Oh No! A Carpet Cleaner Just Bled My $26,000 Area Rug!
Oriental Rug Salon Is Certified By The Carpet & Rug Institute
Different Persian, Turkish and Oriental carpets need many different approaches to cleaning and restoration and as such, can be tricky to the untrained professional. A misstep in the cleaning process could mean a valuable investment destroyed.
We’ve seen all too often, an investment grade Oriental or Persian area rug devastated by a well-intentioned but uneducated rug or carpet cleaners.
Recently a client presented us with an antique Persian Mashad area rug with an appraised value of $26,000. The area rug was bled because she allowed someone else to clean it instead of the Eco Clean Solutions service, who we work with usually.
The cleaning company was there initially to clean four rooms of wall-to-wall carpeting. The technician asked the client if she would like “that area rug” cleaned too, and thinking that they knew what they were doing, she agreed.
Once the four rooms were cleaned, the carpet cleaning technician used the same cleaning solutions and equipment on her cherished Mashad as he did on the nylon carpeting. He sprayed the area rug and applied steam. Immediately the colors started to bleed. Recognizing what he had done, he immediately stopped the “cleaning” process” and told her something was wrong with the dyes of the rug.
The problem was not the vegetable dyes; the problem was he did everything you’re NOT supposed to do with an area rug! He had no training, certification and didn’t have a clue what he was doing.
This Persian rug is a one of a kind, made of wool and silk with a knot count of 625 KPSI. It is over 70 years old, in excellent condition and took over 24,000 hours to weave. To say the client was heartbroken is an understatement.
Oriental, Persian, Turkish and other wool or silk area rugs cannot be cleaned in the same fashion one would steam wall-to-wall carpeting.
Would you wash a silk blouse the same way you would a pair of work blue jeans? No, but many carpet cleaning companies think of a rug as another piece of carpeting and treat an antique hand-knotted textile rug the same way as they would wall-to-wall carpeting.
Hand-knotted area rugs require specialized care, cleaning solutions and patience if they are to be appropriately cleaned and expected to last for generations. Improper cleaning can lead to color bleed or fiber damage in a way that can be difficult if not impossible to rectify.
Before cleaning an area rug, an experienced technician must perform a thoroughly exhaustive inspection. They must take into consideration any prior repairs to the textile. They’ll look for evidence of color correction techniques performed to hide previous issues, and they’ll look for evidence of pet and insect issues.
The technician will formulate a game plan to deliver the safest, most effective cleaning possible for the rug based on the pre-inspection, the experience of the technician and the history of the area rug.
There are so many considerations when delivering a quality rug cleaning that can’t be ignored, or you run the risk of marring the brilliance of a cherished textile that may have taken years to create.
Oriental Rug Salon is a Certified partner with the prestigious Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and the International Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI). In addition, we are A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau and a five-year-in-a-row-winner of the coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award.
Oriental Rug Salon is proud to be the “cleaner of choice” to many rug collectors, interior designers, insurance and restoration companies and clients who simply love their rugs.
Oh, and about that Mashad area rug that was bled by a carpet cleaner, we were able to correct the color run, and the client is absolutely thrilled.
If we can ever answer any questions or if it’s time for your area rug to be pampered, please visit us online at www.OrientalRugSalon.com or give us a call any time at 239-424-8171.
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Oriental Rug Cleaning | Persian Area Rug Cleaning | Turkish Area Rug Cleaning | Oriental Rug Repairs | Scotchgard Wool and Silk Protector | Fringe Repair | Pet Urine Treatments for Oriental Rugs | Oriental Rug Appraisals and Valuations
Oriental Area Rug Cleaning offered throughout the cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, Marco Island, Sanibel, Captiva, Lehigh Acres, Useppa, Alva, Buckingham, Matlacha, Saint James City, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, and Bokeelia Florida.
