How Often Should I Clean my Oriental Rugs?
This morning, even with all the rain and ice on the roads, I drove out to Eagle to pick up a couple of handmade wool and silk area rugs. I enjoyed immensely finding out about her rugs- she had purchased the rugs in various places in the Middle East, mostly Turkey and Iraq. I love authentic, handwoven rugs- they each have a unique story, and it is fun to be a part of that story, even if I only clean them.
Area Rugs all have a great story!
A question we as carpet cleaners often get is "how often should I have my rugs cleaned?" A fantastic question for sure! Wool and silk rugs are very special, and the fibers can be extremely durable, lasting for years. With proper maintenance, wool and silk rugs can last for generations, and can be passed on through families. That is special!
So how do we care for rugs? One of the most important things we can do to preserve our rugs is to vacuum them often- I sometimes feel like a broken record when I talk about the importance of vacuuming, but it truly is one of the best things we can do to take care of our rugs. Use a very soft bristled beater bar on the vacuum, and make sure the bristles barely touch the tips of the rug face yarns. The beater bar is designed to vibrate the fibers, shaking the dirt off, so the vacuum can then suck it up. One of the coolest things about wool is that it is a "self-cleaning" fiber- the way the cuticles are designed, they will literally push dirt up to the surface as they rub against each other.
Wool is an amazing fiber- because it is opaque, (light doesn't pass through the fiber) wool can hold a tremendous amount of dirt before it even look like it's dirty. Some wool rugs can hold up to a pound of dirt per square foot before you can even see it! Because of that unique property, rugs are often not properly cleaned any where near enough. Rug Cleaning professionals recommend cleaning your rugs every 1-3 years depending on traffic and soiling. For your investment grade rugs, antiques, and really all wool products, it is best to have the rugs professionally washed- this is a much deeper clean than a topical clean that we can perform in your home.
Our washing process involves a complete inspection of the rug and testing of the dyes for stability, and tagging it for easy identification (we often have several rugs at one time). The next step it to "dust" the rug. This is the "beating" of the rug that used to happen. We airbrush the rug and use our dusting equipment to remove all the dry soil from the rug prior to its being cleaned. We soak the rug in a bath of our patented Zr™ Water, which loosens any remaining soil. We gently scrub the rug, and then rinse it completely. The rug is allowed to dry, and groomed by hand. We inspect the rug again, and touch up the fringes. After the washing is complete, the rug is bound, wrapped, and delivered back to you, good as new!
We take a lot of pride in washing rugs, and helping them stay looking great for generations! As Boise's only WoolSafe Certified Service Provider, we would love to hear your rugs' story!
