OUR CLEANING PROCESS

Your rug's cleaning begins with several passes through our specialty carpet duster, to shake dirt from the fibers.

We inspect your rug for any issues that need special care. Unusual stains may need spot-cleaning; some pet soil and odors will need immersion in an enzymatic bath.

We thoroughly shampoo and rinse your rug on both sides. A second rinse and extraction complete the wash.

Your clean, wet rug is placed in our custom-built high-speed centrifugal spinner. We power-rinse until the water runs clear, then spin to expel as much moisture as possible.

We suspend your now-damp rug in our climate-controlled room until fully dry.

We detail the fringe and edges by hand: cleaning, grooming and trimming as needed to complement your clean rug.

We hand-vacuum your rug several times, front and back, to remove any dust or lint that surfaced during cleaning and spinning. Your rug is now ready to return home!

We can kill active moths with our deep-freeze process, or apply traditional solutions to repel future moth activity. Our restoration team can repair or stabilize damaged areas to prolong the life of your rug.

After cleaning, we can mothproof and wrap your rugs for short- and long-term storage. We routinely “moth-bomb” our storage area for added protectio

Needlepoints and lightweight rugs often get stretched out of shape through uneven foot traffic. We offer blocking to restore your distorted rug to its former glory.

Our cleaning process begins with a thorough dusting of the rug to remove all particulate matter in the rug before its soap and water wash. If need be, the rug is spot cleaned with dry cleaning fluid. Then the rug gets a thorough shampoo and rinse on both sides. The equipment used includes a high velocity spinning machine, a power hose and an extracting machine to completely remove the dirty wash water. A second rinse along with a second extraction of all excess water completes the initial cleaning. The rug is hung to dry in a temperature and humidity controlled dry room.

Once the rug is dry, the fringe is cleaned separately and later groomed and trimmed.

In the final process the rug is vacuumed front and back another 2-6 times to remove any dry soil and short staple wool that may remain after the wet wash.

GENERAL CLEANING

My rug is dirty…should I call the steam cleaning guy?

A resounding NO. Steam cleaning a wool rug is somewhat akin to boiling a fine cashmere sweater. High temperatures melt lanolin, wool’s built-in protection against soiling, staining and dirt. In dyed wool, steam and hot water may cause colors to run. However, steam cleaning is an effective and recommended method for cleaning nylon and other synthetic fibers.

Does my oriental rug need to be professionally cleaned? How often?

Yes. It’s best for a handmade rug to be washed in a cleaning facility by a professional. Oriental rug cleaners have specially designed equipment that removes dust, flushes cool soapy water through the rug’s pile and foundation and then saturates the rug with clean rinse water. Finally, the machine extracts excess moisture from the carpet which is then hung to dry. Professional cleaning takes about two weeks.

What should I do if something spills on my rug?

It depends on what has spilled. The first line of defense against a spill is to keep a small cleaning kit handy. The kit should contain dishwashing liquid or low sudsing hair shampoo, ammonia, a commercial dry-cleaning agent, white vinegar and plenty of clean white rags. DO NOT USE WOOLITE or other high-sudsing soaps that are too hard to rinse out. Residual soap attracts dirt.....quickly.

Treat all spills promptly. For most common everyday spills, such as black coffee, wine, mid and milk, start by blotting up excess moisture until the area feels almost dry. Mix one capful of shampoo or dishwashing liquid with 12 ounces of cool to lukewarm tap water. There is no need to use club soda.) Apply to the stain. Gently lather and blot again. Rinse until the suds are gone and blot again. Prop up the damp area so air reaches both sides for quick drying. Before cleaning up mud, allow it to dry and then vacuum.

Use ammonia instead of shampoo for cleaning fresh urine stains. For urine stains more than 2-3 days old, do not use ammonia as the cleaning agent. Use shampoo as above and DO USE a dilute solution of one part white vinegar to six parts water for the final rinse. We are simply applying the chemistry of PH values to this exercise....and since urine ultimately converts to ammonia on its own...it stands to reason that adding more ammonia to an old stain is counterproductive.

Most food and animal stains can be cleaned with a simple soap and water mixture. Use lukewarm water on sugar based stains (ice cream, cough syrup, coffee with sugar). Use solvents, not soap on oil based stains, such as shoe polish and WD40. Cover wax spills with brown paper and apply a hot iron. The wax will transfer from the rug onto the paper.