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Jute Rugs
Jute rugs and carpet are not widely used, but they are a sustainable option for your home and office. Jute matting is used for backing on some carpets and linoleum. Jute area rugs and carpet can lend a certain look to your home, while custom made jute rugs add a distinct touch of class. Jute flooring is more delicate or fragile than other natural fiber rugs and carpets, but it may be the right choice for you.
If you have a roll of jute sitting around, then it might be worth a second look. This isn't just a great tool for helping out the garden or a package, but it's also great for jute rugs.
Jute is attributed as a part of ancient Bengali culture. It's a soft and shiny fiber that looks a lot like a hemp plant when it is growing. Jute began to be exported to Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Actually, one of the cheapest natural materials, it is only second to cotton in terms of uses.
Jute likes to grow in warm, humid climates, like Bangladesh and India. It's advantages include:
* biodegradable
* fire-resistant
* sustainable resource
* strong and durable
The only bad things about jute are:
* strength breaks down when jute is wet
* certain atmospheric conditions can decrease the jute's strength
Jute rugs and jute flooring options are a great advance for today's society due to its ability to break down. While this may sound like a downside, think of it this way. Over time, items that we have will either disintegrate or need to be thrown away. Instead of filling landfills, jute will break down in the soil and replenish the natural vitamins and nutrients.
As with many other natural materials, the inherent structure and oils found in jute make it resistant to fire damage. Fire can light it, but it won't stay lit for long. Jute matting and a jute carpet in homes may help to stop the spread of fires that start accidentally.
And as with many natural fibers, jute is easy to grow and re-grow, making it a sustainable and renewable resource. It doesn't take up nearly as much space or energy to grow as a tree would, plus it grows more rapidly, allowing for the growth cycle to replenish itself, rather than necessitate planting more trees.
The overall strength of jute is impressive and makes for excellent packaging material and construction material. You can also create durable clothing and other items without fear of breakage. Henry Ford actually tested the strength of jute when he was working on the trunk of a car. Instead of the glass composition, he incorporated part of the jute plant into the design. This made for a lighter car part without sacrificing any of the strength.
The problem that jute has is that a clean jute rug is a happy jute rug, but those that get wet are unhappy. Moisture will rapidly deteriorate the strength of jute, as can acidic conditions. Jute flooring is best used where humidity is low because moisture is hard on it. So, it's safe to say that outdoor jute rugs aren't going to do much good. But a jute rug in a home or office in the southwestern part of the U.S., for example, would be a lovely addition to the space.
Custom made jute rugs will give you exactly the look you seek for your home or office. Jute matting and jute flooring are perfect example of sustainable household decorations. Not only are they beautiful in their weaves and strength, but there's no need to worry about them still sitting in some landfill years from now.
Comments
I have a customer that wanted to find something to remove pet stains and a yellowing of a jute rug, so i tried (on a corner) oxyclean then tried Mr Clean on it and it lightened the yellowing but made the whole rug look a mess, tomorrow i am going to take to the laundry mat and use texas size washer with oxyclean and will write back with results (owner says if it turns out ok if not no big loss they was going to throw it away anyway)
ASKTP Services of Burton MI at June 4, 2008 05:08 PM
It'd be interesting if you'd post back your results!
Stain Solver would be better than OxyClean because it's got more bleaching action.
Enviro-One has been good for stain removal in general, and though I haven't tried it on carpets, I would think that it'd be very good for carpet stains.
The Flooring Lady at June 5, 2008 11:37 AM
i have a question. how do i remove a few cherry juice stains from a jute rug?
thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
beth at June 13, 2008 02:12 PM
Hi Beth,
I presume you've read through the comments above....... I'm really no closer to a sure-fire way to clean these rugs. Take a look at the April 12th comment to Barclay. Sorry I couldn't be more help. If somebody imparts some pearls of wisdom on how to clean it (and cherry juice yet!) please feel free to drop back by and let us know about it!
The Flooring Lady at June 13, 2008 11:28 PM
my dog had an accident on my jute rug,first I put baking soda on the large spot to draw out the moisture. Next,I vacuumed the stain and then scrubbed with cold water and pine sol,let it dry.... then with a small amount of bleach and soap scrubbed again and the stain is much better,but a large ring remains.........next I am about to take it to the car wash .......power wash it as I think thats the ONLY way for it not to leave a ring! then let it dry out side it's a 9 x 11...I will give an update as I have nothing to lose at this point outside of throwing it away!
angela randall at August 3, 2008 01:22 PM
Thanks Angela - please do drop back in here and post how your experiment turned out. I wonder about using the bleach (even if weak) caused the light spot. Might have to do the whole rug that way to try to get it one (hopefully!) uniform color......
The Flooring Lady at August 3, 2008 08:07 PM
I have two dogs and one jute rug which has taken the brunt of a few "accidents". I have had success with draping it over my balcony railing and pouring warm-to-hot water down it, rinsing it over and over again. That did a pretty good job on fresh urine stains. A poop accident was another thing altogether; I had to lift the main mess off with paper towels (yuck) then use an old, white cloth and warm water in a bucket to dab the remainder off. Over the balcony it went again and I used an old toothbrush to gently clean the fibres. I was tempted to chuck the dogs off the balcony, but thankfully I restrained myself.
Any cleaners will very likely remove the color from your rug, so I recommend working with just water, and making sure it thoroughly dries afterwards before putting it on the floor again.
Kirsty at August 30, 2008 10:27 AM
Thanks for the tips Kirsty. Heh - actually, it's recommended that you do not steam clean or wet shampoo jute rugs. A store I like that carries really nice Jute Area Rugs doesn't recommend getting it wet either. So long as it works for you though........ ;~) Heavens know I've come up with creative ways a time or two to clean flooring that would have made manufacturer's cringe. Sometimes, recommended methods just aren't going to cut it.
One last thought - always be sure that the rug is thoroughly dry so that you don't have mold or mildew concerns to toss in the mix. Anything made of natural materials will be more prone to this.
Thanks for the post!
The Flooring Lady at August 30, 2008 11:25 AM
I just bought a jute rug for my deck. Last night it sprinkle a bit but I didn't worry because I thought natural fiber, natural water no problem. This afternoon we had a 10 minute downpour and I was worried about shrinkage, so I thought I would search about jute rugs. I am so glad I did, I grabed the rug and put it in a safe place to dry. So far everything looks fine. I also know not to let the grandchildren and their dog anywhere near it. Thanks for your wonderful article.
Colleen at August 31, 2008 07:29 PM
You're most welcome Colleen!
The Flooring Lady at September 1, 2008 08:31 PM
