How to Care for Your Handmade Rugs

My first real introduction to Oriental rugs was at the auction house where I worked several years ago. I was totally entranced by the vibrant colors and intricate designs. I asked our rug appraiser to teach me about the styles, quality, and history, and she graciously shared her knowledge, starting me on the path to learn about these handmade creations. As part of our appraisal process, we assessed the rug's cleanliness and either dusted it in house or took it to our trusty local rug cleaning experts...Carr's...if it needed more attention or repair!

My Heriz style Persian rug before cleaning

A few months back, I finally acquired a Persian rug for my home, winning this Heriz style beauty at auction. It perfectly pulls together our family room decor! I love the vibrant red and cobalt blue!

In my opinion, buying a handmade Oriental rug is a financial investment that takes careful consideration. There's the size, colors, style, and design to consider. Finding the right one can be a difficult hunt. Once the right one is in place, it's important to ensure its longevity with the right care, so it brings joy for decades to come!

While the dirt level of my new rug was moderate with no noticeable stains, I didn't want to bring in unknown allergens to my home, so I immediately called Carr's to arrange a professional cleaning. They were so gracious as to let me photograph their process and speak with me about how to best care for a handmade Oriental rug to protect its beauty. I'm sharing what I learned in this post and giving you a peek inside the cleaning process.

If you want to learn more about the construction and design of Persian rugs, head to this blog post.

Here's what I learned from the experts at Carr's Rug Cleaning:

Dirt Harms Your Rug

How? Dirt is abrasive! Specks of dirt, dust, and debris naturally accumulate in a rug that is walked on, and overtime the dirt works its way down the pile of the rug to the foundation, if not regularly removed. The jagged grains can cut and abrade the wool fibers, hurting the color and texture of your handmade Oriental rug.

Don't wait until your rug looks dirty to clean it because by that time the dirt has already done damage to the fibers!

Proper Dusting & Vacuuming

Regular dusting via shaking the rug outside and/or vacuuming the rug reduces the dirt accumulation and will help protect your rug's beauty. BUT there is a right way and a wrong way to vacuum your rug:

• If possible turn off the beater bar on your vacuum or use a high pile setting.
• Push the vacuum sideways across the width of the rug to sweep. Don't go fringe to fringe. Why? Because the pile of the rug has a direction, and it is best not to move the vacuum against this direction to avoid distortion and breakage. You can figure out the direction of the pile by running your hand vertically along the surface of the rug fringe to fringe. Notice if you are ruffling the pile or smoothing it. The smoother sensation is the pile direction.
• Use the vacuum brush or upholstery attachment to clean the fringe.
• Every couple of months flip the rug over and vacuum the back side to remove dirt that is fallen into the foundation. This will often shake the dirt down on to the surface below and you will probably need to vacuum underneath afterward.
• If you have a delicate silk rug or an especially antique and valuable rug, vacuuming is NOT recommended. Instead dust by shaking outside or brushing the surface.

Spot Treating

When an accidental spill happens you can spot treat your rug in between professional cleanings, but avoid chemical cleaners meant for nylon carpets as they can affect the colors and damage the wool. Instead us a mild detergent like Dawn dish soap, white cleaning vinegar, and water. Check out this video for a good spot treating method.

Traffic & Light

If your Oriental rug lies in a high traffic area, it is a good idea to rotate the rug several times a year, so that the wear on the rug is more evenly distributed and the rug doesn't start to distort in one direction.

If part of your rug lies under furniture and is out of sight, be sure to inspect it periodically for insect activity.

If the sun shines across an area of your rug during the day, rotate the rug to avoid sun damage in that one spot.

Storage

When storing a rug be sure to roll it up and cover with a dust cloth. Don't fold as this can cause permanent fold lines and distortion to the rug. Be sure to put it away clean and dry to help avoid mold and bug infestations. The storage facility should be dry and not prone to drastic temperature fluctuations.

The Importance of Professional Cleaning

Professional rug cleaners like Carr's who specialize in handmade Oriental rugs are set up to properly dust, immersion wash, and fully dry valuable rugs. I'm not talking about a carpet cleaning service that comes to your house like Stanley Steamer. Those companies' surface cleaning methods and harsh chemicals are not right for handmade wool and cotton rugs!

The wrong cleaning methods can cause harm to the rug's pile, bleeding of the colors, mildew, fading, and distortion. It is essential that the rug be properly dry dusted first with compressed air and/or a tumbler to remove as much abrasive dirt as possible. Full immersion washing evenly cleans the rug pile and foundation, while the drying centrifuge and temperature controlled environment ensure fast water removal to prevent mildew from developing.

Carr's recommends professionally cleaning your rug every 3 to 5 years depending on the traffic the rug sees and whether you have pets and/or kids. Remember don't wait for the rug to look dirty to have it cleaned!

Let's take a look at how my rug was cleaned after inspection!