Washing & Care

The whole range is sold on one claim: it goes in the washing machine. This page is how to use that claim for years rather than once.

Machine washability is stated on nearly every listing in this catalogue, and it is real, with conditions. The conditions protect two things: the printed pile and the latex backing. Everything below follows from those two.

The cycle, exactly

Shake and vacuum first. Grit in the drum grinds the pile against itself.
Cold water, gentle cycle. Heat is the enemy of the latex backing; agitation is the enemy of the print.
Mild detergent, no bleach, no softener. Softener coats the fibre and kills the stain resistance that is built into it.
Air dry, fully, backing up. A dryer's heat cracks latex. A rug folded away damp comes back smelling of the cupboard.

Which sizes fit which machine

Rug size	Household washer (4 to 4.5 cu ft)	Large capacity (5+ cu ft)
2x3, door sizes	Yes, with room to spare	Yes
2x6 runner	Yes	Yes
2x8 to 2x12 runner	Tight; fold loosely, wash alone	Yes
4x6	Only loosely folded, alone	Yes
5x7	No	Yes, alone
7x10	No	Laundromat front-loader, or spot clean

For the sizes that do not fit at home, a laundromat's largest front-loader takes a 5x7 comfortably. For a 7x10, spot cleaning plus a seasonal hose-down on a dry day is the honest routine.

Between washes

Vacuum without the beater bar where the vacuum allows it; a spinning brush pulls at a printed pile.
Blot spills, never rub. The fibre resists staining long enough for a paper towel to win if it gets there first.
Rotate twice a year in sunny rooms. The listings note fade resistance, and rotation is what makes it invisible in practice.

The two mistakes that shorten a rug's life

Hot water and the tumble dryer. Both attack the latex backing, and a backing that has gone brittle sheds crumbs and stops gripping. Every other care mistake is recoverable; these two are not.

The materials themselves are covered on the materials page, and sizing is on the size guide.