Additional Information for Caring Your Rugs.
 

Expert Care

Oriental rugs are meant to be used; they are designed to withstand foot-traffic and daily wear and tear.  Still, as handmade art-forms, rugs require a certain degree of maintenance.  With proper care, you can expect your Oriental rug to endure for generations. 

Cleaning

You know not to put your sweaters in the washing machine; you bring them to the dry-cleaner along with your silk shirts.  If you’ve ever ran a wool sweater through the wash you know how quickly it deteriorates.  Like your sweaters, Oriental rugs too are woven from wool.  Rugs are routinely washed in appliances that are not unlike washing machines.  At Noor Oriental Rugs, Inc. we believe your rug deserves better care than your underwear and socks.  An Oriental rug is a delicate masterpiece, carefully knotted by hand.  Its rich colors are meticulously achieved with vegetable dyes.  Machines and chemicals designed to cleanse and treat synthetic fibers and commercial carpeting remain unsuitable and downright harmful to hand-woven rugs—even if the consequences are not immediately apparent.  These methods frequently cause tearing, unraveling, discoloration, and bleeding among other problems.

Noor Oriental Rugs honors tradition, expertly tending to rugs the same way they were cared for thousands of years ago.  First rugs are dusted by traditional beating.  Without first beating a rug, dust would become mud during the wash, muting the colors and abrading the fibers—a critical step oft-neglected.  Next rugs are gently washed with organic, herbal shampoos after which they are thoroughly rinsed.  Lanolin, the natural oil of the wool, is replaced after the rug has dried.  Conditioning the wool with lanolin restores the luster and suppleness of the fiber and increases the longevity of the rug.  After washing rugs are mothproofed with an organic, herbal mothproofing solution.  Moths represent one of the most common sources of damage to rugs and preventing them from making a home in your rug remains one of the best forms of ensuring the lastingness of your rug.  In addition to mothproofing Noor applies an all natural stain inhibitor, which prevents potential stains from penetrating the wool fibers.  As part of maintenance rugs are also deodorized and disinfected with organic products, as well as softened in order to prevent dry rot.  It is highly recommended to have your rugs cared for in this manner on an annual basis.  The difference between the methods of most and that of Noor could not be greater; common machine wash wears and ruins your rug whilst the Noor seven-step program actually restores the vitality or your rug and increases its longevity. 

Repair

         More often than not, rugs are repaired with cheap, temporary, or cosmetic solutions that fail to genuinely and lastingly mend damage and stop decay at its roots.  You would not be satisfied if a car mechanic duct-taped your engine together, nor should you be content with repair that only masks the symptoms of damage to your rug.  There are many such shortcuts.  Frequently faded rugs are “touched-up” with markers, chemical dye, or synthetic wool, all of which fade quickly and appear as eyesores on a rug.  Holes, tears, and other structural bruises are often fixed with little more than glue.  Or, rather, than reweaving, a hole may simply be patched with a piece from a cut-up rug.  Ideally worn areas should be rewoven, but commonly their warp and weft is simply dyed to mask the wear, leaving the rug with an uneven texture.  Sometimes a rug is even cut down to size to avoid mending damaged areas.  All too often machines are used to wrap edges or to staple cosmetic fringes onto rugs.  Any such inferior shortcut devalues your rug. 

Noor Oriental Rugs stands apart in its assurance of museum-quality, authentic, and invisible repair of rugs.  Noor repairs a rug with wool and dye from the same village where the rug was made to ensure that repairs remain indistinguishable from the rest of the rug.  There are no technological or chemical shortcuts at Noor, only time-honored and time-tested methods.  Over the millennia, hundreds of techniques have been developed for rug restoration.  As no two Oriental rugs are exactly alike, Mohammad Nooraee will diagnose your rug to decide which technique is most appropriate and consult with you carefully to see which aspects of a rug you wish to repair and which you chose to preserve.  In stark contrast to routine quick-fix repairs that weaken and devalue a rug, genuine authentic repair injects new life into a rug and increases its value. 

Home Care

         There are a number of easy steps and precautions you can observe in your own home to help ensure the longevity of your rugs.  These measures are not an alternative to professional care, but can still make a lasting difference in the quality of your rugs.  Any attempt to wash a rug at home is highly discouraged and should be left to professionals.

To Vacuum or Not to Vacuum

         Vacuuming, though tempting, is not advisable.  Vacuum cleaners remove wool along with dust and wear away a rug’s fringe (which protects a rug from unraveling).  There are a handful of vacuum cleaners specifically designed for Oriental rugs that are safe to use.  Rug-safe vacuums may be purchased through Noor.  If you insist on vacuuming your rug, the best advice is to set your vacuum on a gentle mode and to vacuum very slowly.  Avoid heavy-duty or high pressure vacuum cleaners at all costs.  Vacuum your rugs from the center toward the edges (not in rows).  Never vacuum from the outside in, as this is a sure way to destroy the fringe.  Kilims and old, silk, or fragile rugs should not be vacuumed. 

Sweeping and Beating

         Sweeping your rug with a corn broom remains an effective way to remove dust, which, if left to accumulate, may cause several problems.  Sweeping is a great way to remove loose ends of pile, as rugs have a tendency to shed.  It is recommended to sweep in the same direction as the nap of the rug. 

         The best and most traditional way to remove dust is to beat your rug.  This helps to dislodge particles that have become deeply embedded in the pile.  Rugs may be beaten and shaken outside, over balconies, or against trees.  An annual spring-cleaning beating should be sufficient. 

Exposure to Sunlight

         As rugs left in sunny areas of your home will fade, and it is recommended to avoid placing rugs in direct sunlight.  Pay attention to how windows allocate sunshine throughout the day, and provide shade for your rugs as necessary.

            While prolonged exposure to the sun fades a rug, occasionally exposing your rugs to sunlight is a great way to kill moth larvae in your rugs.  A large majority of rugs are infested with moth larvae, even if you cannot see them.  The caterpillars can destroy a rug by feeding on the wool.  When the weather is nice, such as on a particularly hot summer day, it is a good idea to lay your rugs in the hot sun for a couple of days—so long as you can be sure there will be no rain.  The heat from the sun will effectively kill the moths, leaving your rug intact.

Under Pressure

        Placing padding under your rugs is very important, as padding absorbs most of the pressure exerted on a rug.  Additionally, padding ensures that your rug lies flat, as wrinkled rugs deteriorate quickly.  Pads help keep rugs in place, which is safer for you as well.  The underlay of rugs should be made of natural ingredients, should be non skid, and should have some body.  Thinner padding is better under runners and scatter rugs, as raising smaller rugs would make it more dangerous for walking. 

       You should avoid placing heavy furniture atop a rug as it will tax the wool with pressure, and may dent the rug.  It is a good idea to cup the legs of furniture that sits on your rugs.  Repositioning your furniture from time to time is recommended. 

            To ensure an even wear of rugs, Noor Oriental Rugs suggests rotating your rugs once a year. 

Humidity

       Excessive humidity or aridity proves detrimental to hand-woven rugs.  Dampness encourages fungi, mold, mildew, and rust that ruin the cotton foundation and also has a tendency to attract moths that destroy the wool.  Indoor plants can increase humidity, which may be controlled by strategically placing your plants.  On the other end of the spectrum, extreme aridity may cause a rug’s foundation to fracture and grow brittle. Temperature is not a factor in the well-being of rugs.