Rugs also need some good ol' bath. Living room, kitchen, bathroom, porch and entrance's rugs suffer from everyday dirt and dust that can dearly affect their looks. From glowing pieces to fading beauties, therefore regular cleaning will make the difference.

Cleaning your rug takes more than just showering them with water and soap. You also need to protect their materials to ensure top-notch look no matter how often you clean them. The following are several ways to clean your rugs:

The most basic way of cleaning a rug is vacuum cleaning. This should be done fairly regularly except for certain rugs that are too delicate for vacuuming and should be shaken out rather than subjected to a machine. These include Flokati rugs and leather shag rugs. Rugs made from natural fibers such as bamboo or sisal can be shaken out or vacuumed, whichever is more convenient. If a rug is too large to shake by hand, place it on a fence or drape it over a railing, and beat it with a stick to get rid of dust. The more movement of people that occurs on or around a rug, the more often you will have to clean it in one of the above ways. Remember that a rug is usually vacuumed in the same direction as the pile.

Spilling is one accident that seems inevitable no matter how graceful and poised people tend to act with a pretty-looking rug around. A misstep is bound to happen somehow. What do you do when it does? Do something immediately. Don't let the stain dry or else, a simple DIY cleaning might not be enough. Instead of rubbing the stain, use a paper towel or a wet cloth and just blot. Scrubbing the brand new stain will cause it to spread. If something semi-solid is on the rug, scoop it up with a napkin or scrape it off with a spoon, and then blot the stain.

If the stain leaves a mark on the area rug, you can use cleaning products such as a dishwashing detergent and the natural way, vinegar or baking soda mixed with water. They are effective stain removals.

Oxygen cleaners are useful for spot removal on synthetic rugs. Such cleaners are eco friendly products so one doesn't have to worry about adverse environmental effects when these are used. However, the directions for use should be carefully read and attended to, and a test in an unnoticeable area should be done, to make sure that color will not run or fade. You must also remember to rinse the spot after you have used the oxygen cleaner, and don't step on the spot till it has dried out fully. Never use oxygen cleaner on a wool rug or a silk one - the alkaline residue of the cleaner can harm such rugs.

Cleaning your rugs can also be done with dry powder cleaners, dry foam cleaners and steam cleaning.