Why Oriental Rugs Require Special Care

Tim Petzold • October 29, 2020

Why Oriental Rugs Require Special Care

Oriental rugs require special care

How wall-to-wall carpets are cleaned

Most types of regular wall-to-wall carpets can be steam cleaned either by a carpet cleaner or by people using home carpet cleaning machines. This is because steam cleaning regular carpets is simple and fast, and they can dry quickly after cleaning. Steam cleaning works well to clean carpets that are made out of plastic-based fibers, including polyester and nylon. However, using a steam cleaner for Oriental rug cleaning is never a good idea .

Why Oriental rugs require special care

Fine area rugs, including Oriental rugs, are made by hand using all-natural fibers. The hand-knotting process can take from two months to two years to create one rug, depending on its quality and size. Most of these rugs are made out of wool or silk. Wool is a complex fiber that contains tiny scales and crevices that can trap dirt.

Fine Rugs Need Cleaned On Both Sides

Oriental rugs do not have a backing to hold the fibers in place. Instead, they are crafted completely out of the fiber. To get an oriental rug completely clean, the rug must be cleaned on both sides instead of just on the surface. By contrast, steam cleaning a carpet only cleans the surface of the carpet instead of cleansing it all of the ways through.

High-quality area rugs may be crafted using many types of natural fibers, including cotton, silk, jute, wool, and others. Because of the different types of care that each of these fibers requires, high-quality rug cleaning in Austin should be approached as a custom job each time. Properly cleaning a fine rug cannot be completed by using a steam cleaner on the front and back of a rug. That approach to cleaning will only be cosmetic, will not get rid of all of the dirt, and can cause irreversible damage to the fibers of your rug. Using inappropriate cleaning agents on your rug can destroy the delicate natural fibers.

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