Here at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care we recently had a client bring in a rug that we had cleaned 8 months earlier. It is a Persian area rug hall runner with a short, plush pile. He stated there was a problem with his area rug and that it was leaving a dark unknown substance under the rug. He even showed us a photo of the substance on the floor. Sure enough it looked like a pile of dark dust on his tile. His initial thought was that we left all this dirt in his rug. Further investigation proved that was not the case. You see, his wife decided to turn the rug upside down, placing the delicate wool face fibers against the hard sub-floor where there was tile and wide grout lines. Grout is much like sandpaper, it is made with a mixture of sand and cement. When dry it is hard and very abrasive, just like sandpaper is. Unfortunately the rug fibers did not fare well under this circumstance and abuse. As I mentioned, the area rug is a long runner in their hallway. Runners live an active life as people walk up and down the hallway many times a day. Each time and under the weight of the person the delicate fiber was being forced to grind itself up against the tile and worse yet, the grout causing a grinding away action.
First of all, rugs need a cushion under them to prevent unnecessary wear and tear. Worse yet, this rug had no protective padding. Rug pad acts as a shock absorber for rugs, absorbing the pounding of people’s weight walking over them day after day.
Secondly, a piled rug is never to be turned upside down. The wool face fibers are much too delicate for this harsh treatment. Take a look at a piled rug and notice that the top side is soft and the underside is much sturdier. This is precisely why a piled rug has only one top and one bottom side and is not reversible.
On the other hand, a Dhurrie rug often called a flat weave rug can in fact be used on both sides because neither side has a soft cut pile. This is why American Indian area rugs can be flipped over and both sides used equally well.
Here at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care we are always looking for ways to educate our clients so they can enjoy the most from their rugs. I hope you found this article of interest and helpful.
Till next time, enjoy your beautiful art for your floor and remember a clean rug is a rug that can last you a lifetime!
Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care serves Prescott, Prescott Valley, Sedona and much of the Northern Arizona areas. We meet the highest standards in professional cleaning of area rugs with rug wash specialists having earned the highest training which includes certification as WOOLSAFE FIBRE CARE SPECIALISTS through the WOOLSAFE ORGANISATION. Such extraordinary certification ensures the area rugs of our client’s receive the utmost in care.
If you would like more information regarding turning your rug upside down and using the backside as the topside or need information about rug padding , give us a call at 928-445-1718, visit our website at www.ArizonaOriental.com, or stop by Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at our rug washing facility at 565 EZ Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (pick-up and delivery also available).
