Quick answer
Vacuum wool carpet weekly with suction (or a brush bar on its gentlest setting), treat spills at once by blotting with a white cloth and cool water, and use only wool-safe, near-neutral cleaners. Never use bleach, ammonia, peroxide, oxygen cleaners or strong alkaline sprays, and never soak it: over-wetting causes browning and shrinkage. Have it professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months by someone who uses wool-safe chemistry and controlled moisture; hot water extraction done that way is safe for wool.
What makes wool different
Wool fibre is protein with a scaly surface, like hair. That structure is why it holds dye beautifully, resists flattening and hides dirt, and it is also why it reacts to the wrong chemistry. Alkaline cleaners (most supermarket carpet sprays, ammonia, oxygen bleaches) swell and roughen the scales, leaving the pile dull, yellowed or felted. Heat and agitation on wet wool make the scales lock together, which is how a jumper shrinks in a hot wash and how a wool carpet ends up with a matted patch.
Underneath, most wool carpet has a jute or hessian backing. Soak that and the natural tannins in the jute wick up into the pile as it dries, leaving a brown tide-mark. This "cellulosic browning" is the most common damage from hired machines and over-enthusiastic home cleaning, and it is not the wool's fault.
Everyday care
- Vacuum weekly, more in hallways. Use suction only or a brush bar on its lowest setting; an aggressive beater bar fuzzes the pile. Slow passes pick up the grit that wears wool from the inside.
- Expect shedding from new wool carpet for the first few months. It is loose fibre from manufacturing, not damage, and vacuuming removes it.
- Rotate furniture occasionally and use cups under heavy legs. Wool recovers from dents better than synthetics, especially if you mist the dent lightly, let it sit, then lift the pile with a coin.
- Keep it dry and lit. Moths and carpet beetles like undisturbed, dark wool under furniture; vacuuming those areas is the prevention.
- Sunlight fades wool over years. Blinds on north and west windows are cheaper than a new carpet.
Spot cleaning wool: what to use and what to avoid
| Use | Avoid |
|---|
| Cool water and a white cloth, blotting | Hot water, steam mops, hair dryers |
|---|
| A few drops of wool-safe detergent (woollens wash) in cool water | Supermarket carpet sprays unless labelled wool-safe; most are alkaline |
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| A splash of white vinegar in water for a final rinse (helps keep the pH on wool's side) | Ammonia, bleach, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen cleaners |
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| Dabbing from the outside of the spot inward | Rubbing, scrubbing brushes, over-wetting |
|---|
| A fan or open window to dry it fast | Leaving the spot damp overnight |
|---|
The sequence for any spill: blot, dab with cool water, blot, dab with the wool-safe solution, blot, rinse with a little vinegar-water, blot, then press a dry towel on it under a weight and get air moving. For blood, wine or pet urine on wool, follow the same cold, gentle approach and stop short of the stronger products those stains allow on synthetic carpet.
Can wool carpet be steam cleaned?
Yes, and it is what most wool carpet manufacturers specify for periodic deep cleaning, provided it is done the wool way: a wool-safe pre-spray close to neutral pH, less water than a synthetic carpet would get, thorough extraction so the backing never gets saturated, and fast drying. Done like that, hot water extraction rinses years of soil out of wool and leaves no residue. Done with a strong alkaline pre-spray and a flooded wand, it browns, shrinks and felts.
Low-moisture (dry) cleaning is the safer choice for wool that cannot be wet at all, such as some antique or hand-made pieces, and for light maintenance cleans between deep cleans. It does not flush out ground-in soil the way extraction does.
Hired supermarket machines are the riskiest option for wool: weak vacuum, hot water, and a general-purpose detergent. If you hire one anyway, use cool water, the wool-safe solution, half the detergent the instructions say, and dry the room with fans before evening.
How often, and what it costs
Most wool carpet in a family home benefits from a professional clean every 12 to 18 months, sooner in hallways and living rooms with pets or kids. We clean wool across Adelaide with wool-safe chemistry and controlled moisture at the same published prices as any carpet: $45 per standard room, $65 per living area, $120 minimum booking. We check the fibre before we start and tell you if anything on it needs a different approach.
Rather have it done properly? We are an Adelaide-wide carpet cleaning service with published prices: get a free quote or call 0481 614 304, 7 days a week.
