Tip of the Day - How NOT to Store Your Area Rugs - Sedona AZ

Hi folks!  As you know, I’m Ruthie with Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care here in Prescott and I wanted to take a moment today and share with you all some photos of a rug that came into our shop fairly recently.  Our client brought this rug into us concerned about the missing fibers throughout the rug.  She had kept her rug stored in her attic in a bag for over 10 years!

At first, we were thinking it had suffered a moth infestation because it hadn’t been properly stored.  However, after further inspection and speaking with our client about the storage conditions of the rug, we discovered that she had folded the rug up and put it in a plastic bag for storing.  Looking at the rug again, we noticed that the places where the fibers had been worn away were where she’d had the rug folded!

It’s very, VERY important to NEVER fold a rug for extended periods of time!  As I have mentioned in other articles, doing so stresses the foundation of the rug and can lead to not only fiber loss where these stress points are, but also rips and tears.  This client was lucky that her rug hadn’t torn or been permanently misshapen from the stress of being folded for so long.

Our client had sort of forgotten about the rug but, when she found it again, she fell in love with it all over.  She wanted to be able to use the rug in her home again but she wasn’t so sure she wanted to look at all at the bare spots where the fibers were missing.  We took the rug to our repair shop and got a quote for a paint touch up.

When doing a paint touch up repair, the repair shop takes fabric paint markers and carefully colors in over the foundation of the rug where the missing fibers are.  This makes the stark white of the foundation stand out quite a bit less and at least makes the rug look a little more finished.  There still isn’t any fiber in these areas, but there is color.

It’s important to remember that, when doing a paint touch up on a rug, it will wear off over time.  This paint is certainly not permanent and it will need to be reapplied the next time the rug is cleaned.

However, this was just what the client was looking for with her rug.  As you can see by these photos taken after the rug had the paint touch up applied, it turned out wonderful!  Our client was very happy and very thankful that we were able to bring life back into her rug and promised to never fold one of her rugs again when she needed to store them!

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 Sedona, Prescott, Prescott Valley, 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, including 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.

Call us for more information on proper storage techniques for your rugs 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). (07-11-17)