If you’ve taken the time to research why hand-knotted Persian and Oriental rugs are so valuable and true works of art, and if you’ve decided that their higher cost is worth it, considering their workmanship and overall beauty, then you’ll want to be sure that you have the right tools in your home so that you can care for your rug properly.
We’ve put together a list of these cleaning and maintenance tools below. Enjoy!
- A vacuum cleaner with a suction attachment.
You should never vacuum a handmade rug with the machine’s beater brush. Doing so can pull on the rug’s fibers, particularly its fringe. A suction attachment, however, will pick up dirt, dust, and grime from your carpet without “beating” it.
- A sturdy broom.
Sweeping your rug weekly actually is better than using a vacuum because doing so can help bring out the natural patina of its fibers. Use a sturdy broom and save that broom for use only on your Persian or Oriental rug; don’t use it to sweep your home’s floors, furniture, or other rugs. You want to make sure the broom’s straws don’t pick up dirt and germs from other rugs, floors, and furniture.
These brooms look lovely but they should be sturdier to sweep your Persian/Oriental rug.
- Clean, white cotton cloths for blotting up spills.
Make sure your cloths are cotton and make sure they are white (the cloths will become wet as you blot a spilled drink and you wouldn’t want the cloth’s color to run onto the rug’s fibers). You’ll want to be sure you have several on hand at all times because when getting up any spill, you’ll want to swap a wet cloth for a dry one often.
- Gentle – very gentle, we can’t emphasize enough how gentle – liquid soap.
Look for one that has no perfume added and a neutral pH balance (a pH balance of 7). Distilled water is 7 and is neutral. Any soap with a pH lower than 7 is acidic and any with a pH greater than 7 is alkaline (or base).
Run a spot test on any rug before cleaning it; you want to make sure its colors won’t run.
- Only spot clean a stain on your Persian Rug; have a professional clean the entire rug.
The tool kit you’ll need to spot clean a rug:
- To apply the soap, you’ll need the aforementioned clean, white absorbent cloth; a sponge; an eyedropper; a squirt (not spray) nozzle.
- If you can’t find neutral liquid soap, mix one teaspoon of neutral soap powder in a ½ pint of water.
- For grease stains, you’ll need non-flammable dry-cleaning fluid such as perchloroethylene. If you can’t find dry cleaning fluid, use a point/grease/oil remover.
- To neutralize base (acidic) stains (such as fruit juice or wine), mix one tablespoon of ammonia to three-quarters of a cup of water.
- For alkaline-type stains, you’ll need a mixture of white vinegar solution. Mix one-third cup of white vinegar with two-thirds of a cup of water.
- A can of dry ice.
- Oil-free nail polish remover.
HousecleaningCentral.org has more information on how to spot-clean your Persian or Oriental rug.
If you can’t get the stain out, stop working on the rug and get it to a professional rug cleaner. If you live in the Dallas area, that would be Persian Rug Cleaner of Dallas. Give us a call at 972-447-9600 for more information.
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