Who Spilled On My Area Rug!?

Hi folks!  Ruthie here and I wanted to share this short little video explaining pile reversal in area rugs, which is something that we tend to see kind of often here at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care.  It’s also known as water-marking (because it looks like someone has spilled water on the rug and there is a stain there) or pooling. Pooling shows up most often in area rugs that have a thick pile (like Chinese rugs), but it can be found in all kinds of rugs, both tufted and woven.

When area rugs are manufactured, the pile stands straight up like little soldiers.  But over time as we use our rugs, sometimes that pile can be redirected. Instead of all of the fibers standing up straight, some of them get twisted and end up pointing toward the direction in which we twist them.  This is especially common in area rugs with high traffic patterns, where we turn on them a lot. Light gets reflected differently off of these redirected fibers, causing the areas to look wet or mottled.

This type of pile reversal can happen in all kinds of area rugs - from the cheapest rugs to even the most expensive!  No one is quite sure why it happens, just that it has been happening for centuries!  Unfortunately, pooling isn’t something that is correctable with cleaning.

Even if your area rug DOES show signs of this pile-reversal, you should still have it cleaned every 1-3 years!  We here at Arizona Oriental can answer any of your questions about your area rugs and we are more than happy to help you with all of your cleaning and repair needs!

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, Flagstaff, 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 our client’s area rugs receive the highest quality care.

Have more questions about why it looks like someone spilled on your area rug?  Give us a call and get a free estimate at 928-445-1718, visit our website at www.ArizonaOriental.com, or stop by Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at our rug washing facility at 565 EZ Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (pick-up and delivery also available). 5-30-2018 ​​​​​​​