Wool and Silk area rugs require special care. Like upholstery cleaning, proper chemistry in a controlled environment is absolutely necessary. Most area rugs we clean are 100% wool or silk. Wools of New Zealand, one of world’s largest manufacturers of wool products, specifies that wool area rugs should not be cleaned with a pH over 9, and a temperature over 175°. Improper cleaning can cause color loss and fiber damage.
You should never allow a carpet cleaning company to clean your wool area rugs in your home. A thoroughly exhaustive cleaning should be done by hand – not by a carpet cleaners truck mount sitting in your driveway. Wool and silk area rugs require specialty cleaning solutions, a thorough dusting on both sides of the rug, hand washing and drying in a controlled atmosphere to prevent stretching or shrinking.
Our company carefully follows all guidelines for proper Oriental and wool rug cleaning which include:
1. Inspection
The first step in area rug cleaning is inspection. While most rugs are 100% wool, many rugs are machine-made olefin or nylon rugs. We also clean silk rugs. All fiber types must be cleaned differently. Each fiber has its own characteristics and cleaning requirements. During inspection we also determine whether the rug is hand-made or machine-made. If the rug is hand-made we will look for unique variations of color in the rug that could become more obvious after cleaning.
2. Dry soil removal
Before we can wet clean any rug, we must remove as much soil as possible. Most area rugs have an extremely dense pile, which tend to trap large amounts of soil. We use a commercial dusting system to dust the rug multiple times until all particulate and soil has been completely removed.
3. Pre-Spotting
This step is necessary in treating food and urine stains that cannot be removed through normal cleaning procedures. During this step we also apply enzyme deodorizers to urine-soaked areas.
4. Pre-conditioning
We begin by pre-conditioning the fringes, which are usually made of cotton and tend to show the soil more. While the fringes are soaking, we pre-condition the rug itself, using a pre-conditioner to match the soil level and fiber type.
5. Agitation
Like carpet cleaning, agitation of the fibers is an important step in order to remove grease and other oil-based stains. For silk rugs, we are careful not to agitate against the nap, since this could leave visible marks. All area rug cleaning is performed by hand.
6. Rinse and extraction
We rinse both the fringes and rug several times to ensure that all residue, both soil and shampoo, have been removed. We carefully extract the rug to remove as much moisture as possible, again avoiding leaving marks.
7. Post-treatment
We often re-clean the fringe at this point, and also look for any remaining spots that may require additional cleaning. We finish the process by grooming the rug to set the nap in the right direction.
8. Protector treatment
If the rug is used in an area where food and beverage spills are possible, we recommend the application of a stain-resistant treatment. We use Teflon© for Wool.
9. Drying Process
We dry the rugs using powerful blowers in a controlled environment with the aid of dehumidifiers to speed the drying time. Once the area rug has dried, we final inspect, condition and groom the rug and place in a poly tube for delivery or customer pick up.
Q. Can you clean rugs in the home?
Generally we only clean synthetic area rugs such as nylon and olefin in the home. Natural-fiber rugs, such as wool, may bleed when wet, and could cause permanent staining if cleaned in an uncontrollable environment such as the customers home or office. In addition, fringes are nearly impossible to clean in a home since they must be soaked and then hung-dried. We prefer to clean the rugs at our own facility and return them to you within a few days.
Tru-Clean is a family owned environmentally responsible carpet cleaning company and all of our technicians are certified by the world’s most respected certification body for textile professionals. We clean Oriental, wool and silk rugs the “olde world” way to ensure a thoroughly cleaning while not causing stress to the rugs foundation. Our cleaning solutions are allergen free and certified environmentally friendly and are safe for small children, expecting mothers and our pets.
Tru-Clean are experts in Oriental, wool and silk rug cleaning and in fact, our services are relied upon by competitors and insurance companies when it absolutely – positively has to be clean. We offer pet urine and cigarette odor removal as well as fiber conditioning, moth, bedbug and dust mite elimination.
For more information on our Oriental, wool and silk area rug cleaning process please visit us online at www.trucleansurfacecare.com or call us any time at 239-541-4888 – Lee County, 239-206-1935 – Bonita Springs, Naples and Marco Island or 941-621-2198 – Punta Gorda.
Tru-Clean offers Oriental, wool and silk rug cleaning in the cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Lehigh Acres, Pine Island, Estero, Sanibel, Bonita Springs, Marco Island and Naples FL.