Cleaning rugs in your home is not much different from cleaning carpet, except that the flooring material under the rug must be protected
and pre-inspection and pretesting are critical.
1. Inspect the rug for any possible damages, age of rug, discolorations, damaged areas and durability. If we find that we can treat it then
any of the following steps will be performed
2. Pre-vacuum all rugs—both sides. After vacuuming, if cleaning over a carpet or wood, place a furniture blanket under each end of the
rug being cleaned, including the fringe. Place brown paper under and along each long side of the area rug.
Never clean a rug on top of other carpet—transfer of color to the carpet can occur.
3. Pretest for dye stability. We will apply the prespray and detergent to a white towel, rub a dark area that might bleed, wait at least 15
minutes and repeat. If the dye bleeds, we'll try a lower pH detergent, such as LCA® 256. If cotton, we'll test with Natural Fiber Cleaner. If it
still bleeds, you may need to "shampoo" the rug with Chemspec Oriental Rug Shampoo or Formula 161. If it still bleeds, the rug can only
be dry-cleaned. For mild bleeding, we'll simply apply CSS Color Stabilizer to the rug prior to cleaning.
4. Cleaning Solutions on main section
If it is a cotton rug or a rug that readily browns, we'll clean with Natural Fiber Cleaner at 1 ounce per gallon in a well-ventilated area.
We'll use a Natural Fiber Cleaner contains sodium bisulfite, a reducing bleach, and detergents.
NOTE: If the rug is silk, we won't wet clean it! Silk should only be dry cleaned because of the risks of yellowing, dye loss, ringing, and
physical damage (silk loses about 20% of its strength when wet). Some silk is “washable silk”, which has been modified to be washable.
If the rug is rayon, wet clean VERY cautiously! Rayon loses about 50% of its strength when wet and rayon rugs frequently bleed severely.
Pre-test for dye stability. Because of its poor durability, high absorbency, poor dimensional stability, and its tendency to strongly shrink,
rayon is a very poor choice for rug fiber.
We will use caution when using proteolytic enzyme spotters or deodorizers on wool—they are designed to attack proteins and wool is a
protein.
Dry time is critical. Therefore, an absolute minimum of moisture should be used and a blower should be used after cleaning. It is very
important that the rug be dried in 48 hours or less to prevent mold formation.
5. Fringes cleaning
We willPre-dampen the fringes with your cleaning solution and then apply diluted Preface® (if the dye stability test was okay). We'll use a
Handi Groom® or a Whiz Groom® to ensure thorough coverage of all fringe fibers, and also use the brush to comb the fringe neatly away
from the rug face. Fringe is usually white cotton and grays severely.
Pretreat or remove any existing spots on the rug that may pose a problem while cleaning. If possible, clean the rug with the 4” stair tool.
Using the smaller cleaning head allows you to clean the rug without a pad, and also expedites the drying process once the rug has been
cleaned.
After cleaning the carpet fibers, clean the fringes — pulling the fringe away from the rug to clean it with the furniture pad underneath.
There are two problems that may occur with the fringes: browning and dye bleeding onto the fringes.
After the cleaning has been completed, remove the furniture pads and replace with waxed paper. This will aid in the drying of the fringe.
Brush out the fringe edges.
We recommend hanging the rugs on a rug rack for faster drying as shown to the right.
We'll apply Brown Out at 8 ounces per gallon to the rug — very lightly just to the surface or rinse with Chemspec All Fiber Textile Rinse™.
If the rug tended to bleed, apply CSS Color Stabilizer instead.
If the fringes are still very gray, we'll apply 40 volume clear hydrogen peroxide to the fringes only or use Chemspec Rx for Fringes — an
oxygen releasing bleach for treating browning on fringes of oriental rugs or stubborn browning on undyed carpet. Comb the peroxide into
the fringes with a Handi Groom and allow to dry.
NOTE: On some tribal rugs, the dark appearance of the fringe is the natural color of the goat hair that is sometimes blended with the wool
and is not discoloration or browning. In that case, we will not use a bleaching agent. Also, silk rugs may have silk foundation yarns and silk
fringes also should never be bleached. If we hang up the rugs to dry, we are more likely to have browned fringes because all the water and
residue will migrate to the ends. Additionally, bleaching agents should never be used on tea washed rugs.
If the rug is wool and some moth damage has occurred, we'll apply Steri-Fab® or Microban® X-580.
6. Final Steps
We'll apply Sta-Clene® protector as the final step. Teflon® may be applied instead, though it will increase the drying time. We'll use a
Grandi Groom® or Grandi-Brush® to set the rug nap.
If working in the customer’s home, we'll remove any brown paper that is saturated from the cleaning head overspray. Wet paper left under
the rug could cause damage to a wood floor. Allow to dry without moving the rug — preferably using air movers. Dry time is critical to avoid
bleeding and browning.
If, in spite of our best efforts, the rug severely browns,we'll do a Brown Out flush or an All Fiber Textile Rinse on the rug, and allow it to dry
upside down. This moves the browning to the back of the rug.
What can go wrong in cleaning rugs? Browning, shrinkage, edge puckering, and dye bleeding are the most common problems.
Additionally, some hand-made rugs will simply fall apart when wet! Use EXTREME caution cleaning cloth backed rugs, as found on some
Indian and Chinese tufted rugs – shrinkage and edge puckering are major problems!
and pre-inspection and pretesting are critical.
1. Inspect the rug for any possible damages, age of rug, discolorations, damaged areas and durability. If we find that we can treat it then
any of the following steps will be performed
2. Pre-vacuum all rugs—both sides. After vacuuming, if cleaning over a carpet or wood, place a furniture blanket under each end of the
rug being cleaned, including the fringe. Place brown paper under and along each long side of the area rug.
Never clean a rug on top of other carpet—transfer of color to the carpet can occur.
3. Pretest for dye stability. We will apply the prespray and detergent to a white towel, rub a dark area that might bleed, wait at least 15
minutes and repeat. If the dye bleeds, we'll try a lower pH detergent, such as LCA® 256. If cotton, we'll test with Natural Fiber Cleaner. If it
still bleeds, you may need to "shampoo" the rug with Chemspec Oriental Rug Shampoo or Formula 161. If it still bleeds, the rug can only
be dry-cleaned. For mild bleeding, we'll simply apply CSS Color Stabilizer to the rug prior to cleaning.
4. Cleaning Solutions on main section
If it is a cotton rug or a rug that readily browns, we'll clean with Natural Fiber Cleaner at 1 ounce per gallon in a well-ventilated area.
We'll use a Natural Fiber Cleaner contains sodium bisulfite, a reducing bleach, and detergents.
NOTE: If the rug is silk, we won't wet clean it! Silk should only be dry cleaned because of the risks of yellowing, dye loss, ringing, and
physical damage (silk loses about 20% of its strength when wet). Some silk is “washable silk”, which has been modified to be washable.
If the rug is rayon, wet clean VERY cautiously! Rayon loses about 50% of its strength when wet and rayon rugs frequently bleed severely.
Pre-test for dye stability. Because of its poor durability, high absorbency, poor dimensional stability, and its tendency to strongly shrink,
rayon is a very poor choice for rug fiber.
We will use caution when using proteolytic enzyme spotters or deodorizers on wool—they are designed to attack proteins and wool is a
protein.
Dry time is critical. Therefore, an absolute minimum of moisture should be used and a blower should be used after cleaning. It is very
important that the rug be dried in 48 hours or less to prevent mold formation.
5. Fringes cleaning
We willPre-dampen the fringes with your cleaning solution and then apply diluted Preface® (if the dye stability test was okay). We'll use a
Handi Groom® or a Whiz Groom® to ensure thorough coverage of all fringe fibers, and also use the brush to comb the fringe neatly away
from the rug face. Fringe is usually white cotton and grays severely.
Pretreat or remove any existing spots on the rug that may pose a problem while cleaning. If possible, clean the rug with the 4” stair tool.
Using the smaller cleaning head allows you to clean the rug without a pad, and also expedites the drying process once the rug has been
cleaned.
After cleaning the carpet fibers, clean the fringes — pulling the fringe away from the rug to clean it with the furniture pad underneath.
There are two problems that may occur with the fringes: browning and dye bleeding onto the fringes.
After the cleaning has been completed, remove the furniture pads and replace with waxed paper. This will aid in the drying of the fringe.
Brush out the fringe edges.
We recommend hanging the rugs on a rug rack for faster drying as shown to the right.
We'll apply Brown Out at 8 ounces per gallon to the rug — very lightly just to the surface or rinse with Chemspec All Fiber Textile Rinse™.
If the rug tended to bleed, apply CSS Color Stabilizer instead.
If the fringes are still very gray, we'll apply 40 volume clear hydrogen peroxide to the fringes only or use Chemspec Rx for Fringes — an
oxygen releasing bleach for treating browning on fringes of oriental rugs or stubborn browning on undyed carpet. Comb the peroxide into
the fringes with a Handi Groom and allow to dry.
NOTE: On some tribal rugs, the dark appearance of the fringe is the natural color of the goat hair that is sometimes blended with the wool
and is not discoloration or browning. In that case, we will not use a bleaching agent. Also, silk rugs may have silk foundation yarns and silk
fringes also should never be bleached. If we hang up the rugs to dry, we are more likely to have browned fringes because all the water and
residue will migrate to the ends. Additionally, bleaching agents should never be used on tea washed rugs.
If the rug is wool and some moth damage has occurred, we'll apply Steri-Fab® or Microban® X-580.
6. Final Steps
We'll apply Sta-Clene® protector as the final step. Teflon® may be applied instead, though it will increase the drying time. We'll use a
Grandi Groom® or Grandi-Brush® to set the rug nap.
If working in the customer’s home, we'll remove any brown paper that is saturated from the cleaning head overspray. Wet paper left under
the rug could cause damage to a wood floor. Allow to dry without moving the rug — preferably using air movers. Dry time is critical to avoid
bleeding and browning.
If, in spite of our best efforts, the rug severely browns,we'll do a Brown Out flush or an All Fiber Textile Rinse on the rug, and allow it to dry
upside down. This moves the browning to the back of the rug.
What can go wrong in cleaning rugs? Browning, shrinkage, edge puckering, and dye bleeding are the most common problems.
Additionally, some hand-made rugs will simply fall apart when wet! Use EXTREME caution cleaning cloth backed rugs, as found on some
Indian and Chinese tufted rugs – shrinkage and edge puckering are major problems!
| Services |
Oriental rug cleaning is one of our specialties. Over the years we have developed a unique system and steps
to hand wash, restore, bind, weave, fringe and re fringe, stain removal, realign and place new padding, coloring
and recoloring, dyes and odor removal, deodorize and disinfect.
Most oriental rugs ( Middle East and Far east, i.e Persian, Indian etc) are made of wool which makes it very
durable. They are made with natural fibers, hand woven or hard knotted. Oriental rug quality is judged by the
type of knot used, pile depth, number of knots per square inch, yarn fineness, color richness, fastness of the
dye, and subtleness of the pattern. Oriental design rugs are machine-made reproductions of hand-knotted
Orientals and are often incorrectly called Oriental rugs. Most “Orientals” brought to you for cleaning are, in fact,
Oriental design rugs, not true Oriental rugs.
The most common fibers used in weaving Oriental rugs are wool, cotton, silk and rayon. Sometimes, camel
hair, goat hair and horse hair are used.
Braided rugs are constructed of wool fabric, heavy wool rug yarn, or other materials, including olefin. Individual
lengths of braid or a continuous braid may be stitched or laced together into the desired shape. All braids have
a core, which is an inner material that gives the braid shape and consistency. During cleaning, this core, if
made of paper or dyed waste material, can easily bleed to the surface! Paper, foam, textile byproduct, or waste
materials are often used for the core of low quality rugs.
Dhurrie rugs are usually cotton or wool, but can be silk and are flat woven stiff un-backed reversible rugs
traditionally from India. Although cotton Dhurries are washable, strong colors are likely to run during warm water
extraction. Do not wet clean silk dhurries!
Originally from Greece, Flokati rugs have a very fluffy wool pile with very long fibers and look very much like
lambs wool. The regular flokati rug has an average pile height of 3" and the long flokati rug has an average pile
height of 5" and is 3 times the knot density. Flokati rugs are easily wet cleaned (after pretesting) if Brown Out®
is properly applied after cleaning. The main difficulty in cleaning Flokati is that the rug has no stiffness and
tends to be pulled up into the cleaning head, so it usually needs to be held down while cleaning.
True Sisal is a natural fiber derived from the agave sisalana cactus plant. Sisal grows in semi-arid regions in
Brazil and Mexico. Sisal is not the same fiber as coir or jute. Sisal is stronger and more durable than other
natural fibers and is, therefore, preferred for Sisal Rugs.
Other natural fibers used in making "Sisal" rugs are coir (coconut fibers), jute, hemp, seagrass from China,
and mountain grass from China.
Sisal rugs are for indoor use only and are often found in enclosed and screened-in porches. They should
never be exposed to rainfall or allow to become water saturated.
It is important during cleaning to control the amount of moisture. It is NOT recommended that Sisal be
cleaned with a wet cleaning method. If the Sisal rug is severely soiled, try cleaning with Natural Fiber Cleaner.
When actually installed as a wall-to-wall carpet, Sisal when cleaned may shrink away from the wall creating a
serious problem requiring reinstallation.
Ingrain rugs are made of yarn dyed before weaving, and woven so that the pattern is shown on both sides.
Kilims (Kelims) are flat hand-woven reversible rugs with no pile, made in Turkey, Kurdistan, the Caucasus,
Iran and western Turkestan. Since they take less time to weave than knotted rugs, they are generally much less
expensive. Kilim rugs are characterized by long, narrow slits in the fabric that are arranged in a stair-step
pattern to avoid weakening the rug. Kilim rugs usually are reversible. They are made in bold colors and a variety
of designs typical of the regions where they were woven. Kilims may be constructed of wool, camel hair, goat
hair and/or horsehair. Because the dyes in Kilims typically run easily, you should only wet clean a Kilim after
testing EVERY color for fastness. If the dyes run, you need to dry clean the rug. Additionally, you usually have to
block the rug out to prevent uneven shrinkage and subsequent curling of the corners as the rug is drying.
Authentic Navajo (Navaho) rugs still can be purchased, but numerous imitations are on the market. A true
Navajo rug is made of wool in a tapestry weave. Some twill weaves and basket weaves also are common. As
with Orientals, Navajo rug patterns are named for the locality or family from which they originated. Authentic
Navajo rugs are extremely sensitive even to water. If just water gets on a rug, blot immediately because the
dyes will run. Wet clean cautiously—bleeding and shrinkage are a very common problem with Navajo rugs.
Authentic Navajo rugs should be dry cleaned with solvent only. Imitation Navajo rugs are normally easily wet
cleaned—just be sure to pretest.
Ragg (or rag) rugs are sturdy, colorful rugs hand woven from cotton scraps or wool. Rag rugs are traditionally
woven on large looms from strips of cloth. They can be a solid color or a mix of many colors. Rag rugs consist
of irregular stripes in bright cheerful colors
to hand wash, restore, bind, weave, fringe and re fringe, stain removal, realign and place new padding, coloring
and recoloring, dyes and odor removal, deodorize and disinfect.
Most oriental rugs ( Middle East and Far east, i.e Persian, Indian etc) are made of wool which makes it very
durable. They are made with natural fibers, hand woven or hard knotted. Oriental rug quality is judged by the
type of knot used, pile depth, number of knots per square inch, yarn fineness, color richness, fastness of the
dye, and subtleness of the pattern. Oriental design rugs are machine-made reproductions of hand-knotted
Orientals and are often incorrectly called Oriental rugs. Most “Orientals” brought to you for cleaning are, in fact,
Oriental design rugs, not true Oriental rugs.
The most common fibers used in weaving Oriental rugs are wool, cotton, silk and rayon. Sometimes, camel
hair, goat hair and horse hair are used.
Braided rugs are constructed of wool fabric, heavy wool rug yarn, or other materials, including olefin. Individual
lengths of braid or a continuous braid may be stitched or laced together into the desired shape. All braids have
a core, which is an inner material that gives the braid shape and consistency. During cleaning, this core, if
made of paper or dyed waste material, can easily bleed to the surface! Paper, foam, textile byproduct, or waste
materials are often used for the core of low quality rugs.
Dhurrie rugs are usually cotton or wool, but can be silk and are flat woven stiff un-backed reversible rugs
traditionally from India. Although cotton Dhurries are washable, strong colors are likely to run during warm water
extraction. Do not wet clean silk dhurries!
Originally from Greece, Flokati rugs have a very fluffy wool pile with very long fibers and look very much like
lambs wool. The regular flokati rug has an average pile height of 3" and the long flokati rug has an average pile
height of 5" and is 3 times the knot density. Flokati rugs are easily wet cleaned (after pretesting) if Brown Out®
is properly applied after cleaning. The main difficulty in cleaning Flokati is that the rug has no stiffness and
tends to be pulled up into the cleaning head, so it usually needs to be held down while cleaning.
True Sisal is a natural fiber derived from the agave sisalana cactus plant. Sisal grows in semi-arid regions in
Brazil and Mexico. Sisal is not the same fiber as coir or jute. Sisal is stronger and more durable than other
natural fibers and is, therefore, preferred for Sisal Rugs.
Other natural fibers used in making "Sisal" rugs are coir (coconut fibers), jute, hemp, seagrass from China,
and mountain grass from China.
Sisal rugs are for indoor use only and are often found in enclosed and screened-in porches. They should
never be exposed to rainfall or allow to become water saturated.
It is important during cleaning to control the amount of moisture. It is NOT recommended that Sisal be
cleaned with a wet cleaning method. If the Sisal rug is severely soiled, try cleaning with Natural Fiber Cleaner.
When actually installed as a wall-to-wall carpet, Sisal when cleaned may shrink away from the wall creating a
serious problem requiring reinstallation.
Ingrain rugs are made of yarn dyed before weaving, and woven so that the pattern is shown on both sides.
Kilims (Kelims) are flat hand-woven reversible rugs with no pile, made in Turkey, Kurdistan, the Caucasus,
Iran and western Turkestan. Since they take less time to weave than knotted rugs, they are generally much less
expensive. Kilim rugs are characterized by long, narrow slits in the fabric that are arranged in a stair-step
pattern to avoid weakening the rug. Kilim rugs usually are reversible. They are made in bold colors and a variety
of designs typical of the regions where they were woven. Kilims may be constructed of wool, camel hair, goat
hair and/or horsehair. Because the dyes in Kilims typically run easily, you should only wet clean a Kilim after
testing EVERY color for fastness. If the dyes run, you need to dry clean the rug. Additionally, you usually have to
block the rug out to prevent uneven shrinkage and subsequent curling of the corners as the rug is drying.
Authentic Navajo (Navaho) rugs still can be purchased, but numerous imitations are on the market. A true
Navajo rug is made of wool in a tapestry weave. Some twill weaves and basket weaves also are common. As
with Orientals, Navajo rug patterns are named for the locality or family from which they originated. Authentic
Navajo rugs are extremely sensitive even to water. If just water gets on a rug, blot immediately because the
dyes will run. Wet clean cautiously—bleeding and shrinkage are a very common problem with Navajo rugs.
Authentic Navajo rugs should be dry cleaned with solvent only. Imitation Navajo rugs are normally easily wet
cleaned—just be sure to pretest.
Ragg (or rag) rugs are sturdy, colorful rugs hand woven from cotton scraps or wool. Rag rugs are traditionally
woven on large looms from strips of cloth. They can be a solid color or a mix of many colors. Rag rugs consist
of irregular stripes in bright cheerful colors
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Carpet Cleaning
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Oriental Rug cleaning
Rug Cleaning
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removal
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WATER DAMAGE
RESTORATION
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Power Washing
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Asbestos
Lead
AIR CRAFT
RV/MOTOR HOMES
New Carpet, Tile, all
hardwood flooring
About us
Carpet Cleaning
Air duct Cleaning
Upholstery Cleaning
Oriental Rug cleaning
Rug Cleaning
Odor, pet stains
removal
Drapery Cleaning
24HR Emergency
WATER DAMAGE
RESTORATION
Fire Remediation
MOLD Remediation
Power Washing
TILE CLEANING
Asbestos
Lead
AIR CRAFT
RV/MOTOR HOMES
New Carpet, Tile, all
hardwood flooring
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