Oriental Rug Care

A few weeks ago, we offered tips for caring for area rugs.  While an area rug is defined as a rug that covers only part of a floor in a room, not all area rugs are created the same.  Many times companies will label an area rug as an Oriental rug, but to be a true Oriental rug, it must be hand-knotted in Asia.  Likewise to be a true Persian rug, it has to be hand-knotted in Iran.  Hand-knotting is both a skilled and time consuming process where individual knots are hand-tied to create the pattern and pile of the rug.  True Oriental and Persian rugs are valuable because of both durability and artistic factors.  In fact, in June 2013 at Sotheby’s auction house in New York a 17th century Persian rug, known as the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet, sold for $33,765,000.

The everyday care for these two types of rugs is the same as for any other area rug – use a good rug pad, rotate it annually, vacuum it regularly, leave your shoes at the door, and have it professionally cleaned every 12-18 months.  But we would like to add two additional pieces of information to this care list.

• While it is important to clean all spills quickly, it is also important to use caution when selecting the cleaning solution.  We recommend avoiding oxygenating carpet spotting products.  Many times these products contain bleach or hydrogen peroxide, so if the area isn’t rinsed thoroughly, the product will eventually pull the color from your rug.
• Cleaning an Oriental rug can be challenging.  They are typically made of goat or camel hair, wool, or silk and are complexly knotted, so they require delicate care.  While we always suggest choosing a rug specialist that is IICRC certified, it is especially important here as well has having the proper training to provide the best care for your Oriental or Persian rug.

If your Oriental rug is in need of cleaning or if you have a question about Oriental rug care or rug cleaning in general, contact any one of our locations.  We are here to help.