This may sound drastic, but we have a wool rug that was probably made in China (not an Oriental and inexpensive) which smelled badly from the glue on the backing and my husband took it outside, hosed it down, scrubbed it with dishwashing liquid, hosed it off again and let it dry outside for a week, turning it over several times. (I suppose it helps if you live in a warm, dry area of Southern California as we do.) The rug looks great and the smell is gone.

A sunny blacktop driveway is great for drying oriental rugs that you have washed. You have to be super careful hanging such rugs, because they are so heavy when wet, the weight can deform or tear the foundation weave. Drying them flat is great.
Casey

Honestly the expensive orientals will probably wash better than the PB rug.

That said I have washed both - the expensive heirloom rug - very sick dog and lots of very nasty loose stools and the PB rug - child stomach flu -the same way. Took it out on my clean patio and hung it over lawn chairs - used a hose and gentle wool safe cleaner recommended by a rug store - can't remember the name but readily available. THe reason I suspended it over the chairs is to make sure the rug was rinsed all the way through.

I then waited for the patio to dry - it was now very clean as well and put the rug on the flat surface. I flipped it once to dry both sides.

I took a chance on the expensive rug because otherwise the thing was going in the trash - there was no way I could take it somewhere to be professionally cleaned - it was truly awful.

I was amazed how well it turned out - you would never know. I now fully believe the salespeople at the nice rug shops who claim that their gorgeous very expensive carpets are easy to care for and stand up well for years and years. I have proof!

The PB was less successful but better than a new rug. The cheaper rugs - and of course this is relative as $100+ rugs are not really cheap ;-) stretch very easily - even if you dry them flat you may lose some shape. This is because the backing is cheaper and the way the rugs are threaded and doesn't hold up.

Wow, Gldnfan, your colors in your rug didn't bleed? I had some sort of weaved rug once that I wet down with the hose. what a mess. I never tried it on my oriental rugs (wool). I was chicken and I listened to so many people tell me to be careful not to use too much water. I am going to try that some time, if my rug get's really bad. I learn something here all the time. Love this forum.

I've had success with nature's miracle for getting cat pee out of fabrics and carpet. Just test it somewhere inconspicuous to see if the color runs. It's sold in most pet shops.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nature's Miracle

Jewel -

I got advice first from a very high end carpet store that cleans them as well. I was told what to use in terms of cleaning solution - some mild detergent stuff - and used ice cold water from the hose. But no, neither of my rugs bled color at all. That actually never occurred to me! I guess because I had spot cleaned with warm water with no problems before. I was more afraid of changes to the texture and shaping.

As they always say - test an inconspicuous spot first ;-)

White Vinegar is a lot cheaper than Natures Miracle and basically does exactly the same thing. It does leave its own odor though that NM does not.

I had my rugs professionally cleaned and the owner showed me pictures of how they wash them. By hand with woolite and cold water. They have drying racks and all the rugs are dried flat.

After seeing the photos, I have washed all my rugs myself on my deck with Woolite and a soft scrub brush on a long pole. I let them air dry.

Watch the weather forecast for dry, cool weather. The wool rugs take a long time to dry. You need to flip them over and over. They are very heavy when wet.

You save a lot of money doing them yourself.

I had no idea that cleaning rugs could be a diy project. I have held off buying rugs for rooms my cats have access to because one of them has a sensitive digestive system and pukes often. My other cat pees on certain, but not all, rugs. I've read that is fairly common. I've read that the smell in some rugs attracts them.

If I want to buy rugs for their cleanability what would you recommend?

I knew that if they wash and dry them so can I! But my hesitation has been a place to wash and dry them- no patio-deck and the drive is still old fashioned gravel. Mine are 11x12 karastans so not priceless.
Any thoughts on washing them out in the grass? would we throw a sheet over it to protect from bird doo and the sun?
How many days has it taken to dry- ball park?
I would like to avoid the $400 I spend on professional cleaning every 3 years. I have 3 large and 1 small rug.

I've used Natures Miracle on many rugs and can't remember a lasting smell. It does work well, but haven't used it for an entire rug.

If you have a couple of ladders and two boards. Create a hanging structure for the rug and clean/wash on this.

The other way to clean it is to rent a rug cleaner, put some plastic under the rug. When I had wall to wall carpet I had a home cleaner which really worked well on carpet and rugs. Especially for small issues, but also for scheduled cleaning. It was worth the buy, specifically since it pulled excess water out and option for cleaning solution plus rinsing.

Nature's Miracle worked very well on ours as well. We tested a small spot of course first!

Good luck!

Well,after hearing all this, I will forgo my call to the carpet cleaner this spring and try it myself. No deck, but do have a swingset we could drap over. Thank goodness my DH works out. LOL.

Please try plain ol Lysol Spray on the spots. Spray thoroughly and rub with a white towel or undershirt. The spots disappear, so does the smell and it leaves no sticky residue.

I've never had the color in an area rug or carpet fade as a result of using this. I got this info from a carpet salesman and it's been a great hint not only when it comes to cleaning pet messes, but just ordinary dirty spots as well.

I know this sounds too simple to be effective, but try it and you'll become a believer.

Cooperbaily - I would buy a big plastic tarp to lay over the grass to lay the carpet on. I live in hot sunny California where it doesn't rain in the summer and my carpets did not take more than 2 days to dry - high 80' barely any humidity - one side one day the other side the next.

Jewel1 - Hanging over a swing set may not be the best idea - the water in the carpet makes them heavy and they stretch - you may find you end up with a very misshapen carpet - the one thing the carpet cleaners emphasized was drying flat only - even then you can stretch it flipping it over and moving it around before dry.

so rolling it up and then un rolling it to turn it or fold it up and then unfold to turn it over? which would result in less stretching?

Good questions and thank you aleighjc for starting this thread. I have some rugs in the basement that are not stained, but are just awful smelling from a plumbing mishap this winter. I don't feel like they are worth paying so much to get them cleaned, but wouldnt mind giving it a shot myself to see if I can save them. I am curious about how to turn them too.

I guess I can get a plastic tarp from Home depot or Lowes.

So I washed my PB wool rug and hung it on garden chairs to dry and it has misshapen. Didn't know that shouldn't be done. Does anyone know how I can fix it ? Or have I lost that rug for good ?

I would thoroughly re-wet it (soak) in cold water and try drying it flat, reshaping it as it dries. But if it's actually shrunk and not just dried unevenly because of hanging on chairs, it can't be saved. Sometimes the backing shrinks, too, which is unfixable in my experience.