“I love my rug, but it has a funky change of shade in one of the colors that I don’t get.” What was just described happens to many rugs, especially Tribal rugs. This is known as abrash and is PERFECTLY NORMAL. As a matter of fact, abrash (uneven color) is a desired look which allows the rug to be a one of a kind and speaks of the uniqueness of that rug and that it is hand made.
Abrash occurs when the wool selected to weave a rug doesn’t all come from one batch of dye. If the weaver runs out of green and grabs another green that was dyed separately it will likely have a different shade than the original green. Sometimes the color will appear to be the same, however as the dyes oxidize or fade the difference will show up. Here at Arizona Oriental and Specialty Rug Care, we see this more with Tribal rugs where smaller batches of dyes are the norm and therefore changes are more likely to occur.
Never will abrash effect the value of a rug in a negative way. As a matter of fact it is embraced, so much so that machine made rugs frequently include abrash to simulate a hand knotted rug.
As a rug soils, these color differences diminish and tend to blend in. Once the rug is cleaned and soil is removed abrash can be more noticeable. Rather than worry that your rug color is not even, embrace the uniqueness and enjoy the fact that your rug is a one of a kind.
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 and 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 are in the Prescott Valley area and would like more information on what are the uneven colors some people think is a beauty mark in area rugs, call Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care 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).