Jute Rugs - Comments

(Read the article that everyone's commenting on.)

Our aging German Shepherd has had an accident...urine only....on our jute rug on our hardwood floor entryway. How do I get the smell out...not so worried about stain, as the background color is "urine colored!"

THANKS!

harriett at August 30, 2007 03:08 PM

Posted by: harriett at August 30, 2007 03:08 PM

I've always taken a two-prong approach to my pet-urine smells. First I clean it with vinegar water. When it's dry I then dab baking soda into the spot, let it sit for awhile (over night would be good), and then vacuum/sweep it up.

If that doesn't take care of it completely, repeat the process.

Be sure to protect your hardwood floor as you apply the vinegar. No need to damage the wood.

The Flooring Lady at August 30, 2007 03:57 PM

Posted by: The Flooring Lady at August 30, 2007 03:57 PM

Our dog wet our new jute rug. The area (s) turned a lighter shade due to the urine. Someone advised me to just try water. Now I hvave what looks like a polka dotted rug. (the water only made it worse)I have thought about wetting the entire thing, thinking it would at least even out the dots,but this was not a cheap rug. Any suggestions?

Catherine at September 25, 2007 10:30 AM

Posted by: Catherine at September 25, 2007 10:30 AM

It sounds as if the moisture took the color out. It's surprising to find non-color-fast rugs these days.

If the color was indeed taken out, you may have a defective rug. If you don't mind the lighter color for your rug, I think your idea of wetting the entire rug would be one solution. If you are not ok with the lighter color, talk to the store where you bought the rug and see if they'll replace it. In fact, talk to them either way -- just to have on record the problem.

The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2007 11:24 AM

Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2007 11:24 AM

Hello Flooring Lady:

Was hoping you could advise me.

I have a cream colored natural knotted jute rug which fell prey to some chocolate stains.

While having some Persian rugs steam cleaned professionally, I had them steam the stain and surrounding area. It took ages to dry, and is now a darker (brownish) color. What can I do? The stain, of course, is smack dab in the middle of the rug.

Unfortunately, I only found your site AFTER this happened. Any advice for evening out the color? Should I try the club soda solution on the brownish patch? Should I steam the entire rug?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Deborah Rubinger at September 25, 2007 11:45 PM

Posted by: Deborah Rubinger at September 25, 2007 11:45 PM

It figures the stain would be right in the middle of the rug! Let's see if we can get the stain lightened, if not completely removed....

There are lots of "recipes" online for getting chocolate out of cloth. Being this is a rug it's a bit tougher to handle, but my suggestion is to continue the "hot water" approach you have started by now dabbing a detergent (like Tide) solution on the stain. Once you have dabbed it and removed some of the chocolate, pour more hot water over the stain and watch it go away.

Another cleaner to try is StainSolver. Follow the directions carefully for chocolate and see what happens. I've had good luck with StainSolver cleaning many stains in my home. Let's see if it works for you.

The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2007 11:59 PM

Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 25, 2007 11:59 PM

Thank you for your speedy reply.

The stain that remains is no longer, in fact, chocolate, but a big darkish water stain. It's discoloration wherever the steam and soap touched. Do you think the Tide and water might still help?

Thanks very very much.

Deborah Rubinger at September 26, 2007 06:47 AM

Posted by: Deborah Rubinger at September 26, 2007 06:47 AM

I suspect that some of the stain is chocolate, dilute chocolate. It's hard to say if Tide or StainSolver will help, but it seems worth trying (I just did this with some wheat colored jeans that got spotted with chocolate, and it worked well -- but I hadn't steamed them first). If neither does help, then consider steaming the entire rug to see if you can blend the stain out or make the rug one big stain.

Matching the color is part of what you want, right? First try the Tide/StainSolver, then try the steam over the entire rug.

Please report back as to what worked, and what the results are.

The Flooring Lady at September 26, 2007 07:46 AM

Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 26, 2007 07:46 AM

I have a natural jute rug and there are areas that have changed color. The rug has natural color and bleached. It was in the sun for a while and it has areas that have turned a darker cream color instead of the bleached. Could the sun be the reason for the color change? Is there anything I can do to make it look better?

Chris at September 29, 2007 11:42 AM

Posted by: Chris at September 29, 2007 11:42 AM

Are the darker spots turned from the original, or are they the original color? My first reaction is they are the original color.

Sun is very damaging, fading everything it can. That's why some homes hang sheers in the windows -- they cut the UV yet let some light in. Glass tinting (just be careful if you want to go that route and check with your manufacturer first) can be used to cut the UV also.

The dark spots will fade over time when exposed to the sun. If you want to even the color of your jute rug move the furniture around to expose the unfaded sections. Or if that's going to take too long, you could use a dilute bleach solution on the spots, being very careful to not over due it -- and be careful to rinse the bleach so the fibers aren't ruined (this is my least favorite approach because of the environmental problems and the real harm that could come to you, your pets, your kids, and the rug itself).

Time in the sun is your best solution for this problem. Unless of course I've misunderstood what caused the dark spots.