Care & Cleaning

Home treatments can effectively minimize fresh wine stains. The key is to act quickly and not make matters worse. If the spill is still wet, blot immediately with paper towels or cotton rags. Don’t add water and don’t scrub. Place a layer of absorbent material above and below if the spill has soaked through the rug. Wait an hour or two and check to see if any dye or color has transferred to the absorbent material. If you see dye transfer, stop and let the rug dry. If not, you can blot out more of the stain with a sponge dampened (not dripping) with water and a drop of liquid dish detergent. Get the area as dry as possible by pressing paper towels on the nap and then elevate the area so it can dry from both sides. If the stain is visible after the rug is dry, give us a call. Try not to worry or panic! Stains can be removed later by a professional cleaner even once they've dried. Don’t immediately flood a stain with large amounts of water. This can create other problems. Just wait to have the stains removed during the rug's next cleaning.

Home treatments can effectively minimize fresh urine stains on your rug. The key is to act quickly and not make matters worse. If the rug is still wet, blot immediately with paper towels or cotton rags. Don’t add water and don’t scrub. Place a layer of absorbent material above and below if the urine has soaked through the rug. Wait an hour or two and check to see if any color has transferred to the absorbent material. If you see color transfer, stop and let the rug dry. If not, you can blot out more of the stain with a sponge dampened (not dripping) with water and a drop of liquid dish detergent. Get the area as dry as possible by pressing paper towels on the nap and then elevate the area so it can dry from both sides. If the stain is visible after the rug is dry, give us a call. Try not to worry or panic! Stains can be removed later by a professional cleaner even once they've dried. Don’t immediately flood a stain with large amounts of water. This can create other problems. Just wait to have the stains removed during the rug's next cleaning.

Let the mud dry before attempting to clean. Vacuum over the area until the mud is gone.

Most stains can be removed, though results might vary depending on the type of stain and what’s been previously done. Some of the worst looking stains (ie. red wine, food dyes, coffee, urine) are quite simple for a professional cleaner to remove.

Most household cleaning agents (Fantastic, Oxyclean, laundry bleach, etc.) are too powerful for home use on natural fiber and will do more harm than good. Spot cleaning with a sponge dampened with a weak detergent solution (water and a drop of liquid dish detergent) can loosen soil. Stop if you see any dye bleed. Blot the rug as dry as possible by pressing paper towels on the nap. Elevate the area so it can dry from both sides. Detergent residue will be rinsed out during the next professional cleaning. A light mist of water suctioned out with a wet vacuum can be very effective. Work slowly and carefully being sure not to over scrub or damage the rugs nap surface.

Loose threads are normal in a hand-knotted rug. They can become loose over time with constant traffic or may have to not come out completely after their initial washing after weaving. Don’t pull the threads, but get a pair of scissors and clip as closely to the end as possible. If you have excessive loose threads, please contact us for an inspection.

When you first get your rug, you may likely have some shedding for the first several cleanings. Shedding should be very minimal on the surface, but you may see quite a few fibers/dust in your vacuum. Though they are cleaned thoroughly after weaving, there is no way to completely eliminate all fibers and dust. Our rugs are made with high-quality materials, so if excessive shedding is happening, contact us immediately.

With intense sun exposure, no rugs are invincible against fading over time. We do offer a stain and UV treatment to add an extra level of protection, but if you have the ability to, you should rotate your rug every so often. This helps to evenly spread any fading that might occur and also evenly distributes traffic patterns.

‘Art silk’ and ‘banana silk’ are marketing names for viscose, a man-made fiber produced from natural source cellulose. Viscose is less stain-resistant and harder to clean than wool fiber but can usually be cleaned with good results. Viscose rugs are not suited to high traffic or heavy soil locations. We recommend contacting our professional cleaner Robert Mann for major spills & stains on viscose rugs.

Yes, vacuuming is a good way to keep your rug looking good and to prevent the buildup of destructive soil that can work its way into the structure of the rug. However, it's important to be careful when vacuuming your rug. For regular vacuuming, move with the direction of the nap or pile (the direction the rug feels smoothest), not against it. Be sure to avoid vacuuming fringes with an upright vacuum. Turn off high-suction and the beater brush to avoid piling, especially on silk. For rugs in high-traffic areas, turn them over once a year and slowly vacuum the back with an upright. This will vibrate loose soil out of the nap. Don’t be surprised if you see a pile of dirt on the floor when you’re done!

You don’t have to have one, but we highly recommend them. Pads hold rugs in place, help reduce wear, and are more comfortable to walk on. We offer pads made entirely of recycled fibers that do not off-gas and have little or no odor. Our premier pad incorporates a ‘closed cell technology’ that prevents spills or pet urine from soaking through to the floor below.

It depends on how much use the rugs get. Rugs in entries, kitchens and eating areas may need cleaning every six months. In lower traffic areas, every three or four years is probably enough. Light colored rugs, or ones made from less soil resistant fibers such as art silk or ‘Bamboo’ silk, may require more frequent cleaning.

Yes. We recommend having it done by our professional cleaner, Robert Mann. To clean your shag or flokati rug, we will put it in a large tumbler to remove loose grit and soil before it is washed and rinsed. We will often tumble them again after cleaning to fluff up their long nap.