The honest answer depends on foot traffic, pets, and sunlight — not a fixed calendar. The industry standard advice of “every three to five years” is a reasonable average and a poor rule. A hallway runner and a guest-room rug in the same house do not have the same needs.
The grit test
Fold a section of the rug back on itself so the pile opens, and press a hand into the base of the fibres near the foundation. If you feel sand-like grit, the rug is due. Grit at the base is the real enemy: every footstep grinds those particles against the wool at the knot, cutting fibres from the inside. It does far more damage than any visible surface soiling.
“Grit at the base of the pile cuts wool from the inside. It does far more damage than anything you can see.”
Rough intervals that actually hold up
Entry halls and main traffic routes: every eighteen months to two years. Living rooms with children or animals: every two to three years. Formal rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms with light use: every four to five years is genuinely fine. Rugs hung on a wall or under a rarely used table can go longer still.
What a proper wash involves
A fine rug should be washed by immersion, by hand, off-site. It is dusted first to remove dry soil, then washed with pH-appropriate solutions, rinsed thoroughly, and dried flat with controlled airflow. What it should never meet is a truck-mounted steam wand on your living room floor. Hot pressurised water forces soil deeper into the foundation, can set dyes running, and leaves moisture in a wool foundation that has no way to dry evenly.
If in doubt, bring it to us and we will tell you honestly whether it needs washing. Roughly a third of the rugs we are asked to clean do not yet need it, and we say so.
