Oriental Rug Cleaning

Detailed pre-inspection of Oriental rug. We identify specific problem spots, talk to you about the history of the carpet, identify exactly what kind of rug is to be cleaned and then explain our cleaning service expectations to you.

We pick up your oriental rug and deliver it to our cleaning facility. To provide this service we require additional insurance which is supplied through USClean. Unfortunately, many cleaners do not carry this type of insurance and cannot ensure the safe return of your favorite Oriental rug.

The first step in rug cleaning is to remove any non-soluble or dry particulate soil. The removal of non-soluble soil (dry particulate soil) is very important as failure to do so can damage the individual filaments that make up the rug. Removing non-soluble soil can also improve the indoor air quality of your home. Among the most commonly removed substances are pet hair, human hair, dead skin cells, dust, pollens, bugs, pollutants, food particles, etc.

Sometimes this process is referred to as rug dusting. The goal is to remove as much of the dry soil as possible. There are stories within the cleaning service industry of companies retrieving over 70 pounds of dry soil out of a single rug! If this soil is not removed it can damage the Oriental rug’s very delicate wool fibers.

We apply an agent to help prevent any dyes from transferring. Sometimes the dyes of an Oriental rug can be transferred or bleed to other fibers, compromising the quality of the piece. Severe urine contamination can also affect the stability of these dyes. If there is any chance of dyes bleeding we exercise extreme caution and use products that help prevent the migration process. Please understand that we cannot guarantee that dyes will not migrate in every case because of the various histories that may be associated with a given rug.

USClean technicians apply a wool-safe rug cleaning product. The rug cleaning products we use are approved by the WoolSafe Organization and are specially designed to release an incredible amount of the soil that has accumulated in the wool with time and use. Our Oriental rug cleaning products fall within the pH of 4.5 – 8.5 so they do not harm your piece. Have silk? We can treat this material too with many of these quality cleaning products.

Agitation is key toward a cleaner, healthier Oriental rug. The rug cleaning solution does very little by itself but the use of proper tools by USClean’s experienced technicians helps to release the soil further. The tools used by our Oriental rug cleaning service do not harm wool or silk.

In this step we make use of a special tool that gently shoots out hot water. As the water comes in contact with the rug the soil is suspended from its bond, allowing the tool’s suction to gently remove soil while leaving the Oriental rug slightly damp.

USClean applies and removes any remaining detergent or residue. The softener leaves a pH of around 5.5. This step leaves the material feeling extremely soft and fluffy to the touch.

In this important step we set the fibers to lay in one direction, most often in the same manner in which the rug was originally made — bottom to top. If carpet protectant is applied it helps the grooming process to disperse the protectant evenly, a step carefully carried out by USClean Oriental rug cleaning technicians.

Most of the time we use powerful floor fans to circulate the air to help in facilitating the drying process. In other instances we may hang the rugs to dry. Either way, USClean will get your Oriental rugs cleaned and dried in the shortest possible period of time.

The last step in the rug cleaning process is to clean the fringe. Usually the fringe is part of the entire structure of the Oriental rug and made up of a strong material such as cotton. Cotton can be difficult to clean due to its nature but USClean is careful to launder the fringe delicately and thoroughly.

We re-apply protectant after the rug cleaning is complete with the same chemical found in brand names like Teflon or Scotch Guard. Fluorochemical, the protectant’s chemical name, is typically found in all Oriental rugs when they are first manufactured. Unfortunately, over time and with the damage caused by inexperienced rug cleaners, the protectant can be removed or worn down. It is highly recommended as a wise investment to re-apply the protective coating. Ask about our Oriental rug guarantee when booking your rug cleaning service from USClean !

We deliver the rug completely clean and rolled up for easy and safe transport. We'll even put it right back where it belongs and help you move your furniture to its original place as well.

Oriental Rugs date back all the way to the 5th Century BC. In fact the oldest rug is referred to the Pazyryk rug. It was found frozen in a tomb in 1947 by archaeologist Sergei Rudenko. Before the 12th Centuary AD, rugs were made in India. They soon found their way to the Middle East around 1100AD. The first European country to make rugs were Spain, and England was not too far behind in the 1500’s.

From that point on, rugs started to surface all over the World. During the industrial revolution in the 1800’s, the first machines were made to make oriental rugs. Now oriental rugs make up for roughly 17% of the floor covering market share.

The way an Oriental Rug is made makes it unique. There are two ways to make them, by hand or by machine. Either way, there is a warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) yarn that makes the backing. This is the basic construction of the rug. From here, a pattern is given to the rug along with pile height, if any.

Hand made rugs are generally more expensive and come from many of the countries in the Middle East. They are classified as hand woven or flat weave and hand-knotted or pile weaves.

The hand woven rugs have 4 names that were given based on where they have been made. Dhurrie, which is usually produced in India. Kelim, which is found in the mid-east. Soumak, which is found near the east and central Asia. Navajo, which is found from the native American tribes.

Hand-knotted rugs are known by either the Persian knot or Turkish knot. These rugs have pile height to them. The pile height can be very long, or extremely short. In some cases, it can take up to 2 years for a person to make one 9’ x 12’ rug!

Machine made rugs fall into 5 categories. Velvet, Gripper Axminster, Spool Axminster, Wilton, and Tufted.

There are distinct differences between each of these rugs, and it primarily has to do with the number of colors and patterns in the rugs. In terms of regions, Velvet, Axminster & Wilton rugs generally come from Europe or the United States. A lot of the tufted rugs come from China.

The following rug types can be either hand made or machine made. Braided, crewel or chainstich, hooked, needlepoint, patchwork, rag rug, flokati, floor cloth, and leather.

Rugs are made all over the World. In fact, many of the rugs are named after the specific tribe or location they were made in. Here is a list of regions where most rugs are made.

Middle East: Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Caucus.

East: China, India, Nepal, Tibet, & Pakistan

Europe: Belgium, England, France, Greece, Morocco, Portugal, & Spain

North AmericaCanada, & United States

Each of these regions and countries have trademarks that are left behind when making rugs. A trained professional can look at a rug and usually tell what region it is from. There is one particular country, Pakistan, that likes to copy rugs, which can make it very difficult to identify to the untrained eye.

Here is a list rugs made by specific countries and regions

Western Iran: Arak, Ainabad, Bibikabad, Bijar, Borchalou, Dergazine, Fars, Feraghan, Hamadan, Husseinabad, Ingeles, Jozen, Kabutarahang, Kurdistan, Lilihan, Luristan, Mahal, Malayer, Mazlaghan, Mehriban, Mir-Saraband, Mosul, Mushkabad, Saraband, Sarouk, Senneh, Saltanabad, Tafresh, Zagheh, Zenjan

North East Iran: Ardabil, Ahar, Bakshaish, Goravan, Herez, Karaje, Mehrivan, Meshkin, Sennabaff, Serab, Soujboulak, Tabriz

Central Iran: Bakhtiari, Isfahan, Joshagon, Kashan, Kazvin, Mei-Mei, Nain, Qum, Vermain

Southern Iran: Abadeh, Afshar, Bakhtiari, Fars, Gabeh, Kerman, Niris, Qashqu’I, Ravar, Shiraz, Yalameh, Yezd

Eastern Iran: Baluchi, Birjand, Khorasan, Meshed, Mud, Turkbaff

Turkey: Akhisar, Anatolia, Basmakci, Bergama, Canakkale, Disemealti, Ezineh, Ghiordes, Hereke, Kayseri, Kirshehir, Konya, Kula, Ladik, Makri, Melas, Mudjar, Oushak, Sivas, Smyrna, Sparta, Transylvania, Yagcibedir, Yahyali, Yuruk

Caucasus: Armenian, Baku, Chi-Chi, Daghestan, Derbend, Erivan, Ganje, Kabistan, Karabagh, Kazak, Kuba, Shirvan, Soumak, Talish, Zeikhur

Central Asia: Afghan, Balouchi, Beshir, Chodor, Daulatabad, Ersari, Heart, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Khiva, Kirghiz, Pende, Salor, Samarkand, Saryk, Tekke, Turkoman, Uzbek, Yomud

East Turkestan: Kashgar, Khotan, Yarkand

For an in-depth look at the difference of area rugs, we highly recommend going to this site...

It is a world-wide certification program for wool carpet maintenance. It launched in 1991 by the International Wool Secretariat, now the Woolmark Company. The organization does strict testing on products for cleaning wool carpet.

Products that are approved to be woolsafe carry a woolsafe mark and can be seen below. USClean is a woolsafe certified company.

The purpose of a rug pad is to: help prevent pile from matting, crushing, or wear with day to day activity. Extend the life of the rug. Adds a decorative impression and makes the rug look and feel more expensive. Add safety to the floor by helping prevent slips or falls. Insulates the rug from the cold floor. Absorbs sound traveling in the room.

There are different types of rug pad and they all very in cost. USClean carries two specific pads that meet our expectations in terms of performance and price. One pad is good for having an oriental rug on carpet while the other one is best for an oriental rug on a hard surface.

Moths love wool! If you see a lot of moths in your home and you have wool oriental rugs, chances are they are feeding off your expensive rugs. They lay their eggs in the wool and when the eggs hatch, the larva eat the wool for nutrition. From there they grow and eventually become a moth.

Carpet Beetles love protein fibers. They too lay their eggs in the wool, and their hatchlings eat it for nutrition. They are very difficult to see because of their size.

The best thing to do is have us come look at your rug to see if there is insect damage. If there is, it needs to be treated by an exterminator and then completely cleaned. To fix the bare spots, the rug can be painted, or new knots, tufts, or weave’s added.

Wool and silk are very expensive materials. They get dirty just like any flooring substance in your home. Unlike synthetic and most natural fibers, they can hide a lot of soil. Recent studies have indicated that Wool rugs can hold up to 360% of it’s weight in soil!

Wool has been long recognized as an important fiber. It’s popularity in the United States is rising. Here is why :

It’s resilient, flame resistant, retains appearance, accepts a wide variety of colors, absorbs moisture, absorbs atmospheric pollution (gas), soil resistant, non-allergenic, environmentally friendly (feeds on grass), recyclable, lasts a long time, naturally cools down or heats up a room, and biodegradable.

In our opinion, wool is one of the most desirable fibers available. If you can afford to have it in your home, do it.

One quick way is to see if there is a tag on the back. If there is not, find out how much you paid for it or what it may be worth. Synthetic rugs are going to be in the mid to low-hundreds for an average 8’x10’ rug. Wool rugs are going to be in the upper hundreds to 10’s of thousands. Silk rugs usually start in the 10’s of thousands.

Another way is to smell the carpet when it is wet. Use a water bottle and gently mist the area rug. If it smells wet dog, you’ve got wool. Be careful because if you have lots of pets and they shed on the carpet, you may smell dog or cat hair !

Lastly, look at the construction of the warp & weft yarns as well as the pattern of the back. Machine made rugs are very different from hand made rugs and it takes a trained professional to identify the difference between the two.

There is no concrete answer to this question. There are several factors that go into determining what a oriental rug cleaning is going to cost. Professional oriental rug cleaners generally charge by the square footage. What that square footage cost is depends on a whole bunch of factors. The greater the risk is, the more expensive it is going to be. The more soil on the oriental rug, the more expensive it is going to be. Other treatments like allergen control, oriental rug protectant, and pet odor/urine removal are going to add to the price.

The best thing to do is call us and give us all the information you have on the rug. If we have more questions, we will come out to your home and evaluate the rug.

In short, there are 5 cleaning methods available and those can be read in more detail on our carpet or upholstery cleaning pages. Typically with oriental rugs, the type, construction, material and soil level of the rug determine which method is used. Many times, a combination of the methods are used.

One method not mentioned is called a rug bath. This is when the rug is completely submersed in water. Of course before that step, the rug is properly dusted to remove the dry particulate, vacuumed, treated with a cleaning solution, and agitated (if necessary). Once the rug bath is complete, the excess moisture is removed and it is hanged to dry. For urine contaminated rugs a rug bath is almost necessary. There are some rugs that are not recommended to put into the rug bath, like gun-tufted rugs because the bath will take all of the adhesive off the rug. However with this being said, sometimes it is required due to the soiling levels. A new adhesive can be applied, which will be better than the original.

If your allergies are acting up in your home, it’s probably a good idea to have your carpets, upholstery and/or oriental rugs cleaned. There is an additional treatment that can be applied to reduce future dust mites and other allergens, making your carpets, upholstery, and/or oriental rugs even healthier.

Individuals can be sensitive to chemicals. Rest be assured there is a product line that can be used. The products are not as effective and more expensive when compared to a traditional cleaning, but at least you can experience a clean environment with even safer products. If this is you or someone you love, please tell us when you call so we can give a firm price quote.

Yes, it can. There are a lot of different factors that play into weather a rug can be fully repaired or not. This is something we will have to look at. Once seeing it, we can help you with this process.

Not to be rude or blunt, but the animal is using your nice rug as a toilet. There are some things that can be done. A rug bath is expensive, but it should remove the odor 100%. The odor may be completely gone, but the urine spots may remain. If the odor and urine problem is very minor, then a standard cleaning with an odor and urine treatment can be applied. Bottom line, there is a solution.