Archive for Oriental Rug Information and Tips

Getting Oriental Rugs Repaired

by Dan · Comments (0)
25 Feb

Oriental rugs, Persian rugs and other natural-fiber area rugs are popular for decorating floors and even walls around the world. By the way, the definition of an Oriental rug is: any area rug which is 100% natural fiber and 100% hand-made. Because of foot traffic and environmental circumstances, these rugs invariably become worn on surfaces, edges, and corners. Fringes, the foundation “warp” yarns that true Oriental rugs have hanging out of the two ends, become frayed and wear down to the nubs.

Can you repair them yourself? If you are good with needle and thread, it’s possible to do some minor repairs in some cases, such as repairing “over-casting,” the wrapping around the edge cords. You will need to find the right color of thread made out of the same materials, usually wool.

However, in most cases, a qualified Oriental and area rug cleaning facility is your best choice for having these rugs repaired. Minor to moderate repairs can include corner repair, edge over-casting, fringe stop-knot installation to prevent unraveling, and repair of small holes.

In more severe cases of damaged fibers or missing areas of material, a company who offers re-weaving may be necessary, and the repair could be quite time-consuming and costly. A common problem is pet damage, such as dogs taking a bite out of the edge. That particular problem is quite costly to have repaired, because there is nothing left, the entire section has to be totally re-knotted by the artisan, weaving in the correct pattern.

How can these rugs last longer without needing these costly repairs as frequently? Repair can be prevented by purchasing a custom-cut, cushioned pad made specifically for Oriental or other natural-fiber rugs. Your professional rug cleaning facility is your best bet for purchasing this product. Also, beware of clothes moths. They lay eggs and the hatched larvae eat holes in the back and front surfaces of the rugs.

To prevent moth infestation or minor moth “munching,” there are a few tips: first, don’t put your rug under your sofa, moths love shade and hate light. They will lay their eggs in the shade. If you have a coffee table on your rug, move the table and vacuum at least once a week. Also, don’t store your rugs in garage or storage facility if you can help it. Moths often get into the rug, whether or not it has been wrapped, and lay eggs, causing infestation. At my company, we have seen rugs opened up after a few months of storage, and to the owner’s horror the thing is filled with these maggots and the rug is pretty much destroyed. One more tip to prevent moth damage: have your rugs cleaned at least every two years by a qualified local company who truly specializes in cleaning natural fiber rugs. For Oriental rugs, the full water immersion method is far superior because it washes out imbedded insect eggs.

Finally, keep an eye on your rugs, rotate them annually and for rug repair, choose a repair specialist with great credentials when needed

 

Comments (0)
Categories : Oriental Rug Information and Tips

History of Oriental Rugs and The Traditional Hand-Washing Method

by Dan · Comments (2)
27 Aug

History of Oriental Rugs and The Traditional Hand-Washing Method

What is an Oriental Rug? An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet, that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile. Oriental-design rugs made by machine or any method other than hand knotting or hand weaving are not considered authentic oriental rugs. They are made of natural fibers, including wool, silk, cotton and camel hair.

Many Oriental rugs  are casually called “Persian Rugs.” A persian rug is hand-knotteds in Iran. The first documented evidence on the existence of Persian carpets came from Chinese texts dating back to the Sassanid period (224 – 641 AD).The oldest known rug is the 2500-year-old “Pazyryk Carpet,” dating back to 500 B.C.

The traditional hand-washing method goes back to biblical times. The rugs are first shaken out (dusted), then soaked in a shallow stream. Soap is used , then rinsed ourt as the rugs are dragged over shallow pools and smooth stones. This is done until they are clean, and the water runs out from the rugs totally clear. Then they are squeezed out and hung out to dry. nLast, they are groomed with camel-hair brushes to make them soft.

Click To Enlarge

At  Four Seasons Rug Spa, we simulate all of these steps in a thorough six-step system, right here at our facility in Ventura.

Please call us at (805) 642-4784 to arrange pick-up or to bring your rugs to us for cleaning and repair. Owner Dan Traub is a certified rug cleaner and an expert with twenty-five years experience. You can rest assured with Four Seasons Ventura Rug Spa, your rugs are in very good hands!

Comments (2)
Categories : Oriental Rug Information and Tips
Tags : , , , , , , , , , ,

Buying Oriental Rugs in Santa Barbara

by Dan · Comments (0)
24 Jul
Persian Hand-Knotted Rug

Persian Hand-Knotted Rug

Buying Oriental Rugs

Do you know a rug dealer who you can trust? We do- we work with Michael at Rugs and More in Santa Barbara, CA. Michael has a HUGE inventory of the world’s finest rugs and is a great person. He can identify and quickly appraise any rug, and he is totally honest. We buy our rug undercushion from Rugs and More, because they get the best product, and  they refer cleaning jobs over to us at Ventura’s Four Seasons Rug Spa. So if you are in the market for a great hand-knotted rug, we recommend Rugs and More. http://www.rugsandmore.com/ tel (805) 962-2166. For all of our carpet, rug tile and upholstery cleaning from Ventura to Santa Barbara, CA, see http://www.4carpetclean.com

Comments (0)
Categories : Oriental Rug Information and Tips
Tags : , , , , ,

Carpets and Rugs Add Softness and Style to Your Home

by Dan · Comments (0)
02 Jun

Despite the rise of hard-surface floorings such as hardwood, stone and tile, carpet is still a huge seller. The United States is the single largest purchaser of carpets in the world market, with approximately $500 million in annual sales.

Although hardwood and stone or other tile floors are beautiful, area rugs are a must to provide comfort and sound-absorption in those rooms. And, many people still prefer wall-to wall carpet in areas such as  bedrooms.

Keeping nylon, wool, or polyester carpet looking beautiful can be challenging, especially if your household includes pets, children, or both. Since I went into the carpet cleaning business  back in the 1980’s, I have done so many jobs which people have asked me the same question: how can I keep my carpet beautiful in-between annual professional carpet cleaning?

First of all, avoid using store-bought carpet spotters. They are full of detergent and tend to add to add tons of sticky chemicals to your carpet, when you use them.  However, some professional carpet cleaning companies do offer quality no-rinse carpet spotters for their clients to purchase, and some of those are good.

If you aren’t sure, I would recommend to you simply do this when you find a spot in your carpet:

Make every effort to immediately blot spills with a white cotton terry towel.  However, if the spot is already dry, first gently scrape the spot with a spoon, then vacuum it.

Mix one cup of warm water with a few drops of liquid dish detergent (not the automatic kind). Get a white, cotton terry towel and moisten a corner with the detergent mixture. Next, blot the stain with the towel, then use a dry towel to blot again. Repeat if necessary.

If the carpet or rug is wool, use Woolite instead of dish detergent. Do not use “Oxyclean” or bleach.

If it is a pet stain, you should mix the detergent mixture 50/50 with an enzyme-based  pet deodorizer from a pet store. I recommend “Nature’s Miracle.”

If you keep up on carpet spots and stains, you will have a beautiful carpet in-between annual professional carpet cleanings.

Comments (0)
Categories : Oriental Rug Information and Tips
Tags : , , , ,

Can Pet Stains Be Cleaned Out of a Valuable rug?

by Dan · Comments (1)
28 May

Since I started cleaning oriental rugs back in 1992, I have seen many that were badly contaminated by pet stains. This urine can stink like you would not believe!

And, there can be unsightly discolorations all over the rug, too, making it totally unusable unless these problems can be solved by a vigorous rug cleaning process. 

First , I will make three suggestions:

Do not try to take care of this yourself.  Using” Oxy Clean” or other carpet spotters can ruin your rug permanently and then the professional rug cleaner will not be able to restore your rug.

Secondly, select an oriental rug cleaning company who specializes in Persian rug cleaning, and who has “hand wash” type of cleaning method. This should be done in a “rug bath” using rug shampoo and cold water.  In some areas of the country this could be hard to find.  This is also called “full water immersion” cleaning. “Steam Cleaning,” otherwise known as “hot water extraction,” will not work to fully remove urine from a rug. (At Four Seasons Rug Spa in Ventura, we have a full rug bath system).

Thirdly, make sure the company uses odor counteractants in the shampoo process which are safe for wool.

If all this is done by a company who has expertise in  pet odor removal from wool rugs,  restoration is possible. However, more often than not, some of these rugs which have urine stains are bleached or discolored, often yellow, in those spots. In many cases, we can get the odor out with the system I have described above, but the discolorations are going to be permanent.

But the good news is, we can get the nasty smell out of your rug and you can use it in your home.

Dan Traub, owner of Ventura’s Four Seasons Rug Spa is an IICRC certified Oriental rug cleaner with eighteen years experience.

Comments (1)
Categories : Oriental Rug Information and Tips
Tags : , ,

Oriental Rug Cleaning In Ventura County

by Dan · Comments (1)
10 Mar

Many people call me and ask, “how much is it to clean a rug?” and then they tell me the size. Usually they have either an inexpensive machine-made rug which they purchased at a store, or even on the street, or a valuable hand-made rug. Or it can be a nice machine-made Karistan wool rug. Sometimes they really don’t know what they have, as in the case of “my Aunt died and left me this rug.” In those cases, there may be years of accumulated dirt in the rug, especially if it is “natural fiber” (wool, cotton, silk or “bast fiber” such as sea-grass or jute). It is my advice to you, the consumer, to find out what kind of rugs you have, if you haven’t already. Also, just so you know, area rugs should normally be cleaned about every 12 to 18 months, as should wall-to wall carpet. Folks, let me tell you, it’s worth it to pay a little more and make sure you are hiring a real rug cleaning expert who has both experience and credentials.

Video About Our Rug Washing System
One thing we often run into is pet stains and severe odors on area rugs, where a dog or cat may have had an accident. This can cause major odor problems in your home, causing you to roll up your rug and throw it in the garage. This is not recommended by the way, because there are likely to be rug moths in such a storage situation who will feast on your rug if it is made of wool!
Another thing people in our city find a hard time to find is someone who can repair holes, abrasions, worn “overcasting” (the edge of an oriental rug) and fringe damage. If left unrepaired, these wil only become much worse with wear and time.
At our facility, Four Seasons Rug Spa, which is at 5757  Olivas Park Dr #N, Ventura, 93003, we offer full-immersion rug cleaning, or other methods when your rug should not be washed with such a method. And, as an IICRC certified oriental rug cleaner, I will inspect your rugs before we clean them to determine the best way to safely achieve the result you, the customer, want from a rug cleaning company.
One thing we often run into is pet stains and severe odors on area rugs. We offer special services to deodorize these rugs, rinsing out all of the urine with deodorizing cleaners, and to remove these stains as well.
Another thing people in Ventura County always seem to have difficulty with is finding a rug cleaning company who can thoroughly clean the fringes of fringed rugs. As you will see on our video, which is on our website, we have special methods of detailing fringes which go way beyond what most carpet and rug cleaners in Ventura County can do. Please feel free to call me at any time if you have questions about area rug cleaning in Ventura County.
Dan Traub
Owner
Four Seasons Rug Spa
5757 Olivas Park Dr #N, Ventura, 93003
(805) 642-4784
www.4carpetclean.com
www.venturarugspa.com

 

Comments (1)
Categories : Oriental Rug Information and Tips
Tags : , , ,

Best Oriental Rug Cleaning in Ventura, CA

by Dan · Comments (1)
22 Dec

Our rug cleaning process goes far beyond what other companies do. In fact, even before cleaning, we use our exclusive Rugbadger machine to gently vibrate ALL the dry soils from the backing of your rug. This gets out soils your vacuum can never remove. Remember how Grandma used to spend hours beating rugs on the fence? This mimics that process and does it faster and better. Also, we have full-immersion cold water cleaning!  We pick up area rugs for cleaning  and repair in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Malibu and Thousand Oaks! We invite you to call us now at 805-642-4784 for a free estimate.
Sincerely Yours,
Dan Traub
Owner

Comments (1)
Categories : Oriental Rug Information and Tips
Tags :

How to Get The Cleanest Rugs in Ventura County

Water immersion cleaning is the most thorough method, although it cannot be used on all rugs. But for most hand-woven rugs, this is the method we use because it really cleans the rug all the way through. Please click on the videos here to see our six-step cleaning method!

Winter Months Special

You Can Have The Most Beautiful Rugs again at a special rate, 10% off on our UNIQUE in-plant rug cleaning, and after 100 sq feet the discount goes up to 20%! Not to be combined with other offers. HURRY! Expires 3-15-12 CALL TODAY AT 805-642-4784.