Lorena Canals

Are the Rugs Really Machine Washable?

Yes, and the wool ones too. Lorena Canals invented the washable rug, then spent years making the same idea work in wool, which is what the WOOLABLE patent covers. Wash separately on a delicate cycle at no more than 30°C, the cold setting on most machines, with a mild detergent and no bleach. Skip the fabric conditioner altogether, since the softeners in it work against the fibre and dull the colour.

Will It Fit in My Washing Machine?

Settle this before the rug arrives, and settle it in machine capacity rather than inches. For the cotton rugs, allow a 13 lb machine up to 4'7", 18 lb up to 5'3", 22 lb up to 6'7", and 30 lb for the Puffy rugs up to 7'10". Anything larger than 7'10" belongs at a laundry service. The wool rugs ask for 16 lb up to 3'11" x 5'2", 20 lb at 4'7" x 6'6" and 30 lb at 5'7" x 7'10", with 6'6" x 9'10" best left to a professional. Cushions want 13 lb, poufs 19 lb. Most machines carry their maximum load on a label inside the door.

Is Everything in the Collection Washable?

Not quite, and it is worth knowing before a first wash. The rugs, the cushions and the poufs are all made for the machine. The cotton baskets are not. They hold their shape by the way they are built rather than by any stiffening, and a wash cycle takes that shape away for good. The wall hangers and wall decor are hand wash only. If a basket sheds a little lint or shows a loose thread, that is cut cotton rather than wear, and a pair of scissors is the right answer.

Can They Go in the Dryer?

Yes, on the lowest heat, and they come out softer and fuller than they went in. Worth doing on the first day even without a wash: ten minutes on low lifts the creases a rug picks up in its packaging. The one rule that matters is never to leave anything damp in the drum once the cycle ends, because trapped moisture is the only thing that will move these dyes.

Do I Need a Rug Pad?

On a hard floor, yes. These rugs are flat and light, which is what lets them go into a machine at all, and it is also what sends them travelling across tile or sealed wood. A pad underneath stops that and takes the abrasion that would otherwise work away at the back of the weave, so the rug comes through many more washes still looking like itself.