How Winter Salt Effects Carpets and Rugs

Ice melting products can make exiting your home or using your driveway infinitely easier, however they can be incredibly rough, abrasive, and even permanently damaging to your carpets or rugs, causing serious defacement. Here’s a guide from the carpet cleaning experts at Aladdin Oriental Rug on how to prevent carpet or rug winter salt damage, and deal with it if it does end up occurring.

How does winter ice salt affect carpets or rugs?

Winter ice salt can prove to accelerate and increase the chances of indelible rug and/or carpet stains. Here’s how:

• Salt – Salt pulls out moisture from the air and absorbs it, making your carpet and/or rug dry much more slowly. And the longer your carpet/rug remains damp, the more susceptible it is to the collection of dirt.

• Calcium Chloride – Winter ice salt pellets, whether being blue or white, are likely made up of a chemical called calcium chloride, which leaves an oily filmy deposit on rugs and carpets, which further attracts even more dirt and staining, especially when combined with salt.

That’s not the only reasons winter ice salt can affect your carpet and/or rug. Salt can mix up with snow and water to create strange greyish/white stains after drying.

The incredibly high level of base alkaline levels in these products can actually cause material/physical damage like erosion or holes to rugs and carpets, in addition to unsightly staining!

Protecting your Carpet and Rugs from Winter Ice Salt Damage

Make sure to brush off your shoes or boots from the weather on a mat outside your home before entering; even better, take your shoes or boots off completely before entering into your home. During the Winter, you will likely need your rugs and/or carpets professionally cleaned on a more regular basis.

We recommend professional steam cleaning after winter ice salt staining, which is a technique that can prevent/remove serious stains. Of course, regular vacuuming can’t hurt either.