Wednesday, 8 April 2009

Cleaning your Oriental Rugs

By Jennifer Lukas

When you clean your Oriental rug you will need to do it a certain way to make them last longer. With Oriental rugs you don't just have a rug, but an investment. You need to follow a specific way to help your investment last longer.

One of the best ways to have your Oriental rug last longer is not letting it get tore and keep the wear down. This won't be an easy task but there are a few ways to help you out. Simply turn the rug over every so often will help to cut down the wear nicely. With the flipping of the rug once in a while it will even out the wear of the rug.

An oriental rug should be cleaned properly. Just like carpet and other rugs, the lifespan is reduced. If it's a high traveled area the carpet will collect dirt and sand and store it. Vacuums don't necessarily clean out every piece of dirt particle which is embedded into the carpet. You should have your rugs shampooed every for to five years or even sooner if necessary. One way to see if your carpet is due for a cleaning is taking a damp white cloth and rubbing it onto an area. If it comes up dirty, you know what time it is.

If you do not have experience in cleaning these rugs you should hire a professional to clean it but you should still try to learn how to clean the rug too. First you would need to loosen up as much dirt as you can try using a giant tumbler. This will help the rug to be checked for any weaker spots. To protect those spots gauze will help to save those areas. Than a test to see how well the color is staying in the rug. If the colors are still fine, it will than be laid flat out and wetted. Since chlorine may hurt the rug, it is filtered in with water. The Oriental rug will than get scrubbed. This is all done with hand since a machine will only ruin the wool.

Another important part of the cleaning is what cleaner you use. Unformulated detergents will work the best on your Oriental rug. Check to see if the wool is getting dry, if so add some conditioner. Using some denatured vinegar will help to hold the dies into the rug. After the washing process the rug will need to be dried, and than brushing out the rug in order to improve the texture of the rug, and it will also become softer.

You can also touch up any spills or little accidents that may occur on the rugs in between the cleanings. You can use one gallon of cold water and cup of denatured white vinegar with a sponge to refresh the colors in the rug. Always remember to never be rough with the rugs, especially by beating them or shaking them to loosen dust. You can use a vacuum carefully to cleanse the dirt but make sure you don't catch any of the fringes in the vacuum.

The beauty of Oriental rugs is legendary. They are an investment worth maintaining. Professional cleaning should be done every four to five years by a trusted expert. Cleaning maintenance can be performed in between professional cleanings by using special care.

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