Author: Oriental Rug Cleaning Orlando

Oriental rugs are made using a variety of knotting and weaving techniques. Real Oriental rugs are hand-knotted in traditional rug weaving countries such as Romania, Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkestan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, and Mongolia. Persian rug cleaning is also a common term. Sheep’s wool is the most commonly used fiber for Oriental rugs. Raw unprocessed wool is separated for the long white fibers, then washed and carded before spinning and plying. Tribal or village weavers do this by hand, but modern machines are used to create strong and uniform yarns. The yarn is then dyed in a variety of colors using either materials such as insects and roots, or modern chemicals.

The basic foundation of all Oriental rugs is the warp which can be cotton or wool. Most rug makers use a cotton warp to maintain even tension on the loom keeping the rugs straight when they are completed. Warps run the entire length of the rug and make up the fringe or selvage at the ends. A weaver will tie a row of knots onto the warp and then insert a thin weft followed by a thick weft cross thread. The weavers pound down the wefts with a steel comb locking the knots in place. Then another row of knots is tied. The wool is the dense, warm coat of sheep, also called the fleece. The hair of sheep has many unique properties that make it well suited for textile production. This was realized by humans around 8000 BCE, when we first began to domesticate sheep. Wool is used in a variety of textiles and can be found to be woven or knitted. Wool is a favorite when it comes to textile production because it is very easy to work with and absorbs and holds dye very well. The springy fibers remember shapes when well cared for and lasts a long time. It also takes to felting, which is a process in which the fibers interlock into a tight mat, very well. Felt is used as an insulation, for arts and crafts projects, and for decorative accents as well as in nice, high end rugs. Most people use the term “Oriental Rugs” when referring to wool rugs. These types of rugs are very nice and typically are generational. They do require a particular, delicate cleaning process that our silk rug cleaning professionals are well trained and experienced in. When your rug is ready for a cleaning, give us a call.

Now that you know the delicate process of crafting an Oriental Rug, let our professional rug cleaning technicians keep it nice, clean and long lasting.

The term Oriental Rug cleaning has become the general term used when referencing a rug made of natural fibers. Rugs made of Wool or Silk are the most common type of natural rug found in homes across the world. These rugs are crafted for multiple purposes, floor coverings and art alike. Rugs made of wool or silk have been being made by hand, using looms for thousands of years. To this day, some of the same methods of hand weaving that have been used since the beginning are still used for hand woven rugs. Making floor coverings by machine has become more popular and accepted as technology advances. Machine weaving is incredibly efficient, as it can create many rugs on a large scale at a much quicker rate than using a hand weaving method.

An oriental rug is a heavy textile that is made for a wide variety of utility and symbolic purposes.  An oriental rug is a rug that is actually produced in “Oriental countries” for home use, local sale, and export. Oriental carpets can be a woven pile or flat woven without pile. Area rugs use a variety of materials such as silk, wool, and cotton. Some examples can range in size from small pillow sized to large, room sized carpets. Oriental rugs can include carrier bags, floor coverings, decorations for animals, prayer rugs, ark covers and altar covers. Since the high middle ages, oriental rugs have been an integral part of their cultures of origin, as well as of the European and, later on, the North American culture. These rugs are typically made in an area referred to as the “Rug Belt”. The rug belt stretches from Morocco across North Africa, the Middle East, and into Central Asia and northern India. It includes a large variety of countries in that area. Many people from different cultures, countries, racial groups and religious faiths produce oriental rugs.

These rugs do require certain in home maintenance as well as proper washing services. The natural fibers, as well as the dyes found in Oriental rugs can be quite delicate. Due to the delicate nature of these rugs, the washing process needs to be less invasive and more intricate and thorough. A full immersion cleaning process uses cold water flushing and agitation of the surface fibers.

Now that you know a little more about oriental rugs, let us keep them nice and clean for you. At our rug cleaning plant, your rug will go through a professional, delicate, full submersion cleaning. We pick up and deliver your rug, so there is no hassle involved for you. Call us when you’re ready and we would love to provide the professional rug cleaning service that your beautiful rug deserves.

Being a wool rug cleaner does come with it’s benefits, when it comes to servicing rugs. One of these benefits is the capability of being able to properly inspect a rug prior to purchase, maintaining, cleaning or moving. It may seem simple, but most of the inspection process is done simply with your eyes. The first thing to do is give the rug a good, slow visual inspection. Look for obvious signs of damage. This could be discoloration, bleeding dyes, rips, cracks, patches of missing pile or fraying fringes. There can be a hidden threat within a tightly woven natural fiber rug that takes a little bit more effort to locate. It is always good to check to see if the antique oriental rug is rotten or cracking, as the trade describes it. You’ll want to lay the rug on its face and look at the back to see if there are any light colored patches. If there are, these could be the first signs of mildew, which is something you should pay special attention to as you proceed with checking the rug. Fold the carpet across first in one direction and, after testing it, fold it in the other direction. Listen carefully as you twist the rug gently but firmly, gripping it in both hands. Stop the instant you hear any splitting or cracking sounds. That would be the foundation threads snapping as the rug breaks up.

If the rug passes the visual test on the surface and base of the rug, it should be in pretty good shape and ready for purchase, maintenance or cleaning If you are purchasing a rug or were gifted a rug (possibly a family heirloom) and you are not sure what material it is made of, you can check for that as well. Fiber identification can be a bit more difficult if you are not a professional who performs these checks daily. Most natural fiber textile floor coverings are made of Wool and Silk. There are some certain characteristics that each of these materials have that can help when trying to determine the material. Silk should not feel brittle, no matter how old it is. It should always feel soft and smooth. Wool on the other hand, will greatly vary with age. As wool grows older, the lanolin in the fibers begins to dissipate and although a wool rug may look like silk, it will feel quite firm and sometimes even bristly. If you are unsure and really need to start at the very beginning of fiber identification, you can perform a burn test.

A simple burn test can determine whether your rug is made of natural fibers or synthetic materials. To perform this test, you simply need a lighter and a single fiber strand from the rug to be tested. While performing this test, remember to be careful. It does involve fire, which can cause serious injury. Hold one end of the individual fiber and simply burn the other end. If the fiber is natural, it will burn just like hair. It will burn away, leave some black soot and smell like burnt hair. If the fiber is synthetic, it will ball up as burned and it will smell like burnt plastic. The odor is not pleasing either way, but burning the wrong synthetic material can become toxic. Remember to remain safe when performing this test!

As always, we hope these tips will help when you need to inspect a rug. Whatever the reason for the inspection, it is good to know exactly what you should be looking for. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to us. Our staff is knowledgeable on all things rugs and is always eager to help!

When you accidentally make a mess on your beloved rug, there are right and wrong ways to clean it. First off don’t panic, this leads to grabbing cleaning solutions that can ruin your rug. Just take a look at the picture above to see what happens when you grab the wrong cleaning solution, that is now a permanent bleached spot on a highly valuable area rug. Then, and maybe the most important piece of advice, is to blot, not rub! Rug spot cleaning is the key. Trying to rub out a stain just spreads the spill directly onto other fibers, which transfers the initial spill onto more fibers. Instead of trying to rub out spills, blot up spills by covering the area with a clean white towel or thick paper towels. Press down on the spill with your hand and apply pressure. Repeat using dry towels until all the liquid has been absorbed. If the spill is large, use a wet-dry vacuum to remove most of the spill before blotting. Extraction as much of the solution as possible before going on the further steps, you do not want to spread onto more fibers.

Using soapy water helps with the spill cleaning process. Mix your own spot cleaning solution by diluting a few drops of clear dishwashing soap in water. (Laundry detergent is too alkaline, and creamy-looking hand-dishwashing soaps may leave a sticky residue.) Add a little bit of vinegar if severe and this mixture should help remedy many types of spills that can occur in the home.

Directions:

1. 1/2 teaspoon liquid dishwashing detergent

2. 1/4 cup vinegar  

3. 2 cups warm water

Rinsing the area is an important part of the spill cleaning process, especially when the spills are colored. To remove colored spills or spot cleaning solutions, such as soapy water or vinegar, either mist the area with clean water, or blot it with a wet towel. Then blot area with a dry towel. Repeat these steps until there is no more residue present. After all the possible spill residue has been extracted, and all these other steps seems to be making area lighter but not full extracted. It would then be ok to use a rubbing motion to apply some agitation to the area, similar to when you rubs your hands together when washing off residue on the hands.

These tips are to help with spot cleaning an unfortunate spill. There maybe be circumstances where this does not help, or due to the size or type of spill that this remedy is simply not an option. When in need of a professional rug cleaner, there are many choices, make sure to research the company you choose, as they are NOT all alike.

We still highly recommend regular in-home maintenance of your rugs, including dusting and vacuuming of the rug on a weekly basis. This will help prolong the life of your rug and be easier to clean in future. We also recommend outsourcing to a professional every 1-2 years for proper cleaning of your natural fiber rugs. Routine maintenance is the key to keeping a rug around for generations.

There are many detailed steps in the entire process of a full immersion wash. From inspecting to washing to drying, each step is important and needs to be performed properly! That is why it is good to have a preferred professional company who knows how to clean an area rug properly. Even if you are a fan of doing things yourself, there is some equipment needed to complete the immersion washing procedure that is just not readily available for consumers to use in their home. One piece of equipment that is typically only found in a professional rug cleaner facility is a Rug Duster. A rug duster provides a technician with the ability to remove almost all loose pieces of dirt or dust from the rug prior to beginning the wash process. Dusting is much more effective than vacuuming and we will help to explain how.

As dust and soil builds up on your rug, it quickly begins the process of settling down into the base of the rug, through the pile fibers. Running a vacuum over the rug will remove much of the surface grime, but any of the heavier particles may be pushed farther down into the rug by the vibrating of the vacuum. Once the grime settled into the base of the rug, any foot traffic on the rug will cause it to rub against the base of the wool pile fibers, slowly breaking the fibers, and leading to advanced wear and tear. The wearing down can be slowed considerably by making sure all the dirt and grime in the base of the rug is removed. Ideally, this is done by a thorough wet wash by our professional area rug service facility, but there are steps you can take in the home to help keep you going in between cleanings.

If you flip your rug over so that the face is down on a hard surface, you can slowly vacuum the back of the rug. In this case, the vibrating of the upright vacuum cleaner will rattle the grime loose from the base, and it will end up on the floor. You can then flip the rug back over and vacuum up the grime that was shaken loose onto the floor, as well as any remaining dirt or grime on the front of the rug.  This process dusting and it is a very important step in our wash process. We dust the rugs before and after washing. The rugs will need a thorough soaking and rinsing to loosen the soil, and the post wash dusting removes all the stray wool particles are completely. Removing the soil through dusting and regular cleaning can greatly increase the lifespan of your rug, making sure it remains looking good for years to come. You can see from the picture above, with the proper tools and techniques that you can extract extensive amounts of soil, sometimes upwards of a few pounds. This is why we take the time to get as much dirt and soil out of the rug before the actual cleaning process begins. Make sure to ask your rug cleaner what steps they take to ensure proper rug dusting is being performed.