different area rugs abounds. The market is now flooded with all types of rugs, natural and synthetic, handmade and machine made. Synthetic fibers are even being used to create ‘fake’ wool rugs.
That said, there are both pros and cons when it comes to synthetic rugs:
PROS OF SYNTHETIC RUGS
SYNTHETIC FIBER RUGS ARE CHEAP!
This is because there is little or no labor cost in their production (all are machine made) and the fibers are essentially poor-quality plastic.
A SYNTHETIC RUG CAN USUALLY WITHSTAND HUMIDITY (such as in a bathroom).
In those circumstances a wool or natural fiber rug could buckle or shrink, or worse, become mildewed.
SYNTHETIC AREA RUGS ARE OFTEN VERY DECORATIVE AND SOMETIMES QUITE UNIQUE.
However, the consumer should be made aware of the problems inherent with these rugs as well the fact that they will undoubtedly need to be replaced regularly.
CONS OF SYNTHETIC RUGS
THEY REQUIRE MORE CLEANINGS.
They do not hide soil as well as natural fibers so they will look dirty sooner and will need to be cleaned more often. Olefin, polyester, and acrylic are solid and smooth strands of plastic fibers with no place to hide soil. Soil simply sticks to the outside of the fibers. These rugs get dull faster as a result.
THEY WEAR AND YELLOW FASTER.
Because they are plastic, they do not have longevity, and do not wear well with abrasion. In fact, most wall-to-wall carpet installed in commercial buildings is olefin carpet (because it’s CHEAP!).
The next time you are in a commercial building, look at the entryways and high traffic areas of the carpet and you will see how worn down that carpet gets after only a few years. Wear in a carpet can look like dirt.
Olefin (polypropylene) carpet is often sold for homes as well (because it’s CHEAP!), but this is the absolute worst fiber to have for residential homes because it simply does not hold up to foot traffic.
Look for nylon if you want synthetic fibers for your wall-to-wall carpeting. Olefin, polyester, and acrylic can get worn looking after just a few years on the floor.
THEY ARE STICKY AND SCRATCHY.
(Regular vacuums will not help.) They grab everything and it is tough to get them to release lint, hair, and grime, making them very difficult to clean. Some of these rugs require much more labor to clean, sometimes exceeding what was paid for the rug in the first place. (We always let our customers know if the cleaning will exceed the value of a rug).
Also, because they are plastic, they are not super soft to the touch. They aren’t rugs that feel great when you walk on them with bare feet, and kids are certainly not going to want to roll around on them!
IT IS DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE URINE ODOR FROM SYNTHETIC RUGS.
Please continue reading here for the reason why it is so difficult or impossible to remove urine odor from synthetic rugs, as well as more facts about synthetic rugs, including tufted and disposable rugs, as well as how ABC can help, and with many photos. Also, see our May 2025 special below on cleaning synthetic rugs.
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