A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rugs

A Comprehensive Guide to

Oriental & SpecialtyRug Cleaning

Ellen AmirkhanAaron Groseclose

Oriental Rug Cleaning Company, Inc. � Dallas

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning

Ellen Amirkhan and Aaron Groseclose

Published in the United States of America by

Oriental Rug Cleaning Company, Inc.

3907 Ross Ave.

Dallas, TX 75204

www.dallasrugcleaner.com

Copyright © 2006, Ellen Amirkhan and Aaron Groseclose

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,

no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written

permission of both copyright owners.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006928771

ISBN 978-0-9776163-0-5

Table of Contents v

ContentsIntroduction 1

Chapter 1 � History of Oriental Rugs 3Rugs Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2 � Fibers and Dyes 7Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Other Hair Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Silk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Cotton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Bast Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Leaf Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Fruit Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Regenerated Fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Synthetic Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Fiber Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Dyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Color and Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Natural Dye vs. Synthetic Dye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Rug Dyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Dyeing Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Chapter 3 � Construction: Machine-Made Rugs 33Tufted Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Machine-Woven Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Woven Carpet Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Other Machine-Made Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Bonded Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Chapter 4 � Specialty Rugs 41Animal Skins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Pre-cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Braided Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42


Carousel® Carpet Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43


A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning vi s


Flatweaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Dhurries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Kilims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Cotton Chenille Flatweaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Chinese Aubusson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Soumak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Flokati Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50



Hand-Hooked Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51



Hand-Tufted Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Edward Fields, V’Soske, Scott Group, Hokanson, Tai-Ping . . . 58

Karastan® Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59



Kashmir Chainstich Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63



La Montage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64



Navajo Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

The Weaving Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Contemporary Regional Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68



Needlepoint Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Portugal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Rag Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75


Table of Contents vii


Sisal/Coir/Sea Grass And Other Plant Based Fiber Rugs . . . . . . . 76



Spanish Wilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78



Chapter 5 � Hand-Knotted Rugs: Classification,Construction and Design 79

Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Looms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Warps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Wefts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Cartoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Knots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Rug Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Knot Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Knot Count/Quality Grading Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

End Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Side Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Finishing Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Chemical Washing Of Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Oriental Rug Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Medallion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Repeating Motifs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

All-Over Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Open Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Pictorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Directional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Saph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Waigereh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Individual Design Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Border Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chapter 6 � Persian Rugs 107Persian Village Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning viii s

Hamadan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Lillihan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Malayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Senneh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Persian City Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Ardabil/Meshkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Bijar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Qum/Ghoum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Heriz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Isfahan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Joshaghan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Karaja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Kashan Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Kerman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Mahal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Mashad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Nain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Sarouk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Tabriz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Chapter 7 � Tribal Rugs 149Bakhtiari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Baluchi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Turkoman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Shiraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Afshar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Gabbeh Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Chapter 8 � Other Countries Producing Hand-Knotted Rugs 159Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Caucasian Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Peking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Tientsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Modern Wool Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Modern Silk Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Moroccan Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Moroccan and Tunisian Flatweaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Mori Weave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Table of Contents ix

Pakistan Persian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Peshawar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Tibetan Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

City Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Village Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Why Rug Identification Is Important to the Area Rug Cleaner. . . 203

Tangible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Intangible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Chapter 9 � Road Map to Rug Identification 203Why Cleaners May be Afraid of Rug Identification . . . . . . . . 204

Road Map To Rug Identification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Components of Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Technical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Differences Between Hand-Knotted and Machine-MadeOriental Design Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Chapter 10 � Chemistry of Rug Cleaning 209Rug Soil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

The Makeup of Rug Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Cleaning Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Cleaning Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Solvency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Surface Tension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Detergents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Emulsification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

pH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Cleaning Guidelines by WoolSafe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Chemical Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Hazard Communication Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Information contained in a Material Safety Data Sheet . . . . . 221

Chapter 11 � Pre-Cleaning Inspection 223Classifying Area Rugs Before Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Abrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Animal hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning x s

Animal stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Bleach stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Blood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Bordered rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Buckles, puckers, out of square . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Burns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Cat scratches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Chemical wash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Color bleeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Creases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Crocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Crush marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Curled sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Detached side selvage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Detergent residue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Discolored, oxidized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Dry rot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Dye stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Faded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Felting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Fiber content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Filtration lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Fold wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Fringe worn/rotten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Furniture stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Gum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Irregular shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Lazy lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Mildew/Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Moth and insect damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Over-dyed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Painted foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Photo bleaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Pot plant damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Previous repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Pulled tufts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Table of Contents xi

Rug reduced in size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Rust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Shading, pooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Shrinkage/potential shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Smoke/fire damage/nicotine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Sprouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Stencil marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Tea wash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Test for colorfastness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Texture distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Traffic lane soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Urine stain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Water damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Water stains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Weak places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Wear: ends, sides, interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Wet rot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

White knots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Yellowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Chapter 12 � Rug Cleaning 241Introduction to Rug Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Pre-Cleaning Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Determine the fiber content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Identify the rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Inspect rug for pre-existing conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Check for colorfastness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Determine the cleaning method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Dry Soil Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Vacuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Portable Beater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Dusting Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Compressed Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Pre-treatments of the rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Fringe Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Rug Cleaning Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning xii s

Absorbent Compound Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Absorbent Pad Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Dry Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Mist and Brush Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Rotary Shampoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Hot Water Extraction Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

In-plant Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Combination Cleaning Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Rinsing the rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Groom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

The Dry Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Dry Room Techniques — Air Engineering for Rug Cleaners . 259

Fundamental Factors of Rug Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Five Steps to Increase Rug Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Good Air Contact with Rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Drip Dry Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

How to Set Up a Mini-Plant Dry Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Quality control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Fringe Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Roll, Tie and Place in the Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Sample Cleaning Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Chapter 13 � Plant Operations And Procedures 277General Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Example Of Operations Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Pick-up and Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Cash and Carry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Plant Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Consumer Care Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Chapter 14 � Rug Spotting 283Principles of Spot Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

When to Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

General Chemical Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Types of Spots and Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Actions Used in Spot Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

General Spotting Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Testing for Colorfastness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Table of Contents xiii

Unknown Spot Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Heat Transfer Dye Stain Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Specific Spotting Procedures and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Solvent Soluble Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Synthetic Resins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Urine Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Chewing Gum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Tannin Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Protein Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Dye Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Rust Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Mildew Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Bleaches and Reducing Agents/Strippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Bleaches and Strippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Oxidizing Bleaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Reducing Bleaches and Strippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Spotting Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Mystery Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Chapter 15 � Problems and Solutions 303Cellulosic Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Crocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Dry Rot/Mildew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Dye Bleed Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Fringe Cleaning/Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Insect Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning xiv s

Pile Stiffness After Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Powdered Carpet Deodorizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Problem – Impacted Powder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Rug Discoloration/Color Changes/Yellowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Problem – Discoloration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Problem – Fume/Light Fading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Problem – Yellowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Shading/Pooling/Pile Reversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Shrinkage of Custom Bordered Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Texture Distortion from Cleaning Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Chapter 16 � Additional Services 317Blocking Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Steps in Blocking a Rug, the Bon Ton Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Deodorizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Real Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Psychological Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Influencing Factors of Real Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Products Used in Deodorizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Animal Odors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Other Odors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Disaster Restoration and Damage Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Handling a Fire or Water Damaged Rug Prior to Cleaning . . 327

The Cleaning and Restoration of Oriental Rugs Exposed to Smoke Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

The Cleaning and Restoration of Oriental Rugs Exposed to Sewage Intrusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Mold Remediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Table of Contents xv

Tracking Rugs in a Restoration Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Clean It Yourself Or Sub It Out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Fabric Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Silicones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Fluorochemicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Insect Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Rug Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Rug Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Rug Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Materials and Tools You Will Need: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Wrapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Chapter 17 � Oriental And Specialty Rug Appraisals 345Determining The Value Of An Oriental Rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Determining Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Factors Affecting Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Determining Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

How much is it worth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

Investigating and Documenting an Area Rug Claim . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Initial Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Questions for the Insured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Chapter 18 � Resources 355Absorbent Compound Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Chemicals/Supplies and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Dyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Marketing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Non-Immersion Dry Cleaning Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Oriental Rug Book Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Oriental Rug Repair Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Periodicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Retailers of Oriental Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Rug Cleaning Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Rug Dusting Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Rug Padding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Rug Storage Tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Rug Washing/Dry Room Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Rug Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Specialty Matting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Spotter and Grooming Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning xvi s

Supplies/Equipment/Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Trade Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Wholesaler of Oriental Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Wrapping Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Glossary 363

Recommended Reading 387

Index 389

Introduction 1

Introduction

Winston Churchill’s description of the former Soviet Union, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,” also describes the world of ori-ental rugs. Identifying and cleaning these rugs is both an art and a science and has traditionally been performed by a relatively small group of profes-sionals. For centuries, information about the making, selling, and cleaning of oriental rugs has been closely guarded and held by a select few. As these rug cleaners have invested tremendous amounts of time and money in their business, they naturally seek to protect their investment.

Because of the lack of reliable information available to the rug cleaner, we have compiled this comprehensive guide on oriental and specialty rug cleaning. New types of rugs are continually being brought into the market and we have included this current information as well as information about rugs that have existed for 100 years.

The rugs we have used in our illustrations are often encountered in a cleaning business. This guide does not attempt to cover every type of hand and machine-made rug. The photographs are of the most commonly woven designs and include close-ups of the rug’s back. Popular belief is that oriental rugs are identified by their design, but that is only one com-ponent of identification. A rug’s construction is the most precise method of determining origin.

“Persia” is used with reference to the modern country of Iran, and in the carpet industry, “Persian rug” is still the term used to describe rugs from Iran. Because the transliteration of Farsi words to English is not always exact, you may find several spellings for the same word in differ-ent sources.

Chapter 1 � History of Oriental Rugs 3

The origins of rug weaving are literally “lost in antiquity” and cause for much speculation. Because the materials used in weaving are not as durable as materials used in other art forms, such as buildings or paint-ings, and the function of rugs subjects them to harsher wear, the number of extremely old pieces that have survived is very limited.

The oldest, nearly complete hand-knotted rug dates from the 4th or 5th century B.C. and is known as the Pazyryk rug. This rug was discovered in 1949 by Soviet archaeologists inside the burial tomb of a nomadic tribal chief near Pazyryk in southern Siberia. The rug was protected from disintegration in the permafrost. The rug’s design and construction is relatively sophisticated indicating that rug weaving had been developing for hundreds or even thousands of years. This rug measures 6 feet x 6 feet 6 inches (180 cm x 195 cm) with a wool pile/foundation and has 225 sym-metrical knots per square inch. The Pazyryk rug is currently housed at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Caucasus Mountains

Caucasus Mountains Morocco

Algeria Libya

Egypt

Turkey

Black Sea

Romania

India

France

Spain

Port

ugal

Iraq Iran

(Persia)

Syria

Russia Kazakstan

TunisiaTunisia

GreeceGreece

BulgariaBulgaria

ArmeniaArmenia

GeorgiaGeorgia

AzerbaijanAzerbaijan TurkmenistanTurkmenistan

UzbekistanUzbekistanKyrgystanKyrgystan

TajikistanTajikistan

Tunisia

Greece

Bulgaria

Armenia

Georgia

Azerbaijan Turkmenistan

UzbekistanKirghizstan

Tajikistan

Afghanistan

PakistanNepal

China

Tibet

Arabian Sea

Caspian SeaMediterranean Sea

The Rug Belt

Pazyryk rug, detail

Chapter 1

History of Oriental Rugs

A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning 4

In Turkey and Persia, no surviving rugs can be ac-curately attributed prior to 1500 A.D. This date corre-sponds to the beginning of the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722) in Persia. The best known rug from this period is the Ardabil carpet which is 17 feet 6 inches by 36 feet 6 inches (530 cm x 1110 cm) and housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Turkish rugs are depicted in 15th and 16th century paintings most notably by Hans Holbein of Germany and Lorenzo Lotto of Italy. Again, one can assume that rug weaving in Turkey, Persia, India, the Caucasus Mountains and China dates back many centuries before this time.

Rug weaving in the 18th century suffered from wars in Persia, turmoil in the Ottoman Empire, and corrupt government. This instability disrupted foreign trade and diminished the affluence of the middle-class. Under these adverse conditions, commercial rug production could not flourish beyond local needs.

In the 19th century, the industrial revolution resulted in an elevated quality of life for many people. Rapidly expanding prosperity combined with the new cost-efficiency of machines gave bankers, entrepreneurs, and merchants new-found wealth. As the middle class became better educated, enjoyed better health, had more leisure time and greater mobility, the de-mand for “luxury” goods increased. Merchants scoured the countryside in the Middle East looking for rugs to import to the United States and Europe. Because production was limited for many years, the number of rugs available for purchase was soon exhausted. Entrepreneurs from the United States and Western Europe saw an opportunity to revive the rug weaving industry in the Middle and Far East. By the late 19th century, rug weaving as we know it today was a thriving industry.

Rugs TodayToday, hand-made rugs are produced from North Africa and Europe

to China with many different styles and weaving techniques. Rugs can be hand-knotted, tufted, flat-woven, or machine-made. Major rug producing countries include the United States, Afghanistan, the Caucasus region, Central Asia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Ro-mania, Spain and Turkey. Today, the majority of rugs imported into the United States are from India and China.

The United States produces machine-made rugs, which are mainly wo-ven or tufted. According to Floor Covering Weekly in 2004, 17.6% of soft floor coverings purchased were area rugs. This percentage represents sales

Ardabil rug, Victoria and Albert Museum

Chapter 1 � History of Oriental Rugs 5

of $2.51 billion and that figure may be on the conservative side. Rugs have been much more popular in Europe than in the U.S. for many years.

How does this history relate to rug cleaners? The majority of rugs that will be brought to a cleaning plant will have been made after 1950. Rugs made from 1920 to 1950 will be the second most common type, and rugs made before 1920 will make up the smallest percentage of rugs brought for cleaning. Since the late 19th century, specific types of oriental rugs have changed style, design, construction and materials as demand and fashion have changed and as other external influences dictated these changes. In the study of rug identification, one has to learn the myriad of names and how each type has changed in the past 100 years.

Rug cleaning can be very challenging because there are so many variables and manufacturers are continually creating new types of rugs that have their own special set of problems. When visiting 10 different rug cleaning operations, you will find 10 different methods of cleaning a rug, though the basic principles of cleaning are the same.

To clean rugs safely and effectively, you need to have a good working knowledge of fibers, construction, cleaning principles and procedures as well as rug identification and what to look for during the pre-cleaning inspection. This challenge is not an easy task but can provide a lifetime of fun, a sense of accomplishment, reward and satisfaction that comes with operating a successful business.

Chapter 3 � Construction: Machine-Made Rugs 33

Machine-made rugs can be produced with a variety of methods. We will start with the most common way that rugs are made in the U.S.

Tufted RugsA tufted rug is constructed much like a sandwich consisting of

face yarns that are stitched into a primary backing with adhesive and secondary backing. It can be loop or cut-pile construction.

• Face Yarns — consist of a broad range of fibers, e.g. nylon, wool, olefin, etc., in various pile constructions. Undyed tufted face yarns are called greige goods.

• Primary backings — usually woven or non-woven polypro-pylene; sometimes woven jute is used.

• Adhesive — a layer of latex holds the primary and secondary backings together.

• Secondary backings — applied to give a carpet dimensional stability, which refers to the capability of the carpet to retain its size and shape.

Machine-tufted

Chapter 3

Construction: Machine-Made Rugs

Tufted

Indo-Tufted


Professional rug cleaners should give special consideration to the fact that the backing materials and adhesive bonds must be in sound condition before attempting to clean the rug. Always inspect seams (if the rug contains them) for signs of separation. Carefully inspect for overall weaknesses, such as backing separation (delamination) or weak, dry rotted conditions. These problems will become more apparent when exposed to the moisture necessary for rug cleaning.

A popular style in tufted wool is textured loop (sisal pattern), character-ized by a combination of earth and natural colors. No particular cleaning problems occur if the procedures for cleaning wool are observed.

Berber is a style of carpet that is characterized by a heather look (mul-ticolor/mottled effect). Although natural wool Berber carpets are not as popular as they once were, many are waiting to be cleaned. True Berber is made from naturally pigmented wool with cream, tan, gray, brown or black fibers. The yarns are spun in heavy counts containing a high percentage of coarse fiber and kemp, resulting in a chunky, rough appearance similar to cottage industry hand-spun yarns. This large yarn bundle can sprout and pill if the cleaning method is too aggressive. (Avoid rotary brush and bonnet methods). Also, if the adhesive was improperly applied during the manufacturing process, the yarns can fuzz from foot traffic alone. The fibers are naturally pigmented rather than dyed and are extremely susceptible to color bleeding under alkaline conditions. These natural fiber Berber rugs are not to be confused with synthetic fiber Berber-style carpet often made of olefin and/or nylon fibers.

Machine-Woven RugsWoven refers to a rug or carpet that is made by a weaving process and

consists of face yarns, backing yarns, and often adhesives (or back coat-ings). In woven rugs, the face and back are formed at the same time on a loom by interweaving warp, weft, and face or pile yarns. Woven carpets are

Face Yarns

Warp Yarns

Weft

Machine woven


generally made with wool face fibers, so avoid high alkaline cleaners. (See Chemistry of Cleaning, Chapter 10.)

• Face yarns — consist generally of wool, but can include nylon, olefin, blends of wool with nylon, cotton, etc.

• Backing yarns — fibers used in backing (foundation) yarns can be synthetic; however, the most common are cotton and jute. Warp yarns run the length and weft yarns run the width of the carpet.

Construction

Face-to-Face WeavingFace-to-Face weaving represents the most productive

method currently available for the manufacture of woven floor coverings. There are two methods of producing this type of carpet:

• On machinery with one shed and single-weft insertion.

• On machinery with two sheds, one above the other, and double-weft insertion.

The backing fabrics are woven one above the other under strong tension and connected by pile warps. Following the beat-up of the loom, the pile warps are cut by a reciprocating knife mechanism, which separates the two fabrics to create two carpets. The distance between the top and bottom cloths, which can be regulated, determines the pile height of the two carpets. This method is only for the production of cut-pile

Pile

Weft

Chain WarpStuffer Warp

4TC

BC

5

3

1

2

6

2

5

4

1

1 2 3 4 5 6

3

Face to face weave

Machine-woven rug diagram

Face-to-face Wilton


carpets. This method was developed in the 1940s and is considered a type of Wilton weaving.

The most widespread use of face-to-face weaving is in the production of “oriental design” rugs, usually in five-color jacquard designs. The weaves produced on double-shed machinery are denser than those produced on single-shuttle machines where a tuft is woven on every shot. Rugs that re-semble hand-knotted rugs with the design visible on the back are produced by double-shed weaving.

Woven Carpet Styles

Wilton

Wilton carpet is named for a town in England where it was first made in the first half of the 18th century. Wilton carpets are normally limited to five colors (or 5 frame, the rack which holds the spools of yarn) and may be cut or loop pile. The loop pile was originally known as Brussels carpet and was the first mechanical system for weaving carpets. Wilton carpets are woven over a wire that gives the loop effect, or woven over a wire with a blade on the end so when it is removed the pile is cut. The height of the wire determines the height of the pile. Multi-color (multi-frame) Wilton weaving involves high material costs because yarns that do not appear in the face of the design are still present in the carpet as dead pile, or buried pile. A Jacquard device is used on the Wilton loom to produce the woven-in ornate designs.

Machine-made woven carpets have an additional component to the

Warp Yarns:

WeftYarnsChain

Stuffer

Wilton weave


Jacquard Punched CardsYarn

Wires

Shuttle

Finished Carpet

Bobbins

Wilton Loom

Wilton

warp and weft of the foundation called the stuffer warp. The warp or chain-warp runs the length of the carpet while the stuffer warp does not interlace with the weft but spaces the chains, as required, to create a carpet of appropriate backing density. It is under tension so that it remains straight in the finished carpet, contributing to dimensional stability. The stuffer can be made of cotton, jute or Kraft cord.

In conventional Wilton wire looms, it is the wire inser-tion and withdrawal mechanism that limits the output. An alternative solution is to use wires mounted warp wise. The most successful warp-wire loom is the Kara-loc® loom. Its use has been confined to three companies and the machine is not available for sale. In its simpler form, the Kara-loc® loom produces plain loop pile carpet, but the machine can be creeled with an array of differ-ent colors of yarn and the needles can interact with alternative wires to give simple designs, similar to some crossover tufting designs. These carpets generally have a backcoating of latex to improve tuft-bind and stability of the finished carpet.

Another variation of Wilton weaving is the Velvet loom, which is the Wilton loom without the Jacquard pat-terning device. The velvet weave is usually used to produce extremely dense plush velvet piles. It is a relatively simple weave of a Wilton construction and is produced in solid colors.

Woven carpets can be made on looms 27 or 36 inches wide. Carpet wider than 72 inches is known as broadloom (4 – 5 meters, 13.2 – 18 feet). Woven carpet is expensive due to the slow pace at which the equipment operates. Older looms only produce twenty-five linear yards in an 8-hour shift.

Axminster Axminster carpets are always cut-pile and produced by one of two meth-

ods: spool or gripper. In both, the tufts are inserted during the weaving of the backing that consists of wefts (yarns running across the carpet) and warps (yarns running along the length). Wefts can be of jute or man-made fiber. The warps may be made of cotton, polypropylene or polyester-cotton blends. Each tuft is in the shape of a ‘U’ and is held in place by the weft.

Axminster woven carpets also have two components to the foundation.

Wilton


The chain warp runs the length of the carpet and interlaces with the weft. This is a thin yarn, usually cotton. The stuffer warp also runs the length of the carpet but does not inter-lace with the weft. It does space the chains, as required, to create a carpet of appropriate backing density, and is put under tension so it remains straight in the finished carpet, contributing to dimensional stability.

Axminster carpets are normally patterned and are always cut-pile. Carpet woven on the gripper loom is usually limited to designs of 8-12 colors, while the spool looms allow an unlimited number of colors. The gripper process is the more economical of the two. Pile yarns are fed from bobbins into carriers, which are moved up and down by a Jacquard system. At this point they are seized by “grippers”, cut to length, inserted through the warp and secured by heavy “shots” of double yarns. These heavy

Axminster Weave Structures

3-Shot Kardax

3-Shot Corinthian

2-Shot Kardax

2-Shot Corinthian

Warp Yarns:WeftYarns

Chain

Stuffer

Axminster weave

Gripper Axminster

Chapter 4 � Specialty Rugs 45

Cleaning ConsiderationsBecause of the natural plant fibers used in these rugs, cellulosic brown-

ing is a big concern. Keep your cleaning solutions in the neutral pH range and look for products that have the WoolSafe logo. Usually, spot cleaning will leave rings and/or will brown.

Drying the rugs upside down with an air mover blowing across the back of the rug is a trick of the trade. This allows any browning to wick to the rug’s back and will not show when the rug is returned to the customer’s home. Do not place the air mover under the rug as this will result in the browning of the face yarns. In hot weather, the rugs can be dried face-up in the sun. Be sure to spend extra time rinsing, as detergent residue left in the rug will add to the browning problem.

Flatweaves

DhurriesDhurries are a weft-faced plain weave rug made in India. The wefts

create the design of the rug. Older pieces were made on a cotton founda-tion with cotton face yarns. Since approximately 1980, the face yarns have been mostly wool with a few rugs made with cotton face yarns. These rugs were popular in the 1980s and 1990s and many will be brought to your

Wool Dhurrie

Wool Dhurrie, closeup

Old Cotton Dhurrie


cleaning plant. They are usually quite soiled and can be difficult but not impossible to clean.

Pre-Cleaning Inspection1. Soil and numerous stains.2. Sides can be rippled.3. Sides and ends can be frayed or worn to the heavy cotton founda-

tion cord.4. Ivory-colored Dhurries may yellow over time.

Cleaning Considerations1. The use of hot water in the cleaning process can exacerbate the

rippling on the sides.

2. Both sides of the rug must be cleaned.3. If extremely soiled, these rugs must be pre-treated with traffic

lane cleaner, such as MasterBlend’s Fine Fabric Spray, prior to cleaning.

KilimsThe term kilim is used to describe weft-faced plain weave rugs made

in countries other than India. For the most part, these rugs are made in Turkey, Iran, China, Romania, Afghanistan, Bessarabia (modern Moldova) and Bulgaria. The wefts can be interlocking or slit weave. A slit weave is made when two different colors meet and reverse direction on adjacent warps, creating a “slit”. Customers sometimes think this slit needs to be sewn, but it is the nature of the weave. Warp sharing is when two colors meet, then reverse direction and share a warp.

Pre-Cleaning Inspection1. Look for prior color bleeding.

2. Look for wear with exposed warps.

3. Check for colorfastness

Slit Weave

Turkish Kilim

Warp Sharing WeaveSlit Weave


Cleaning Considerations1. If not colorfast, use a low moisture cleaning method such as one

would use to clean Navajo rugs. See Chapter 12.

2. Dry flat in the sun or with air movers.

Cotton Chenille FlatweavesThese inexpensive rugs are made in India and are for the most part

colorfast despite their deep, rich color palette and generally do not have cleaning considerations.

Cotton Chenille Flatweave Cotton Chenille Flatweave, closeup

Older Wool Pile Chenille Rug Older Wool Pile Chenille Rug, back


Chinese AubussonDuring the 18th and 19th centuries, wool tapestry woven rugs were made

in Aubusson, France. Today, they are reproduced in China. Unlike Chinese needlepoint rugs, these rugs are usually “in square”, colors are fast, and do not have any inherent problems.

Cleaning Considerations1. Dry flat or on a pole without pins.

2. If drying in the sun, turn upside down so the dark blues will not turn purple-gray from the sun.

SoumakFlatwoven rugs that are made with a soumak stitch are referred to as

“soumak” rugs. These rugs are principally made in Afganistan, the Cauca-sus region, China, India, Iran, and Turkey. The pattern-forming face yarns pass over either two or four warps and return in the opposite direction under one or two warps. This method sometimes leaves loose threads on the back of the rug where the colors change. At times, there may be one or more wefts between each row of soumak.

Chinese Aubusson, back

Chinese Aubusson

Chinese Aubusson, front closeup


Plain soumak—each row of the pattern-forming yarns (wefts) loop in the same direction.

Counter soumak—the direction of the pattern-forming yarns loop in the opposite direction every other row, producing a herringbone effect.

Persian Afshar Soumak Persian Afshar Soumak, back

Afghan Soumak Afghan Soumak, back

Plain Soumak Counter Soumak

Chapter 6 � Persian Rugs 107

Chapter 6

Persian Rugs

Except for some tribal, Caucasian and collectable rugs made outside of Persia (present day Iran), Persian rugs made before 1950 are considered the benchmark by which all other oriental rugs are judged. With a few exceptions, they were well made and do not have any inherent cleaning problems.

As a general rule, rugs with depressed warps and curvilinear designs were usually made in Persian cities. Less densely knotted rugs with rec-tilinear designs were usually made in Persian villages. Since 1980, many Persian rugs have lost their individual characteristics and are more generic in design and construction.

TURKMENISTAN

TURK

EY

IRAQ IRAN

AFGHANISTAN

PAKISTAN

Maku

HerizTabriz

Meskin

Sauj-Bulak

Ardabil

Serab

ZenjanJoshaghan Rasht

Kazvin

Bijar

Senneh

Kermanshah

Hamadan SaroukArak

Qum

Kashan

Tehran

Natanz

Isfahan

Nain

Abadeh

Abadan

Bushire

Shiraz

Yazd

Ravar

Kerman

Bujnurd Quchon

MashadSarakhs

Merv

Herat

Turbat-iHaidari

NishapurSabsawar

Kashmar

Gonabad

Qain

Birjand

Firdaus

Tabas

Turkomans

Afshari

BALUCHISTAN

Baluchis

Lurs

Qashgai

Kurds

Bahktiari

Khamseh

Shahseva

n

Shahseva

n

Shahseva

nKUWAIT

SAUDI ARABIA

CaspianSea

The Caucasus

PersianGulf

Turbat-i-Shaikh JamTurbat-i-Shaikh JamTurbat-i-Shaikh Jam

Iran


In the study of oriental rugs, in terms of design and structure, “al-ways” and “never” are not words that are safe to use. Because of the inherent nature of hand-made textiles, there are too many exceptions that do not allow the use of “always” and “never.” The characteristics of rugs described in this book are those most commonly encountered in commercial cleaning plants.

Persian Village Rugs

HamadanThe city of Hamadan is an important rug trading center located

in northwest Iran. Though no rugs are actually woven in Hamadan, hundreds of villages in a 50-mile radius surrounding Hamadan pro-duce single-wefted, non-depressed, cotton foundation rugs. Distinctive weaving characteristics are associated with many of these villages and these characteristics identify the rug. Some examples of these specific types of Hamadan are Dergazine, Enjelas, and Mazlaghan. It is beyond the scope of this manual to cover each type of Hamadan and it is not necessary for the cleaner to be able to identify rugs from these specific villages.

For the past 100 years, Hamadan has exported more rugs to the United States than any other weaving region in Iran. For the consumer, Hamadan was an entry-level hand-knotted rug between World War I and World War II. At the time, a 4 x 6 foot (122 cm x 183 cm) Hamadan might sell for $35 while a Sarouk during the same period would sell for $100. Because of their availability and affordable price, the rug cleaner will see many of these rugs, both old and new, in their cleaning business.

Designs in Hamadan can be both curvilinear and rectilinear; however, most are rectilinear. One particular characteristic that distinguishes Hamadan is the single weft shot between each row of knots. Other Per-sian rugs that are single-wefted but are not from the Hamadan region are Senneh, Bakhtiari, Karaja, Lillihan, Bilverdi (single-wefted Heriz) and Malayer. However, these rugs have other identifying features, which separate them from Hamadan. If a rug is single-wefted, it is most likely a Persian village rug.

It is easy to distinguish a single-wefted rug by looking at the back. Every-other warp is exposed across the width of the rug. If a rug has two or more wefts, every-other warp is not exposed on the back.

Because of the lack of warp depression and single-wefted construc-tion, these rugs wear more quickly than other rugs of heavier more durable construction. Most pre-World War II Hamadans are worn, Senneh; single-wefted rug

Dergazine

Back, Dergazine

Chapter 11 � Pre-Cleaning Inspection 223

Classifying Area Rugs Before Cleaning The first principle of area rug cleaning is it should not be done on-

location in the customer’s home. Because rug cleaning can include the occasional surprise, it is best to do the work in a controlled environment. It is understood that sometimes circumstances dictate cleaning a rug “on-location,” but it should be the exception rather than the rule.

The first step in the pre-cleaning inspection is to determine the construc-tion of the rug. See Chapters 3, 4 and 5 for details on rug construction.

Machine-made rugs are usually woven on a Wilton or Axminster loom or are tufted. Woven rugs can usually be identified by looking at the back for visible white warp yarns running the length of the rug. On hand-knot-ted rugs, the weft yarns running the width of the rug are often visible from the back.

Machine-made rugs can range in value from very inexpensive or as costly as some oriental rugs. Tufted rugs manufactured by Edward Fields, Lacey Champion, the Scott Group and others can be expensive. A good habit for any rug cleaner to develop is reading labels on the backs of rugs.

Pre-Cleaning InspectionThe most important step in cleaning area rugs occurs before the actual

Chapter 11

Pre-Cleaning Inspection

Hand-knotted rug back Machine-woven rug back


cleaning process begins. Identifying and documenting pre-existing condi-tions ahead of time prevents misunderstandings between the cleaner and the customer. An example of an inspection form is found on page 240.

Many common problems, complaints and re-services can be eliminated if both salespeople and rug cleaning technicians take the time to pre-in-spect and pre-qualify the job with the customer. Pre-cleaning inspection is the time to set the customer at ease, answer any questions and give the customer a proper understanding of your capabilities as well as your limitations as professional cleaners. True professionals should not only display confidence in their abilities, but also be completely honest about their limitations. This will help manage the customer’s expectations. Don’t try to be a hero.

When a rug has a stain or other problems, it is the customer’s problem until the salesperson or cleaning technician promises to correct the prob-lem. At this point, the problem becomes the technician’s. If the technician is unsuccessful cleaning and repairing the rug, the customer may lose confidence. Once this confidence is lost, it is difficult to restore the level of customer confidence necessary to satisfy them and earn their repeat and referral business. Repeat and referral business is the lifeblood of any service company.

Pre-cleaning inspection and qualification time is also an excellent sales opportunity to offer additional services, such as repairs, deodorization, rug protector, rug pad and spotting kits.

If the rugs are picked up from a home or office, perform a basic inspec-tion before removing them. This will save a subsequent telephone call to the owner to explain the extent of the rug’s problems before they become your responsibility. If the rug is rolled and ready, it is critical that a complete inspection be performed and documented in the plant before the rug is cleaned. Some companies will call each customer to explain their findings but in a large volume plant this may not be practical.

When the rug is picked up, a work order should be initiated and include the inspection report, the size of the rug, and additional sales along with the customer’s name, telephone number and address. In addition, a waterproof tag should be attached to the rug. This tag can include the owner’s name, job number and any information that is helpful during the service process. Some cleaners mark repair and other additional services on this tag for easy reference. Tags equipped with rust-proof wire or attached to the rug with a plastic gun tagging system used in the clothing industry work best, as they will be least likely to come off during cleaning and handling.

When determining pre-existing damage, look at both the face and back of the rug. The back reveals the rug’s original colors, which helps determine

Chapter 11 � Pre-Cleaning Inspection 225

if the rug’s face is sun-faded or faded through chemical washing. Animal and other liquid stains are not always visible from the front. Moth damage can show from either the front or the back. It is also easier to see and feel previously repaired areas from the back.

Part of the pre-cleaning inspection should include a colorfastness test as outlined below.

It is the inherent nature of the cleaning business that problems occur. Even with proper training and technique, problems can still happen. The following list of cleaning considerations and pre-existing conditions, though not ex-haustive, should be used and understood by all employees of your company and documented on your paperwork

Abrash Abrash is a color change due to a different dye lot. The

color change will be across the width of the rug in a straight line following a row of knots.

Look carefully at the face of the rug, particularly if it is quite soiled, to determine if abrash is present. The customer may accuse you of “bleaching” such a rug if abrash is not noted prior to cleaning. Accidental bleaching never appears in a perfectly straight line as abrash does. Unfortunately, several cleaners have purchased customers’ rugs with abrash because they unwittingly believed they had damaged them. Abrash is a characteristic of hand-woven textiles and does not, in itself, increase or decrease the value. In fact, some manufacturers of both hand and machine-made rugs purposely weave abrash into their rugs.

Animal hairLook for animal hair on both sides of the rug. Do not

promise to remove all of it.

Animal stainsUrine, feces, and vomit. These stains are usually permanent

and can cause dye damage.

Abrash

Abrash

Animal hair

Dye bleed caused by animal stains

Chapter 16 � Additional Services 317

Chapter 16

Additional Services

Blocking RugsThe ability to block rugs is a skill that is necessary both as a service

to your customer and to correct some problems that happen after cleaning. The tools needed for blocking are a wooden tack-out floor, a knee kicker, hammer, string, carpenter’s square, water/sizing delivery system, rubber knee pads and tacks or staples.

There are basically two reasons that a rug needs to be blocked:

1. Rugs that are out of square, such as Chinese needlepoints lend themselves to blocking because they are thin and do not have a lot of dimensional stability. The thicker and stiffer the rug, the more difficult it is to get it back into square. Many hand-made rugs are not perfectly square. This “imperfection” is to be expected and does not detract from the rug if it is not visibly noticeable. We do not recommend spending time try-ing to correct these imperfections, but explain to the customer that this is part of the rug’s inherent condition. There are a few cleaning plants in the country that are able to correct these rugs but they have spent many years perfecting the technique and equipment.

2. Rugs that do not lie flat or have buckled in cleaning may need to be blocked. Again, we do not recommend spending a lot of time trying to do this unless they buckled during cleaning and you are responsible for getting the rug to lie flat before returning it to your customer.

When selling blocking to the customer, it is important to stress that the rug may need to be blocked each time it is cleaned and that in-be-tween cleaning, the rug may start to assume its original shape due to humidity in the air. It is also important that your customer understands that you may not be able to get the rug perfectly square. Some Chinese needlepoints can be as much as 1.75 feet (50 cm) out of square. To get a rug to within a few inches of square is acceptable work. There is only so much a technician can do before the rug rips.

Buckled bordered Wilton

Irregular shape

A B

C DMeasure the rug on the diagonal


Blocking is like cleaning, every plant has a system they like best. The following is a method that Bon Ton Rug Cleansers in Watertown, Massachusetts, has used for over 100 years.

Steps in Blocking a Rug, the Bon Ton WayRugs may be blocked either wet or dry. It is easier to block

the rug immediately after cleaning if you know that the rug needs to be blocked. It is easier to block a wet rug than a dry rug. You will not need to wet the rug as described in step eleven. Otherwise, you can block a dry rug and follow the procedures through step eleven.

Step One Turn the rug face side down on a clean wooden floor. This

can be sheets of plywood if you do not have an installed wooden floor; however, if the rug is larger than one sheet of plywood, you will need to secure the sheets. Measure the rug on the di-agonal to see how far out of square it is.

Step Two Use the side of the plywood or the line on the wooden floor

as your first straight edge. Place one of the longest sides along this straight edge. Tack one corner and stretch by hand the other corner and tack. It is important not to stretch this first side too much, but enough to create a little tension. Then proceed to tack the first longest side, spacing the tacks about one inch apart. Do not hammer the tacks all the way down.

Step Three Place a tack with a string

tied onto it right next to the first corner. Place the square on this same corner. Align the string with the square and extend the string beyond the width of this end and tack the string. Pull this end by hand and tack the corner in line with the string. Again, do not stretch it too much, but enough to create tension. You may need to use the knee kicker to tack this end along the string.

Blocking tools

Back

Starting the fi rst side along a line on the fl oor

Using a square and string

Align string with square

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A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rugs

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