Prescott Valley AZ – My Persian Rug Has White Dots In It – Is This Damage?
Older hand knotted rugs are probably my favorite to see here at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care because they have so many different characteristics and they all tell stories. White knots are one such characteristic that can be found in just about every hand knotted area rug, hidden in the pile or showing up on the surface of the rug. To answer the question above, they aren’t damage – but what are they exactly?
To put it simply, white knots are a part of your hand knotted rug’s construction. To begin the weaving process, cotton warp threads (which run vertically through the rug) and weft threads (running from side to side, horizontally) are stretched over a loom to create the foundation of the rug. It is this foundation that weavers tie the face fibers to. During the weaving process, some of these foundation threads may need to break and need to be tied back together and voila! – a white knot is born where this repair is done.
Weaving can continue once the threads are tied back together, sandwiching those white knots between the rug’s face fibers and hiding them. Over time, the rug pile wears down and the knots become more visible. So rather than being damage, this is just a natural part of the aging process for your area rug and many view these white knots as added components of the rug’s beauty, character, and history. I’ve even heard of them referred to as “rug freckles.”
Sometimes white knots get masked by dry soil that has accumulated on the rug. Having your rug cleaned by a professional service such as Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care removes this dry soil, which can make the white knots suddenly more noticeable.
Arizona Oriental always reminds our clients to NEVER CUT OUT THE WHITE KNOTS! Doing so creates a hole in the foundation of your area rug. Over time, this little hole will suffer from further unravelling and become a much larger hole that can be quite expensive to repair. If you have a rug in need of repair or want to do something about those white knots, give Arizona Oriental a call today! We offer a variety of repair services along with cleaning.
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 Valley, Prescott, 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 white knots on hand knotted rugs 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). (01-09-17)
