Care

Washable Rugs vs Wool Rugs: An Honest Comparison

By Storied Rugs8 min read

In stock now: 2006 Persian rugs

Family kitchen and dining room seen through double doors, pine farmhouse table, bench and painted chairs on an ivory rug with a teal border

A machine-washable rug is a thin rug, usually synthetic, made to fold into a home washing machine. It is the better choice where accidents happen often and the rug will be replaced before long, such as with a new puppy, a toddler or a rental. A wool rug is the better choice almost everywhere else. It lasts decades rather than years, wears slowly and can be washed many times over its life, just not in a machine.

We sell hand-knotted wool rugs and no washable ones, so you know which side we are on. We have still tried to be fair, because for some rooms a washable rug is the right answer.

Thin machine-washable rug with a printed red and navy Persian-style pattern folded over a wicker laundry basket, its white rubbery backing showing — A machine-washable rug folds like a bath towel. The pattern is printed on a thin face, with a rubbery backing underneath.

What is a washable rug?

Most machine-washable rugs are made of polyester or another synthetic fiber. The top is a thin flat weave or a short, soft pile. The pattern is usually printed on, which is how a washable rug can show a convincing photograph of a Persian design. Some come in two layers, a thin cover that goes in the machine and a non-slip pad that stays on the floor. Others have a rubbery backing built in.

They are made light and flexible on purpose, so that one person can lift the rug, fold it and put it in the washer. That thinness is what makes them convenient. It also explains most of the other differences between the two kinds of rug. Not sure which kind you are looking at? How to tell if a Persian rug is real shows what a printed rug looks like from the back.

Where a washable rug is the better choice

Pets that are still learning, or can no longer help it. Urine that soaks through a wool rug reaches the cotton foundation, and getting it all out means a professional wash. A washable rug goes in the machine the same afternoon.
Toddlers, high chairs and craft tables. Daily spills of food, paint and juice are exactly what a washable rug is for.
Bathrooms. A bath mat gets wet every day, so it needs to be something you can wash and dry easily. A vintage rug can work elsewhere in a bathroom, under the conditions in can you put a vintage rug in a bathroom.
Short stays and changing plans. In a rental you will leave in a year, or a room you plan to redo soon, a lower price up front makes sense.

If you are buying a washable rug, read the care label before you look at the photos. Check that the size you want fits in a home machine. Check whether it can go in a dryer or has to dry flat, and whether its pad or backing grips your kind of floor. A pattern woven into the rug usually wears better than one printed on.

If your household is in one of those stages, buy the washable rug and do not feel you have settled. A wool rug in the wrong room at the wrong time is no bargain.

Where a wool rug is the better choice

It lasts much longer

A hand-knotted wool rug is made of knots tied onto a foundation, usually cotton, with no glue anywhere. When something wears, it can be repaired knot by knot. That is why a hand-knotted rug can still be on a floor after fifty years. Why hand-knotted rugs outlast machine-made ones explains how they are built. A washable rug is thin by design, and the wash cycle that makes it convenient also wears it a little every time. Expect it to last years rather than decades.

It wears well

Wool fiber has a natural crimp that makes it spring back after it is pressed down.^[1] A chair leg leaves a dent for an afternoon, not for good. On a knotted rug, each tuft is dyed yarn, colored all the way down to the knot. So as the pile wears lower over the decades, the pattern is still there.^[2] A printed pattern sits on the surface, and where the surface wears, the design wears with it.

Corner of a faded salmon and gray-green vintage wool rug turned back on a dark oak floor beside a linen armchair and basket — Turned back, a wool rug shows the same pattern on its back as on its face. Each tuft is dyed yarn, so the color goes all the way down to the knots.

It is easy to keep clean

The outer layer of a wool fiber repels water, so a spill beads on the surface before it soaks in. That gives you time to blot it. Dry dirt sifts down toward the base of the pile, where regular vacuuming lifts it out.^[3] Wool is not stain-proof, but it is forgiving, and our guide to rug fibers explains why. It is also naturally slow to catch fire.^[4] Day to day, cleaning a wool rug at home is mostly vacuuming and quick blotting.

Galley kitchen with sage green cabinets and copper pans, a deep red Hamedan runner on worn limestone between the counters — A Hamedan runner, 3 feet 1 inch by 8 feet 8 inches, in a galley kitchen. Sturdy wool, a low pile and a busy all-over pattern make it an easy rug for a hallway or a kitchen.

Are wool rugs washable?

Yes, but not in a washing machine. Wool is at its weakest when it is wet, and heat and tumbling together can shrink and felt it.^[5] A wet room-size rug is also far too heavy for a home machine. And it has to dry evenly and completely, or the foundation can stay damp and mildew.^[6]

A proper wash is done flat. The rug is soaked, washed with a mild soap in the direction of the pile, rinsed until the water runs clear, then dried all the way through. Every rug we sell was washed this way before it was photographed, and how our vintage rugs are washed and restored shows the steps. A hand-knotted rug can take that kind of wash many times over its life. In a normal home it needs one every few years, and sooner in a busy hallway or with pets. Protecting a rug from sun, pets and spills covers the accidents in between.

Wool itself can be made machine washable. “Superwash” is the industry term for wool given a shrink-resist treatment so it can go in a washing machine.^[7] Some small wool rugs are sold as machine washable, and for those the care label is the rule to follow. A hand-knotted rug is not one of them.

Washable Persian, oriental and vintage-style rugs

A washable Persian rug, oriental rug or vintage rug is a synthetic rug with a Persian-style pattern printed on its face. It is not a hand-knotted rug from Persia, and it is not old. The photograph can be convincing, so turn the rug over or ask what the back looks like. A printed rug has a plain or rubbery back, while a hand-knotted rug shows its pattern on the back, knot by knot.

That is no reason to avoid one. If you like the look and need a rug that goes in the washer, a printed copy is a fair choice for a bathroom or a play area. Just buy it as what it is. A real vintage Persian rug is washed flat by a specialist, as described above, and it will not fit in a home machine.

What each one costs over time

A washable rug costs less on the day you buy it. Most small wool rugs from us cost $250 to $400. Most room-size ones, 8 by 10 or larger, cost $2,000 to $2,700.

The fair way to compare is to divide the price by the number of years you will use the rug. A washable rug has to be replaced when it wears thin, fades from washing or no longer suits the room. A hand-knotted wool rug needs a professional wash every few years. In return, it is likely to be on a floor, yours or someone else’s, for decades. We will not call it an investment, and what determines the cost of a rug explains why. It is simply a long-lived object, so it costs less per year than the price tag suggests.

Most homes need both

Most households end up with both kinds, and that is usually the right call. Washable rugs go where the mess is, such as the bathroom, under the high chair or where the dog sleeps. Wool goes where a rug has to last and look settled, such as the living room, the bedroom and the hall. When the puppy is trained or the toddler has grown, the wool rug can move in. For a child’s room, see choosing a rug for a nursery or kids’ room.

Looking down at a small red and cream Torkaman rug inside an open garden door, beside rubber boots and lavender — A small Torkaman, 2 feet by 4 feet 11 inches, inside a garden door. In a spot like this, a wool rug will outlast several washable mats.

If a wool rug is going somewhere busy, choose a low pile, which nearly all our rugs have, and a pattern that hides a spill between cleans. Runners suit halls and kitchens. Mini and accent rugs suit doors and bedsides, and patterned rugs suit the rooms that see the most life.