Prescott AZ - What NOT to Do With Your Fine Area Rugs
I’m Ruthie with Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care and sometimes I have to remind clients that there are some rugs that you just shouldn’t use the backside of!
A few months ago, we had a client bring a rug back to us that we had originally cleaned for them 8 months before. It was a Persian rug with short, plush pile and our client complained that his rug was leaving a dark, unknown substance on the floor beneath it. He even showed us a photo of the substance on the floor and sure enough, it looked like a pile of dark dust on his tile. He initially thought that we had left all the dust in his rug when we cleaned it for him. This was not the case, though!
His wife had decided to turn the rug upside down, thinking that this would provide a softer surface against her newly finished tile. However, this placed the delicate wool face fibers against the hard tile and wide grout lines. Grout is made up of a mixture of both sand and cement and when it’s dry it is very hard and abrasive, just like sandpaper. Unfortunately, the rug fibers didn’t really stand a chance against this.
This rug was also a long runner in an active hallway. Runners are some of the more used rugs in our homes, considering that people walk up and down the hallway many times a day. With each pass under the weight of the person, the delicate rug fibers were being forced to grind themselves against the tile and, worse yet, the grout.
A rug with a pile should NEVER be turned upside down. These wool face fibers are far too delicate to withstand this kind of treatment. Just by looking at them, you can see that rugs with pile have a soft topside while the underside is much sturdier. A piled rug has only one top and one bottom side and is not reversible.
A dhurrie, or flat weave rug, on the other hand can in fact be used on both sides because there is no soft-cut pile to it. American Indian rugs can be flipped over and both sides can be used equally for this reason.
At Arizona Oriental, we always try to educate our clients as much as we can. We are always more than happy to answer any questions that you may have about your area rugs!
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 about if you can safely use either side of your rug or a free estimate, 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). (July 24, 2017)
