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How to clean and care for Rugs.


Vaccuum Tips:
Short cut pile & loop pile area rugs

-Adjust the beater bar so it is rotating when in contact with the area rug. A worn belt will reduce the vacuum's effectiveness, so make sure the belt is fairly new.

-Adjust the height of the beater bar so that it lightly touches the pile of the area rug without slowing the vacumm motor down

-Check the vacuum bag often. Vacuums clean less efficiently when the bag is over half full

Spot Removal
Basic Strategy

When anything is dropped or spilled, the quicker you can respond with proper cleaning, the better. It will take a little time and patience to do the job correctly, so be prepared to respond quickly but patiently to the task of removing a spill or spot.

If possible, use a professional cleaner familiar with cleaning fine area rugs

A few notes about wool
Rugs with wool face yarn require extra care to remove spots or spills. Don't use excessive agitation or heat, and avoid "Oxygen" type cleaners. These are cleaners which form oxygen, hydrogen and soda ash when mixed with water. Although fine for synthetic fibers, they are too harsh for a natural wool fiber.

Blot, don't scrub, do not rub, blot, don't scrub, just blot.........

You get the idea. Scrubbing works the spill into the pile while harming the face yarn. Although true for both nylon and wool, it is especially the case with wool face yarn which will mat up if over agitated.

Wrinkling: The risks of placing are rugs on wall to wall carpet

Whenever an area rug is placed between a soft surface, such as wall to wall carpet, and a hard or heavy object, such as a coffee table or couch, wrinkling inevitably occurs.
 
In most cases the area rug will wrinkle from one or both edges towards the center eventually forming permanent creases or "wrinkles". This is not a defect and will not be replaced. This is a law of physics and not something we can prevent. There are rug to rug pads which can minimize the wrinkle effect in some cases, but it is almost impossible to prevent entirely.
 
Shedding:
 
For the first several months, a new area rug will experience some shedding of fiber. You might vacuum the carpet and notice the entire bag filled with this fiber. This should cause no concern as it is a normal occurrence and is to be expected. Loose fibers, which are not held tightly by the yarn, are being removed. The amount of fiber removed will decrease with each vacuuming and finally be very minimal. Shedding will be especially noticeable in the areas of highest traffic. This is normal and is not a manufacturing defect.
 
Fading:
 
No area rug is fade proof. Depending on the amount of exposure to sunlight, all colors will fade. In addition to sunlight, gasses in the air will cause colors to fade. We call this ozone fading, and it is especially noticeable to our friends in Hawaii and Florida.
 
Ozone fading is not something we can control; it is inevitable and is not a manufacturing defect.
 
Shading or watermarking:
 
Shading or watermarking occurs in almost all cut pile area rugs. This is caused by a slight directional change in the pile and causes the light to reflect differently on the surface. This effect is similar to that of velvet fabrics. Shading or watermarking is an inherent characteristic of all cut pile carpets and is not a manufacturing defect.
 
Sprouting
 
Sprouting occurs when small tufts of loose yarn pop up or extend above the surface of the pile. The first thing to do is make sure the beater bar of your vacuum cleaner is not set too low. If you notice a loose loop or part of a loop pile or detail sticking above the surface of the pile, Do not yank it! Some of the loops will work loose. This is normal and not a defect. Simply cut the loop level with the surface of the pile.
 
Pile Crush:
 
Indentations develop when furniture sits on a carpet for a long period of time. In most cases they can be taken out by rubbing over the depressed area with the edge of a coin or gently moistening the area with steam from a steam iron and then brushing the affected area.