Protecting Your Valuable Rugs and Carpets

Heirloom quality rugs are true works of art. The designs, materials and hours of labor contribute to a lasting treasure that represents the artisan and your Eastern Long Island home’s aesthetic. Whether you purchased rugs at an antiques show, carpet dealer, flea market, or garage sale, find out all you can about the material composition and recommended care for your valuable. 

We at Olde World Rug recommend that steam cleaning an oriental rug is the way to go. While it might not damage the wool yarns, the hot-water pressure can cause dyes to migrate onto other parts of the rug. Furthermore, excessive vacuuming can cause pile distortion or irregular shape. Plus, getting the fringe caught in the rollers can cause expensive damage.

How You Can Care for Your Oriental Rug

Four things that you should do are:

• Rotation – To ensure even wear, your rug should be rotated once a year. Depending on the traffic, the rotation may vary from six months to two years.
• Vacuuming – Oriental rugs, like most carpeting should be vacuumed on a regular basis to remove dirt and restore life to the fibers. Be sure not to vacuum the fringe with your beater bar! Use the end of a vacuum hose from a canister vacuum.
• Padding – A quality pad used under your rug helps protect it from dirt, wear, and slippage.
• Spot and Spill Procedures – Make sure that you safely and immediately clean up spots and spills before they set.

How Olde World Rug Can Help

Your handmade rugs needs periodic professional cleaning to remove dust and grime from your investment. Don’t allow debris to get embedded in the fibers. Foot traffic can then cause friction to the pile and premature wear to the rug.

You can’t dry clean a handmade rug because the solvents dry it out. Professional hand washing involves full immersion, wetting and shampooing both sides of the carpet. You can’t wash only the front, that just moves the dirt around. You need to have enough space to allow the dirt to flow out. Fringes must be washed in another step so they won’t turn gray.

Rug washing In Eastern Long Island

When your day to day maintenance is not enough, trust the expert in Long Island. The Olde World Rug Washing Company is a family owned and operated business operating out of Westhampton Beach, NY. We have been caring for our clients’ precious rugs and tapestries since 2003. Our mission is to give the finest care to our clients and their textiles. Whether it is a rug from a large box store, the finest needlepoint, an antique tribal rug, or a village or city rug from Iran, Afghanistan, and beyond; we give all pieces in our care the royal treatment. Our philosophy is to do no harm and treat each textile individually, as per the care that unique piece requires.

Olde World is passionate about caring for these works of art. They maintain certifications through the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and the Fiber Cleaning Schools of America; including the top certifications of Oriental Rug Color Specialist and a Certified Master Textile Cleaner through the IICRC. For expert support in your home, contact us.