Fireplace Hearth Rug
Do you know what it is?
A hearth rug is a small throw rug which is often shaped like a half-circle, and is placed in front of the fireplace or hearth. The hearth rug is typically made of a flame-retardant material; its intent is to provide a safe place for sparks from the fire to land by preventing damage to your carpet or wood floor. It protects fireplace floor area from the fire embers scorch marks and ashes that land beyond the hearth. Wool is the fiber of choice for hearth rugs as it is naturally fire retardant, it can be densely woven and richly dyed to complement your fireplace. For safety, be sure hearth rug meet the federal surface flammability requirements.
Need of hearth rug
The hearth rug is relatively new innovation in days of yore, when flooring was hard-packed dirt, sparks jumping out of the fireplace were rarely dangerous, as it became more common to cover the floor with ’strewing herbs, which were intended to keep down bugs, freshen the air and absorb wastes from animals and sloppy eating. A ‘hearth’ became a built-up enclosure of stone or brick to keep the fire enclosed and away from household flammables.
Choose a good one
Hearth rugs that are available today are specifically for protecting wall-to-wall carpeting, area rugs or stained wood flooring from the singes and burns commonly associated with snapping fire logs sending live coals into the surrounding area. The purchaser must look for flame-retardant materials. Treated wool can be used in the manufacture of hearth rugs that will not only protect from catching fire when a live coal lands on it but actually allow the coal to burn out. The rug will be singed, but the singed portion will simply brush off, leaving no black mark to show that the hearth rug had done its duty.
Go according to home decor
Look for a hearth rug to complement décor for a colonial look, braided throw rugs are ideal. If it is for protecting an Oriental rug, find a very plain hearth rug in a single, complementary color or one that carries through the Oriental theme.