Uneven Coloration of an Area Rug – What Is It and Why? – Prescott AZ
Have you noticed a variation of the colors in one of more of your rugs? Why is the blue not the same blue all the way throughout the rug? It looks uneven! The technical term for this is abrash and taken from the dictionary is the following definition:
abrash
a·brash
(ä-bräsh′, ə-bräzh′)
n.
The natural and variable change in color that occurs in an Oriental rug over time when different dyes are
used.
[Arabic, mottled, possibly of Persian origin.]
Take a look at the photo here. It’s not that difficult to see the abrash. However on occasion a client will pick up their cleaned rug and comment that they never noticed the variation in colors before. (Of course some rugs are much more subtle in the color change than what is shown here.)This can be because they never paid much attention to the little details in their rug until this very moment.
It can also be that when the rug was new the color were more even. However, over time, the dyes fade differently (dyes oxidize) and the accumulation of soil can mask these changes as they are occurring. Cleaning of course removes the soil and uncovers a much more noticeable color variation.
Abrash occurs much more often in Village and Tribal rugs because these rugs are made in small batches of dyed wool in a much less controlled environment than that of a large rug manufacturing plant. With a Village or Tribal rug, if the weaver runs out of one batch of wool, he/she simply grabs another batch of wool with little thought that a different dye lot will change the color.
Did you know that abrash is greatly sought after?
It’s that one of a kind look a hand-made rug offers. So much so that it is not uncommon for machine-made rugs to try and duplicate this look by purposely adding the abrash.
So enjoy all the unique variations your rugs offer. This is what makes them one-of-a-kind and so loved by people all around the world. I’m Ruthie, here at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care. I hope you enjoyed this little bit of information and have found yet another reason to love your rug!
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, 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 additional information on Abrash 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).
