There’s a Hidden Part of Your Floors You Need to Vacuum This Weekend—Or it Could Literally Cost You

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A home that looks clean and a home that is clean are not the same thing. All it takes is opening a bedroom door or lifting a couch cushion to betray you. And that’s cool. We’re all just doing the best we can, and your standard should definitely be your own.

But there are times you may want to consider whether you’re satisfied with things just looking clean. A dirty home can sometimes cost you something—like the comfort of knowing your hall closet isn’t a jumble of stuff, or sometimes literal money, in the case of damage to things that are costly to replace.

The floors under your rugs are one of those things. Vacuuming the rug does clean up a good amount of dust and crumbs, there’s far more than meets the eye that a cursory run-over with the cordless vacuum simply cannot get to. Over time, dust and dirt particles work their way down through the fibers of your rugs and even the rug pads. Not only is the dust and dirt occupying your living space, but it can damage hardwood flooring under your area rugs. Trapped between the rug and your flooring, the dirt acts like sandpaper grating against the finish on your floor.

There’s a reason we don’t regularly clean under our area rugs; it’s tedious. But this weekend we’re going to do it so our hardwoods aren’t wearing out beneath our feet and so we can get a squeaky clean we may not see, but we’ll feel — or at least feel good knowing about.

So the floors you don’t see get as clean as those you do, take the following steps:

1. Move all furniture off of your rug.
2. Thoroughly vacuum your rug. Use the strongest vacuum cleaner you have (read: not the cordless, if you have a better option) and be sure to practice your best vacuuming technique: Run the vacuum cleaner slowly, go in more than one direction, and make a few passes over each area.
3. Roll your area rug back.
4. Vacuum the rug pad, using the same technique.
5. Roll the rug pad back.
6. Vacuum the bare floor, turning off the roller brush unless it’s designed for hard floors.
7. Lightly mop the bare floor under your area rug. This will pick up the finest dust.
8. Allow the floor to dry thoroughly.
9. Replace the rug pad, rug, and furniture.
10. Repeat with each area rug and throw rug.

You can catch up with weekend projects right here. Share your progress with us and others by posting updates and photos on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #atweekendproject.

Remember: This is about improvement, not perfection. Each week you can either choose to work on the assignment we’ve sent you, or tackle another project you’ve been meaning to get to. It’s also completely okay to skip a weekend if you’re busy or not feeling the assignment.