How Much Does Rug Cleaning Cost?
Price guide · Updated July 2026
Rug cleaning in the UK runs from about £19 to £56 for a typical rug. Delicate ones, wool, Persian, silk, are usually priced by the square metre instead, which pushes a big rug well past that.
Our own price is a flat £30 a rug of any type, wool, Persian and oriental included, with a £60 minimum visit. Every rug is cleaned in your own home. This guide explains the per-metre model, why fibre changes the quote, and the collection charges to watch for.
How rug cleaning is priced in the UK
Rug pricing splits on two axes: how the rug is measured, and where the work happens. Ordinary synthetic rugs are usually priced per rug by size band, £19 to £33 for a steam clean on Checkatrade's card. Anything delicate switches to per-square-metre rates that climb with the fibre: synthetic around £10, wool around £15, viscose and silk around £20, hand-knotted Persian around £30 a metre.
Then comes the location question. Plant cleaning, where the rug is collected, washed off-site and returned, adds pickup and delivery to the bill, and a week or two without the rug. In-home cleaning avoids both.
We sit at the simple end of all of this on purpose. One flat £30. Any fibre, cleaned at your address, with no collection charge and no per-metre maths.
Working out what a rug clean costs shouldn't need a tape measure and a fibre identification chart.
What changes the price
- Size and material. The per-metre model multiplies them together, so a big wool or Persian rug is where the market's cost climbs fastest. Ours is one flat price. Whatever the rug.
- The fibre's risk. Wool felts if it's overwet, viscose water-marks at the first splash, and the vegetable dyes in an old Persian can run the moment the wrong chemistry touches them, which is exactly the careful work the per-metre premium is paying for. We dye-test first. Then we match the method instead of charging for the risk.
- Where it's cleaned. Collection services add pickup and delivery. In-home cleaning has neither, and the rug never leaves the house.
- Fringes and stains. Fringe detailing and stain treatment appear as line items on some price lists. Both are included here.
What UK firms typically charge
The researched range beside our flat price. One column moves with size, fibre and method, and the other one doesn't, which is the whole comparison in a sentence. If you already know the rug, you can get your rug priced from the form at the end of the page.
| Rug | Typical UK price (£) | Our fixed price |
|---|---|---|
| Small rug (steam clean) | 19–33 | £30 |
| Large rug (dry clean) | 27–56 | £30 |
| Wool rug | 15 /m² | £30 flat |
| Persian rug | 30 /m² | £30 flat |
| Sheepskin | 27–54 | £30 |
£60 minimum visit, so a single rug is best combined with another item. Prices locked for 14 days.
UK ranges from the Checkatrade rug cleaning cost guide, accessed July 2026, cross-checked against published Essex price lists. On a large wool or Persian rug our flat price often comes in well below the per-square-metre alternative.
Included Free
- Dye & fibre testing
- Stain & spot treatment
- Fresh-smell deodorising
- Fringe cleaning & detail
Worked examples
- Two rugs in one visit: 2 × £30 = £60.
- A 2m by 3m Persian rug: six square metres at the £30-a-metre market rate is £180. Ours is £30, flat.
- One rug with a sofa clean: £30 for the rug added to the sofa job, clearing the minimum visit in one go.
Questions to ask any rug cleaner
- Is the quote per rug or per square metre? A per-metre rate on a large rug can triple a headline figure. Ask for the whole number for your rug. In writing.
- Will you dye-test it first? On wool and Persian this is the step that prevents a ruined rug, whoever does the work. It's the first thing we do.
- Does it leave the house, and what does collection cost? Off-site washing has its place for a soaked or flood-damaged rug, but the transport is often priced separately.
- How is it dried? Flat drying protects the shape. A rug dried over a line can come back a different rectangle than it left.
Why a flat price beats per-square-metre
Per-square-metre pricing hides the total until someone's measured the rug, and for a big wool or Persian piece that total can be a shock. A flat price does the opposite.
No tape measure. No fibre premium. You know it's £30 before we arrive, whatever the rug is made of, and it's locked for 14 days.
The full list sits on our price list. Wool, Persian and the in-home method are covered in more detail on the rug cleaning service page.
Rug cleaning cost FAQs
How much does rug cleaning cost in the UK?
UK rug cleaning runs roughly £19 to £56 for a typical rug, with wool, Persian, oriental and silk priced by the square metre and costing more. We charge a flat £30 a rug of any type, with a £60 minimum visit.
Why do wool and Persian rugs usually cost more?
Most firms price delicate rugs by the square metre, so wool comes in around £15 a metre and Persian around £30, which adds up fast on a large rug. We dye-test and use the gentle method those rugs need, but the price stays a flat £30.
Do you take the rug away to clean it?
No. Every rug is cleaned in your own home and never leaves the house. Most are done in under an hour, dried flat so they can't shrink, and groomed so the pile sits soft.
Is a flat rug price really cheaper for a big rug?
For a large wool or Persian rug, yes, often by a lot, because per-square-metre pricing climbs with size while our £30 doesn't. For a small synthetic rug the difference is smaller, which is why a single rug is best combined with another item to clear the minimum visit.
Get your rug cleaning price
£30 a rug, wool and Persian included, cleaned in your home. Pay after the clean.
Mon–Sat, 8am–5pm. Free, no obligation.
