Wool Carpet Cleaning: How to Care for Wool Carpet (and When to Call a Pro)

Wool carpet is hard-wearing, but it needs the right care. The short version:

• Vacuum regularly, especially in walkways, and put mats at the doors.
• Treat spills straight away with warm, not hot, water, blotting rather than rubbing.
• For stains that remain, Godfrey Hirst's wool method is 1 teaspoon of approved wool laundry detergent and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar in 1 litre of warm water, then rinse.
• Avoid ammonia, bleach and harsh supermarket cleaners, and never over-wet the carpet.
• Have it professionally cleaned with hot water extraction every 12 to 18 months, depending on use. That is the interval recommended by Hycraft, a Godfrey Hirst brand, which also advises against shampooing, DIY steam cleaning and dry cleaning for wool.

Always check your own carpet's care guide first. It is the manufacturer's instructions that count.

Wool is a natural fibre, and that is what makes it both durable and a little particular.

• It is absorbent. Wool soaks up water readily and holds onto it, so it takes longer to dry than synthetic carpet. Over-wetting is one of the most common ways wool gets damaged.
• It is sensitive to some chemicals. University of Georgia Extension notes that ammonia, which appears in plenty of online stain recipes, damages wool. Bleach and harsh cleaners are also best kept well away.
• It does not forgive rough spot cleaning. Godfrey Hirst warns that haphazard spot removal on wool can set stains permanently, distort the pile and cause loss of colour.

None of this means wool is fragile. It means the gentle method is the right method.

Most of what keeps a wool carpet looking good happens between cleans.

• Vacuum regularly, and more often in walkways and entries, where grit wears the fibres fastest.
• Look after your vacuum. Hycraft's care guide suggests checking the height of the beater bar, if your vacuum has one, and cleaning or replacing worn brushes.
• Use mats at outside doors and at the entries to carpeted rooms to stop dirt being walked in.
• Deal with spills straight away. The longer a spill sits, the harder it is to remove from an absorbent fibre.

You may notice this differs slightly from the plain dishwashing-liquid method in some of our other stain guides. That method comes from general carpet guidance. For wool, we follow the carpet maker's own instructions, and your carpet's care guide should always come first.

For specific stains, our guides to red wine, ink and our complete guide to removing carpet stains each include notes on wool.

Yes, professionally. Hot water extraction, usually called steam cleaning, is the deep-cleaning method Hycraft recommends for wool carpet every 12 to 18 months, depending on use. It removes the oily, sticky and settled soil that vacuuming leaves behind and that gradually dulls the colour of the carpet.

The key word is professional. The same guide advises against shampooing, do-it-yourself steam cleaning and dry cleaning for wool. The difference is control: how much water goes in, how much is pulled back out, what cleaning products are used, and how fast the carpet dries.

Drying. Wool holds water longer than synthetic fibres, so it can take longer to dry after any wet clean. Good airflow helps: open windows on a dry day, run fans, and keep internal doors open.

Check your warranty. Some carpet makers set out cleaning requirements in their care guide. If your carpet is still under warranty, read it before booking any clean.

We deep clean wool carpet with hot water extraction as part of our carpet steam cleaning service, when the carpet is suitable. We check the carpet before we start, and if hot water extraction is not the right choice, we will tell you.

You can see our rates on the carpet cleaning prices page, and we clean across Canberra and Queanbeyan; see our Canberra carpet cleaning page. Have a wool rug as well? Our guide to how to clean a rug covers wool rugs, which need a little more care again.