Tips for a Fresher Looking Natural Fibre Rug
In recent years, more and more people choose to bring natural fibre rugs into their homes due to their cosy warmth, excellent durability, and their eco-friendly manufacturing process. But you probably know all of this already since you bought one yourself. We’ve put together some helpful tips to keep your rug looking fresh.
1) Clean your rug on a regular basis. This may seem like an obvious thing to state, but you should know that it is much easier for dirt particles to become entangled in natural fibre carpeting than it is with their synthetic counterparts. To this end, make sure to regularly vacuum your rug using the appropriate upholstery attachment. Other methods you can try is shaking the rug to remove debris, or hanging it up outside and dusting it with a tennis racket, big stick, etc.
2) Use a damp towel to remedy curled rug corners. If you have been using your natural carpeting as an area rug, especially in high traffic areas, you will sooner or later notice that its corners have started to curl. To fix this, simply dampen the curled area with an evenly spread damp towel, place some weights on top, and leave it overnight. Keep in mind that you may have to repeat this process a few more times, depending on how long your rug had its corners curled.
3) Cut sprouting fibres using shears. Since most natural fibre rugs are braided and sewn by hand, they are very prone to sprouting. This goes double for jute, which has shorter fibres. To remedy this, simply use shears to clip down the fibres that have already stuck out from the rug surface. The good news is that, with time, the fibres will “settle in” and you will no longer have to use your scissors as much.
4) Always contact a manufacturer for advice on cleaning specific stains. If you cannot identify the stain on your rug, or it needs a more thorough cleaning overall, we highly encourage you to seek out the original manufacturer for specific cleaning recommendations, since most companies treat the fibres of their natural products differently.
5) Maintain consistent humidity within your premises. Sisal and other natural fibre rugs should be kept outside of areas with high humidity, since the extra moisture could stain them or even cause them to shrink. Consider purchasing a dehumidifier to maintain optimal humidity in the area where your rug is located.
6) Make sure your rug receives even amounts of sunlight. As mentioned above, sisal and other natural fibres become bleached when exposed to sunlight. So, if your room lets moderate to high amounts of sunlight in, ensure that your rug is either fully exposed to the sunrays or completely hidden in the shadows to maintain a consistent colour. If your rug is half in the sun, rotate it every other week to keep the sun-fade even.
7) Apply a fabric protectant spray. This step is only necessary if your carpet is located in a busy area of the house. Treating the fibres with fabric protectant spray (Scotchgard is pretty cheap at Mitre 10) will ensure that they are well protected against water spills and dirt. Just don’t forget to re-apply the spray regularly as its effect will wear off with time.
We hope you have found something you didn’t know before, please feel free to share with us any tips you have in the comments ?
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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30.8% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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69.2% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
SLASH BESIDE THE TRACK UP TO TRIG
I question the wisdom and the morality of an industry which creates so much waste, waste which is also a cause of widespread and devastating damage. So, I searched the internet for potential uses of slash. It was easy to find.
I recommend a visit to nzbioforestry.co.nz. I quote from the website:
OUR SOLUTION:
NZ Bio Forestry proposes to develop a sustainable renewable forestry model that increases the economic value of the NZ- Aotearoa forestry sector, simply by integrating bio-technologies augmenting the forestry, wood manufacturing, and petrochemistry industries into one model.
Specifically, our strategy is to utilise the whole tree and convert the tree’s sugars into bioenergy, biomaterials, and biochemicals. This means using slash, off cuts, pruning, and wood waste to produce biofuel via bio pellets and biochemicals. It means optimising logs through the whole process….logging, manufacturing freighting, and refining process to serve the many Asia-Pacific markets with high-value products….not just exporting raw logs to one or two large dominant markets! (End of quote)
NZ Bio Forestry then contrasts the financial return from the present exports of raw logs with the potential return from utilising the WHOLE TREE.
In US dollars, the return from exporting logs is between $50 - $140 per log.
Using the whole tree including the slash and other waste for wood processing would return $200 - $800 per tree, and,
Using the bio-refinery process to convert the wood waste into fossil-free biochemicals would return $2,500 - $11,200 per tree.
I can’t help but conclude that our current focus on exporting logs is a pitiful failure of industry and government policy compared with the potential benefits of processing THE WHOLE TREE. And to complete the argument, this not just theory. In Scandinavia, SCA, which owns Europe’s largest private forest with 2.7 million hectares, has built a well-invested value chain that maximises the value of each individual tree and all of the forestry’s resources.
A SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS:
Wood Pellets and Chips: Slash can be collected, dried, and processed into hog fuel or wood pellets for use in industrial boilers, as a replacement for coal, to generate heat and electricity.
Biofuel Production: Research is underway to convert forest residues into marine biofuel to help decarbonize the shipping sector.
Gasification: Advanced, small-scale, on-site processing plants can turn slash into renewable energy products like bio-oil, ethanol, and hydrogen.
Biochemicals: Specialized refineries can convert woody waste into sustainable alternatives to plastics, chemicals, and industrial products.
WAKE UP Aotearoa, New Zealand!!!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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