Taking care of your fine area rugs is an important step in preserving the value, quality and richness of your rug. At-home rug care goes a long way in protecting against wear and tear.Before calling for professional help, try utilizing some of these tips for ensuring your rug is in good shape year round — that way you only need to call in the cavalry when its really needed, and avoid unnecessary expense!
1. Vacuum your rugs at least once a week, and the back of the rug every other month. Use a good quality vacuum to prevent dust mites, moths and carpet beetles from making a presence
.2. When vacuuming do not go near the fringe and don’t use a beater bar.
3. Only use protective sprays in extremely high traffic or commercial applications to prevent your rug from soaking up spills into the fibers. In a great majority of the cases, these sprays are not necessary because the natural oils in the wool in fine rugs acts as a natural protectant.
4. In case of spills and other accidents, immediately tackle the mess instead of letting it sit and spoil the rug fibers.
5. When cleaning spillage, do not rub into the rug fiber rather simply blot. Once the spill is blotted up, spray water and blot again, repeating as often as necessary. Let air dry or use a hair dryer, but always with cold air and cold water.
6. Use a Rug Pad to protect against wear and tear from the bottom up. Different types of rug pads are used depending on the rug type.
7. Use delicate rugs like silk fine area rugs in less traffic rooms like living room, bedroom or as a wall hanging for a unique art piece.
8. When storing a rug it is best to roll it. Avoid folding your rug to prevent any creases that may form long term.
9. Avoid storing rugs directly on the floor or in the basement unless it is for a few days. Also, have a good housekeeping plan for storage areas to prevent insect infestation. Elevate the rug with a simple platform to avoid water damage, and DO NOT wrap the rug in air-tight plastic wrapping. The rug needs to breathe, so just loosely cover it with a cloth. Use moth balls or better yet, Cedar wood balls, to avoid moth damage for long term storage.
10. Protect rugs from strong sunlight. Rotate rugs at least every year to prevent uneven fading.
11. Take care with excess moisture when storing as it can lead to mildew, discoloration and warping.
12. Vacuum the rugs when placing them back in rooms after storage, and make sure they are dry.
13. Prevent your cats from scratching your rugs by providing them a tall scratching post that they can stretch and use at their leisure.
Saeed Aslam, 3rd generation in rug sales, has a Master of Business Administration and has been in the rug business for 33 years spanning over 3 continents and has travelled the world related to home furnishings décor and rug buying, He is the Manager of Alyshaan Fine Rugs in Scottsdale and Sedona, Arizona.
Alyshaan has the largest and finest selection of fine rugs in Arizona with 3200 rugs in stock and offers a lifetime guarantee on every rug they sell . Alyshaan is a strong supporter of the design community. You can view their website at www.alyshaan.com and call Saeed at 480-607-4955.
