The best place for area rugs to be is displayed in your home, keeping your toes warm on hardwood floors and your rooms looking beautiful. However, there may come a time when you need to place your rugs in storage, whether it’s for a short period of time or for a longer stretch. High quality area rugs will remain with you for decades when you take proper care of them, so it’s likely that at some point you’ll need to place them in storage. Knowing how to store both small and large area rugs will help protect your investment. Here we share storing tips for area rugs.
Short-Term Storing Tips for Area Rugs
Sometimes you need to move, renovate a room or refinish the floors — whatever the reason, there may come a time when you need to store area rugs for a short period. The most important aspect of rug storage that you should keep in mind is that rugs exposed to excessive moisture will be prone to mildew, discoloration and warping. Do not store in high humidity locations such as basements, unless it is for less than a few days. This isn’t often a concern for rugs in Arizona, but you should still exercise caution. If you must store it in such a high-humidity place for a short period, be sure to dry it out before placing it back in your home by hanging it or using a fan.
When you have large area rugs, you can also roll them up for short periods of time in a cool, dry place. If you’re only relocating it temporarily, it’s less hassle for you to store it flat. Put it in a different room or on top of another rug in your home, if possible. Long-Term Storing for Area Rugs Maybe you’ve moved into a smaller home or just don’t have room for your designer area rug right now. In either case, it only takes a little effort to prepare your area rugs for long-term storage. If you have high quality handmade area rugs, you should wrap them in cloth prior to storage. Plastic wrap is a no-no, because handmade area rugs need to be able to breath. Otherwise, your gorgeous designer area rug will rot. Once it’s wrapped, you can roll it up and store it in a cool, dry place along with a few moth crystals that should be replaced every few months. Make storing your area rugs easy even over long periods by laying them flat (and stacked if you are storing multiple rugs). Rugs can be stored for any length of time when they are laid flat — that is how they’re intended to lay, after all. Have large area rugs you need to store and can’t lay them flat? You can roll them, but it’s best to wrap them around a pole and let the ends rest on blocks — this will help the rugs maintain their integrity and shape. While you shouldn’t store rugs in humid places, you should also avoid storing them in extremely hot areas as well, which can be tricky for rugs in Arizona. Too much heat can cause the base to become dry and, when left for too long in such conditions, brittle and easy to damage.
