Oriental rugs are not only a work of art but also an investment, and with proper care can last for generations.  As Oriental rugs are generally made of wool or silk, they are more durable, resilent and stay cleaner longer than rugs made with other fibers.  Below are a few suggestions that will help keep your rugs and upholstery looking great.    

(1). Beating: Beating is a traditional and the best method for cleaning a rug.  It is best to hang rug outside if possible and beat with a paddle or beater.  This dislodges any fine grit embedded in the rug. 

(2). Rotation: A rug should be rotated once or twice a year depending on how much traffic the area rug receives.  Sunlight to area rugs quickly will fade colors.

(3). Padding: It is recommended to use a pad under rugs to keep it from wearing faster. 

(4). Vacuuming: Oriental rugs should be vacuumed regulary to remove dirt and grime so it's fibers are not worn by girt.  Using a brush on a vacuum can wear its fibers if used often. Best to use the nozzle of the vacuum. Never vacuum against the nap, as this presses dirt back into the rug.  Vacuuming the back of the rug and the pad occasionally, to remove dirt, is vital to the foundation of the rug. 

(5). Cleaning: Cleaning by a professional cleaner is recommended every one or two years, depending on the amount of traffic.  This will bring out the vibrancy and richness of color as well as softness of the wool or silk.  The HOST Dry Carpet Cleaning System, which we use, is ideal for Oriental and other wool/silk rugs. It is WoolSafe approved and environmentally safe. 

***In our experience cheap wool rugs sold by Pottery Barn, for example, may not be cleaned, though the label on the rug does recommended dry professional cleaning.  Inferior manufacturing when weaving of yarn causes yarn to tuft if it is cleaned. Spot cleaning, is the best way to clean these inferior designed rugs. Using a white distilled vinegar solution with a soft dry white rag to lightly dab spot works well.  

Furniture should be vacuumed regularly, as dust dulls and cuts fibers in time causing wear.  Cleaning furniture can be done wet or dry --depending on what kind of fabric or the fabric's colorfastness. 

***When wearing jeans and sitting on upholstery, especially micro-fiber, can wear fabric quickly.

We use a non-toxic, color fast cleaning solution if a wet process is needed.

The dry method uses the host sponges that is applied by hand and vacuumed out. This process can take alittle more time.  It works great on plush fabrics leaving fabric dust free, soft and clean.   

Mattresses can be santitized, rotated and vaccuumed. Allergies???  

         Maintenance of Carpet                          

The reason a carpet shows signs of premature wear is because of improper maintenance.  If major traffic lanes were vacuumed more frequently and spots and spills were cleaned properly, carpeting would look better and last longer.  Traffic lanes and patterns are usually caused by the following factors: traffic lane graying, soiling, matting and wear.

Traffic Lane Graying: Carpets are known to eventually show signs of wear.  This wear creates an illusion of soiling, which often causes frustration and misunderstanding between homeowners and carpet care experts.  Even though a carpet has been cleaned, it doesn't mean that it will look the same all over.  Wear often causes what is known as traffic lane graying, a condition that has been nicknamed, "ugly out".  There is not a lot that a carpet care expert can do with "ugly out." if a 10-year old carpet is cleaned, you still have a clean 10 year old carpet. (Just as a clean pair of old jeans will show wear and discoloration around the knees, a clean old carpet will show signs of wear in the traffic lanes.)  

Soiling:  The main cause of traffic lane soiling is tracking in soil and dust; airborne pollutants; SOAP RESIDUE FROM IMPROPER CLEANING, food and beverages spilled on carpet. Soil damages a carpet as well as making it look dirty.  The main problem caused by soil is called fiber abrasion.  Fiber abrasion is created by dirt particles scratching and scraping the fiber surface.  Scratches and scrapes block light reflection causing these areas to look enen dirtier and fray.  The easiest way to prevent soil from damaging the fiber is to vacuum regularly. 

If soiling becomes excessive, the dirt will be ground down into and below the carpet backing.  This creates another problem of dirt wicking up fibers after it has been cleaned, wet or dry.  Often, as in case of wool carpets, the carpet being so dense with wool hair, the dirt cannot be vacuumed up from under the carpet or stains become permanent due to the natural wool having no stain resistant added to it.  Wet extraction may be the answer to this problem, but waste water left behind causes foul odors, form mud that may still wick up after a week, and water stains.  Answer to all these problems is vacuuming often and clean up spills quickly. 

Matting:  There comes a point when carpet fibers no longer return to their original shape.  As fibers lose their shape, they begin to look frayed or distorted causing the carpet to look dirtier or have a texture change.  Again, vacuuming is the answer to keeping carpet from matting.  Rearranging furniture around helps to keep carpet appearance looking the same. 

Wear:  Wear is a combination of several things.  Soil, heavy traffic, loss of fibers, improper vacuuming, ***improper cleaning and time... all contribute to a worn out carpet.  

Putting area rugs over carpeting: This is a great way to keep traffic areas from getting dirty but if the area rugs is dirty it spreads that dirt to carpet area.  Another problem with putting area rugs down, is if the backing of the area rug is rough or rubber like it will change the texture or discolor your carpet.  Best to check out the backing of the area rug before using it on carpet.  ***Sometimes the dyes from a area rug, if it gets wet, will discolor carpet below and we know it doesn not come out with professional cleaning.     

Best Maintenance you can do to save your carpets: The best way to prevent excessive wear is to properly maintain your carpet by vacuuming every day, if possible.  Vacuuming removes loose soil before it becomes embedded in the fiber or underneath carpet. Removal of abrasive soils from the carpet helps extend it's life. 

A little bit of history  Since 1958, H.D. Rench who was the founder of Racine Industries has been manufacturing the innovative HOST Dry System; now this system is in 60 differnet countries around the world.   

Did you know our great great grandparents used similiar types of absorbant types of cleaning with natural products, such as, corn meal or corncobs to clean/absorb dirt from household items? For example, prairie women cleaned their hair without using soap or water daily . These women only having harsh lye to use as soap, were resourseful by brushing natural corn meal through their hair  to clean it, safely leaving their hair shining, soft, oil free, and clean.  Corn meal has also been known to be used for cleaning tools--absorbing girt/oil off precious tools that would rust from water cleaning or absorbing oil from garage floors .

Some American Indians used to clean their beautiful woven rugs/blankets by putting frozen snow on the woven fabric, or animal skins and quickly shaking the snow back off the rug.  This is a similiar concept to how the host particles work.  The tiny snow particles would absorb dirt from the surface and then the frozen snow was shook immediately off the rug before it became wet.  To much water would cause colors to run and ruin the appearance of these beautiful naturally dyed rugs or blankets.