An Heirloom Rug Worth Cleaning

It’s always an honour to be invited to clean a fine Persian or Oriental heirloom rug. These rugs are a piece of artwork in themselves, and a high quality hand-made rug may often be passed from generation to generation.

Every hand-made rug has a story, especially older ones. The finest imports are works of art from cultures that are fast disappearing, and the weaving of fine rugs is a dying art.

Take a look at this picture of the back of a Persian hand knotted rug we recently cleaned.

Persian rug being cleaned

Back of Persian Rug

Why look at the back of a rug?

The reason, from a specialist’s perspective, the back is more interesting than the front because the knots make the pattern more defined.

It also tells you that it’s a hand knotted rug.

If you look closely, you can see the number of small knots that tells you that it is a high quality rug.

As you know, we recommend carpets and rugs should be vacuumed regularly to prevent layers of dust penetrating into the base. There are exceptions however for very old fine quality rugs. Even vacuum upholstery attachments can damage antique and delicate rug fibres, causing them to become frizzy.

For antique rugs, it is best to brush the top surface with a soft horse-hair brush across the width of the rug. As these highest quality rugs are often hung on walls rather than floors, the action of a soft brush will dislodge surface dust before it penetrates into the deeper layers of the rug. Take the same care with the fringes of the rugs, although brush these with the direction of the fibres.

We believe fine rugs should be properly maintained with periodic professional rug cleaning to preserve their lasting value. If you have any questions about the best way to look after your specific rug, give us a call today for expert advice.

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