Guide to Rug Cleaning 2014 - masterblend.net · A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug...
Transcript of Guide to Rug Cleaning 2014 - masterblend.net · A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug...
A Comprehensive Guide to
Oriental & SpecialtyRug Cleaning
Ellen AmirkhanAaron Groseclose
Third Edition
Master Rug Cleaner, LLC g Dallas
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning ii
About the AuthorsAaron Groseclose is a graduate of Woodbury University with a B.S. in
International Business and Golden Gate University, Los Angeles, with an M.B.A. He is a past owner of California Carpet Care, Woodland Hills, Cali-fornia. He is President of MasterBlend, a Colorado-based manufacturer of rug and carpet cleaning chemicals and equipment. Aaron is a Senior Carpet Inspector, Master Textile Cleaner, and Certified Rug Specialist (CRS) from the Association of Rug Care Specialists (ARCS), and develops and instructs carpet, upholstery, and oriental rug cleaning seminars in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is also a regular columnist for Installation and Cleaning Specialist magazine and co-developer of the Master Rug Cleaner Program. He has five adult children and resides with his wife in Southern California.
Ellen Amirkhan is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Science degree and Southern Methodist University with a Master of Liberal Arts degree. She is President of Oriental Rug Cleaning Co., Inc., in Dallas, Texas, a business started by her grandfather in 1911 that specializes in cleaning, repairing, appraising, and selling oriental rugs. A past president of the Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Resto-ration (ASCR)—now the Restoration Industry Association (RIA)—Ellen develops and teaches oriental rug schools for the International Society of Appraisers (ISA), and other recognized groups across the United States England, and Australia, and is a co-developer of the Master Rug Cleaner Program. Ellen is a founding member of the Association of Rug Care Specialists (ARCS). In addition to appraising, she consults and serves as
an expert witness for the legal profes-sion. Ellen holds the designations of Certified Rug Specialist (CRS) from the Association of Rug Care Special-ists (ARCS), Certified Appraiser of Personal Property with a specialty in oriental rugs from the International Society of Appraisers (ISA), and Certified Rug Appraiser from the Oriental Rug Retailers of America (ORRA).
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning iii
PrefaceThough many books have been written on oriental rugs, the emphasis is
usually on history, structure, culture, and identification with cleaning and its associated topics as an afterthought. Many of these authors are experts in the aforementioned subject matter but have limited firsthand experience with the challenges of day-to day commercial rug cleaning and repair. We do not consider ourselves the final authority in this field; however, we want to share what we have learned over the past 30 years in such depth and detail as has never before been done. There are cleaning/repair experts in the industry who have differing methods, opinions, experiences and philosophies, but as we have said many times to our students, rug cleaning is both art and science. Our goal is for this book to be a reliable source of information for the professional oriental and specialty rug cleaner.
AcknowledgementsThis book would not have been possible without the encouragement,
expertise and friendship of the following people:
Inez and Mirza Amirkhan, Drs. Nelson and Robin Amirkhan, Valentina Arbab, Tom and Leslie Atiyeh, Paul Bakker (WoolSafe), Michael Bradford, David Brasure (Brasure’s Carpet Care), Dr. Bill Brown, Dr. Eric Brown (Cleaning Research International), Joan Cabellero, Wes Connelly (Wools of New Zealand), Armen “Buzz” and Louise Dohanian (Bon Ton Rug Cleansers), David and Soloman Bassalely (Eliko Antique Oriental Rugs), Barbara Groseclose, Paul Iskyan (Rug Renovating), Jeff Jones (Sani-Sheen Systems), Brant Laird, Dr. Doug Lay, John Lumpp (Windgate Design), Robert Mann (Robert Mann Oriental Rugs), Brian Marantette (Atiyeh Bros.), Morning Star Galleries, Lucy Neiman, Susan Nelson (editor), the staff of Oriental Rug Cleaning Co., Holman Padgett (Advance Cleaning and Restoration), Linda Colby, Price-Dewey-Galleries, Sotheby’s, Dr. Steven Spivak, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, David Zahirpour, Cliff Zlotnik (Unsmoke), International Society of Appraisers.
All photographs are by the authors except those used with permission from other sources. Maps, illustrations and cover design are by John Lumpp, Windgate Design. Technical review by Dr. Steven Spivak, Dr. Eric Brown, Valentina Arbab ISA CAPP, ASA, and Cliff Zlotnik CR, CMH, WLI.
We especially want to thank our editor, Susan Nelson, and our guru of layout and design, Linda Colby (Real Images), for their patience and their tireless efforts in seeing us to the finish line.
Table of Contents v
Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 g History of Oriental Rugs 3Rugs Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 2 g Fibers and Dyes 7Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Other Hair Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Silk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Cotton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Bast Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Leaf Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Fruit Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Regenerated Fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Synthetic Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Fiber Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Dyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Color and Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Natural Dye vs. Synthetic Dye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Rug Dyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Dyeing Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chapter 3 g Construction: Machine-Made Rugs 33Tufted Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Machine-Woven Rugs and Carpet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
History of Machine-Woven Rugs and Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Types of Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Notable U.S. Manufacturers of 20th Century Woven Wool Area Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Chapter 4 g Specialty Rugs 55Animal Skins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Pre-cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Braided Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Carousel® Carpet Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning vi s
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Flatweaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Dhurries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Kilims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Cotton Chenille Flatweaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Chinese Aubusson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Soumak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Flokati Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
German or European Hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Hand-Hooked Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Hand-Tufted Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Edward Fields, V’Soske, Scott Group, Hokanson, Stark Carpet, Tai-Ping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Karastan® Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Kashmir Chainstitch Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
La Montage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Navajo Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Weaving Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Contemporary Regional Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Needlepoint Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Portugal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Table of Contents vii
Rag Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Sisal/Coir/Sea Grass And Other Plant Based Fiber Rugs . . . . . . . 91
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Spanish Wilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Cleaning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Chapter 5 g Hand-Knotted Rugs: Classification, Construction and Design 95Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Looms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Warps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Wefts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Cartoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Knots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Rug Pile Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Knot Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Knot Count/Quality Grading Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
End Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Side Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Finishing Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Chemical Washing Of Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Oriental Rug Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Medallion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Repeating Motifs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
All-Over Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Open Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Pictorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Directional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Saph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Wagireh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Individual Design Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Border Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning viii s
Chapter 6 g Persian Rugs 123Persian Curvilinear Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Ahar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Bijar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Hamadan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Isfahan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Kashan Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Kerman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Lillihan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Mahal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Malayer, Southeastern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Meshed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Nain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Qum/Ghoum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Sarouk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Senneh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Tabriz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Veramin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Persian Rectilinear Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Ardabil/Meshkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Bijar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Hamadan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Heriz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Joshaghan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Karaja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Malayer, Northwestern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Senneh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Serab Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Tabriz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Chapter 7 g Tribal Rugs 169Bakhtiari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Baluchi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Turkoman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Shiraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Afshar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Gabbeh Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Chapter 8 g Other Countries Producing Hand-Knotted Rugs 179Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Table of Contents ix
Caucasian Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Peking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Tientsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Modern Wool Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Modern Silk Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Egyptian Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Savonnerie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Aubusson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Moroccan Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Moroccan and Tunisian Flatweaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Mori Weave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Pakistan Persian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Peshawar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Pakistan Kazak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Tibetan Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
City Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Village Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Why Rug Identification Is Important to the Rug Cleaner . . . . . . . 229
Why Cleaners May be Afraid of Rug Identification . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Chapter 9 g Road Map to Rug Identification 229Road Map to Rug Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Differences Between Hand-Knotted and Machine-Made Oriental Design Rugs: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Components of Identification for Hand-Knotted Rugs . . . . . . . . . 232
Technical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Chapter 10 g Chemistry of Rug Cleaning 235Rug Soil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
The Makeup of Rug Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Cleaning Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Cleaning Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Solvency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning x s
Surface Tension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Detergents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Emulsification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
pH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Cleaning Guidelines by WoolSafe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Chemical Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Hazard Communication Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Information contained in a Material Safety Data Sheet . . . . . 247
Chapter 11 g Pre-Cleaning Inspection 249Classifying Area Rugs Before Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Pre-Cleaning Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Abrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Animal hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Animal stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Bleach stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Blood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Bordered rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Buckles, puckers, out of square . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Burns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Cat scratches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Chemical wash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Color bleeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Creases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Crocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Crush marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Curled sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Detached side selvage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Detergent residue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Discolored, oxidized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Dry rot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Dye stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Faded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Felting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Fiber content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Filtration lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Fold wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Fringe worn/rotten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Furniture stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Table of Contents xi
Gum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Irregular shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Lazy lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Mildew/Mold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Moth and insect damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Over-dyed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Painted foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Photobleaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Pot plant damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Previous repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Pulled tufts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Rug reduced in size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Rust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Shading, pooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Shrinkage/potential shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Smoke/fire damage/nicotine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Sprouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Stencil marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Tea wash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Test for colorfastness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Texture distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Traffic lane soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Urine stain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Water damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Water stains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Weak places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Wear: ends, sides, interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Wet rot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
White knots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Yellowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Chapter 12 g Rug Cleaning 267Introduction to Rug Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Pre-Cleaning Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning xii s
Determine the fiber content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Identify the rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Inspect rug for pre-existing conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Check for colorfastness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Determine the cleaning method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Dry Soil Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Vacuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Portable Rug Duster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Dusting Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Compressed Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Pre-treatments of the rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Fringe Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Rug Cleaning Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Absorbent Compound Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Absorbent Pad Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Dry Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Mist and Brush Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Rotary Shampoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Hot Water Extraction Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
In-plant Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Combination Cleaning Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Rinsing the rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Grooming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
The Dry Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Dry Room Techniques — Air Engineering for Rug Cleaners . 285
Fundamental Factors of Rug Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Five Steps to Increase Rug Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Good Air Contact with Rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Drip Dry Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
How to Set Up a Mini-Plant Dry Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Quality control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Fringe Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Roll, Tie and Place in Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Sample Cleaning Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Cleaning Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Chapter 13 g Plant Operations And Procedures 303General Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Example Of Operations Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Table of Contents xiii
Pick-up and Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Cash and Carry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Plant Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Consumer Care Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Chapter 14 g Rug Spotting 309Principles of Spot Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
When to Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
General Chemical Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Types of Spots and Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Actions Used in Spot Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
General Spotting Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Testing for Colorfastness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Unknown Spot Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Heat Transfer Dye Stain Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Specific Spotting Procedures and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Solvent Soluble Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Synthetic Resins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Urine Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Chewing Gum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Tannin Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Protein Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Dye Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Rust Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Mildew Stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Bleaches and Reducing Agents/Strippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Bleaches and Strippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Oxidizing Bleaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Reducing Bleaches and Strippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Spotting Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Mystery Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Chapter 15 g Problems and Solutions 329Cellulosic Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Crocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning xiv s
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Dry Rot/Mildew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Dye Bleed Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Fringe Cleaning/Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Insect Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Pile Stiffness After Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Powdered Carpet Deodorizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Problem – Impacted Powder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Rug Discoloration/Color Changes/Yellowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Problem – Discoloration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Problem – Fume/Light Fading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Problem – Yellowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Shading/Pooling/Pile Reversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Shrinkage of Custom Bordered Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Texture Distortion from Cleaning Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Chapter 16 g Additional Services 343Blocking Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Steps in Blocking a Rug, the Bon Ton Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Table of Contents xv
Deodorizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Real Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Psychological Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Influencing Factors of Real Odor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Products Used in Deodorizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Animal Odors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Other Odors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Disaster Restoration and Damage Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Handling a Fire or Water Damaged Rug Prior to Cleaning . . 353
The Cleaning and Restoration of Oriental Rugs Exposed to Smoke Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
The Cleaning and Restoration of Oriental Rugs Exposed to Sew-age Intrusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Mold Remediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Tracking Rugs in a Restoration Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Clean It Yourself Or Sub It Out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Fabric Protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Silicones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Fluorochemicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Insect Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Rug Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Rug Pad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Rug Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Materials and Tools You Will Need: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Wrapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Chapter 17 g Oriental And Specialty Rug Appraisals 371Determining The Value Of An Oriental Rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Determining Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Factors Affecting Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Determining Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
How much is it worth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Investigating and Documenting an Area Rug Claim . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Initial Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Questions for the Insured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Chapter 18 g Resources 381Absorbent Compound Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Chemicals/Supplies and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Dye Bleed Correction Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning xvi s
Marketing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Non-Immersion Dry Cleaning Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Oriental Rug Book Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Oriental Rug Repair Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Periodicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Retailers of Oriental Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Rug Cleaning Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Rug Padding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Rug Storage Tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Rug Washing/Dry Room Systems/Centrifuge/Rug Dusting Equip-ment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Rug Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Specialty Matting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Spotter and Grooming Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Supplies/Equipment/Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Trade Associations and Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Wholesaler of Oriental Rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Wrapping Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Glossary 393
Recommended Reading 417
Chapter 1 g History of Oriental Rugs 3
The origins of rug weaving are literally “lost in antiquity” and cause for much speculation. Because the materials used in weaving are not as durable as materials used in other art forms, such as buildings or paint-ings, and the function of rugs subjects them to harsher wear, the number of extremely old pieces that have survived is very limited.
The oldest, nearly complete hand-knotted rug dates from the 4th or 5th century B.C. and is known as the Pazyryk rug. This rug was discovered in 1949 by Soviet archaeologists inside the burial tomb of a nomadic tribal chief near Pazyryk in southern Siberia. The rug was protected from disin-tegration in the permafrost. The rug’s design and construction is relatively sophisticated indicating that rug weaving had been developing for hundreds or even thousands of years. This rug measures 6 feet x 6 feet 6 inches (180 cm x 195 cm) with a wool pile/foundation and has 225 symmetrical knots per square inch. The Pazyryk rug is currently housed at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains Morocco
Algeria Libya
Egypt
Turkey
Black Sea
Romania
India
France
Spain
Port
ugal
Iraq Iran
(Persia)
Syria
Russia Kazakstan
Tunisia
Greece
Bulgaria
Armenia
Georgia
Azerbaijan Turkmenistan
UzbekistanKyrgystan
Tajikistan
Tunisia
Greece
Bulgaria
Armenia
Georgia
Azerbaijan Turkmenistan
UzbekistanKirghizstan
Tajikistan
Afghanistan
PakistanNepal
China
Tibet
Arabian Sea
Caspian Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Rug BeltThe Rug Belt
Pazyryk rug, detail
Chapter 1
History of Oriental Rugs
Chapter 2 g Fibers and Dyes 7
Chapter 2
Fibers and Dyes
FibersRugs can be made from most any fiber; however, the primary face yarn
is wool with cotton being the common foundation fiber. Because some specialty rugs are made from synthetic fibers, we will look at both natural and man-made fibers and will be addressing cleaning considerations of both types throughout this book.
Natural rug fibers come from animal hair, such as wool; plants such as flax and the cocoon of the silk worm. Synthetic rug fibers are derived from chemical solutions that are formed into fiber.
Wool
General InformationThe type of wool selected is critical in a rug or carpet. The
quality of wool determines the rug’s appearance as well as its resiliency and ability of the pile to withstand abrasion through-out its life. The subtle beauty of the wool’s luster and how it absorbs and displays dye colors depends solely on the qualities of the wool used. The importance of the quality of the wool used in making a rug could be compared to the importance of the quality of wood used in making furniture.
Traditionally, carpet wool comes from mountain sheep with coarse, heavily medullated (medulla is a hollow, core-like structure within the fibers) wools such as those found in India, China, Spain and Wales. Today, New Zealand wool is generally considered the best for general carpet manufacturing. Special genetic characteristics of different sheep have been developed through breeding specifically to meet the demands of the textile industry.
Wool and silk are both protein fibers. Wool is comprised of 19 amino acids, forming the protein keratin, and grows from follicles in the sheep’s skin, like hair which grows from human skin. Sheep are a 24-hour a day fiber factory, each fiber growing 0.008 inches per day. A merino sheep has
Chapter 2 g Fibers and Dyes 9
fibers range in length from 50–75 mm (2–3 inches) up to 150 mm (6 inches). Grading of fibers also takes into account the strength which must be con-sidered in relation to fiber length. Wool fibers used in the woolen spinning system for carpets should be no longer than 170 mm (7 inches) with the mean length after carding being at least 60 mm (2.4 inches).
One of the positive characteristics of wool fiber is its resilience or re-covery from deformation. This permits each fiber to return instantly to its natural position. Wool can be stretched up to 30% of its original length without breaking. The fiber strength is evident as it can be flexed 20,000 times without breaking. Silk breaks after 1,800 bends, rayon after only 75.
Bulk
Fiber crimp is the major factor affecting yarn bulk — crimpy wools produce more bulky yarns and is a result of sheep breeding. High and low bulk fibers can be blended to give the desired bulk of the yarn.
Wool grows permanently crimped and this natural crimp gives the fiber bulk and allows it to absorb noise. The air trapped between the fibers pro-vides natural insulation and gives good resiliency. Wool also has a moderate resistance to abrasion and wears well in high traffic areas. Synthetic fiber manufacturers have attempted to simulate these natural characteristics through mechanical processing with satisfactory results.
Fiber Structure
Looking at a cross-section, each wool fiber consists of a three-part outer layer and an absorbent core. The outer layer has a thin protective membrane called the epicuticle which gives wool its ability to shed liquids
Fiber cross-section
Chapter 2 g Fibers and Dyes 29
light as they do not mellow and age like natural dyes. The dye system used is determined by the color desired, its intensity and the fiber’s ability to accept dye. The class of the dye (molecular structure) and the dye methods has more to do with colorfastness than anything.
Frequently, the colors in a hand-made rug may vary in tone or hue within one color area. These horizontal variations in shade of the same color are called abrash and may be an unintentional result of dyeing yarn in small batches. It gives many subtle differences in color intensity that add to the rug’s appeal.
Rug DyesA wide variety of dyes are used in the manufacturing of rugs today.
For the most part, wool rugs made after World War II have been dyed with synthetic acid dyes. In 1980, the Turkish government was the first to reintroduce natural dyes to the rug weaving industry with the DOBAG project. Other countries have followed suit with output still being relatively small.Textile dyeing is a very precise science, and the textile chemist and colorist must match the physical properties of the fiber to the appropriate dye. The end result must be a colorfast fiber that will hold up to all types of environments. Dyes must possess an affinity or chemical attraction to the fiber to which it is applied and form a chemical bond with that fiber.
Acid (Anionic) DyesAcid dyes are used extensively for dyeing wool, silk and nylon. The
dyes are anionic (negatively charged) and are dissolved in hot water. The fiber becomes swollen in the hot solution thus opening its pores so the dye molecules can enter the pore openings. Sometimes the penetration is quite rapid and the dyes combine with the wool fiber unevenly. This effect can be retarded by adding a neutral salt which causes the acid dyestuff to strike evenly. This is called a leveling action.
Natural dye vats in Turkey Dyed yarn drying in the sun
Abrash
Chapter 3 g Construction: Machine-Made Rugs 33
Machine-made rugs can be produced using a variety of methods. We will start with the most common method use for rugs made in the United States.
Tufted RugsA tufted rug is constructed much like a sandwich consisting of face yarns
that are stitched into a primary backing with adhesive and a secondary backing. It can be loop or cut-pile construction.
• Face Yarns — consist of a broad range of fibers, e.g., nylon, wool, olefin, etc., in various pile constructions. Undyed tufted face yarns are called greige goods.
• Primary backings — usually woven or non-woven polypropylene; sometimes woven jute is used.
• Adhesive — a layer of latex holds the primary and secondary back-ings together.
• Secondary backings — applied to give a carpet dimensional stabil-ity, which refers to the capability of the carpet to retain its size and shape.
Face Yarns
PrimaryBacking
Latex
SecondaryBackingMachine-tufted
Chapter 3
Construction: Machine-Made Rugs
Chapter 4 g Specialty Rugs 55
Chapter 4
Specialty Rugs
In the first half of the 20th century, rug cleaners worked with a limited variety of rugs such as orientals, Axminsters, Wiltons, hooks, and braids. In the last fifty years, things have changed. There has been an explosion of new types of specialty and decorative rugs. The materials and the combi-nations of constructions used in these specialty rugs can present problems for the modern rug cleaner. The following list is not comprehensive, but a representation of popular specialty rugs.
Animal SkinsThere are many different types of animal skins that are brought in for
cleaning. These include sheepskin, alpaca, zebra, cowhide, bear and other exotic animals.
Pre-cleaning Inspection1. Is the animal hair rotten? If the hair is rotten, will it
come off the skin with any type of agitation?2. Is the skin stiff, dry, stained, rotten, and/or cracked?3. Is the fur oxidized (yellowed)?4. Is the fur matted?
Cleaning ConsiderationsIf the skin is structurally sound, the safest method to use
is a Lieb Non-Immersion Process machine. This machine is a tumbler that uses dry absorbent compound as the cleaning agent. This machine is also used to clean fur coats. The longer-haired skins such as sheep and alpaca do best in this machine. Exotic skins or any skin with a fully intact head should not be cleaned in a Lieb machine.
Most skins can be wet cleaned with an upholstery tool. The same prin-ciples apply as those used for cleaning Navajo rugs. Do not over wet as the skin can become stiff and brittle.
Sheepskin
Zebra skin
Lieb Non-Immersion Machine
Chapter 4 g Specialty Rugs 69
Sequence of Production of Hand-Tufted Rugs
Illustration courtesy of Hofmann Handtuft-Technik
1. Primary backing fabric stretched over frame.
2. Design drawn on backing
3. Tufting
4. Checking before latexing
5. Latexing (no picture)
6. Finishing
7. Finishing
Chapter 5 g Hand-Knotted Rugs: Classification, Construction and Design 95
Traditionally, an oriental rug was defined as any hand-knotted pile rug made in the Near East and Asia. Today, the term oriental rug is used for any hand-knotted rug, regardless of origin, and flatweaves from the Near East and Asia. Flatweaves refer to hand-woven rugs from any country that have no pile. Flatweaves include, but are not limited to, Navajos, dhurries, kilims, and soumak rugs.
Oriental rugs can be classified as:1. Court Rugs: These are very old rugs that were commissioned by a
royal Persian, Chinese, Turkish or Mughal (India) court. An example is the Ardabil Carpet, which is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and is approximately the size of a tennis court. These pieces, which can be large, are considered major works of art. Rugs on this scale, with a few exceptions, have not been produced for more than 200 years and will not be encountered for service by commercial cleaners.
2. Workshop/City Rugs: Workshop rugs are the most commonly encountered hand-knotted rug. Most were made from the 1920s to the present. These rugs are woven on permanent looms in large factory environments with a design style that is generally curvilinear with floral patterns. These factories can produce large numbers of rugs in many sizes with similar designs and color palette. Today, most commercial rugs are produced in these factories. Examples of Persian city rugs would be Sarouk and Kerman.
3. Village: Village rugs are woven on vertical looms with no cartoon to guide their design. These designs tend to be more geometric and less sophisticated. An example is Persian Hamadan.
4. Tribal: Tribal rugs are woven by nomadic or settled tribes, often on horizontal looms. These rugs are generally characterized by a wool foundation, small sizes and lower knot density. Only recently have some of these rugs been made on a cotton foundation. In addition to rugs, these tribal weavers also make utilitarian pieces such as saddlebags, storage bags, quiver bags and other items for personal use or barter.
Chapter 5
Hand-Knotted Rugs: Classification, Construction and Design
A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental & Specialty Rug Cleaning 100
Symmetrical knot Asymmetrical knot, open left
TurkishKnot
PersianKnot
CaspianSea
PersianGulf
IRAQ IRAN
KUWAIT
SAUDI ARABIA
TURKMENISTAN
AFGHANISTAN
PAKISTAN
TURK
EYThe Caucasus
BALUCHISTAN
Turkomans
Shahse
van
Khamseh
Baluchis
Afshari
Kurds
Lurs
Bakhtiari
Qashgai
Maku KarajaMeskin
HerizAhar
Veramin
Tabriz ArdabilSerab
Sauj-Bulak
Tehran
Turbat-iHaidari
Kashmar
Abadeh
Nain
Bushire
Isfahan
Abadan
Kermanshah SerabandMalayer
NatanzJoshaghan
KashanLillihanArak Qum
SaroukHamadan
Senneh
Bidjar
Sarakhs
Merv
MeshedNishapur
Quchon
Sabsawar
Bujnurd
KazvinZenjan
Rasht
Shiraz
Turbat-i-Shaikh JamTurbat-i-Shaikh Jam
Firdaus Gonabad
Qain
Herat
Tabas
Birjand
Yazd
Ravar
Kerman
Map of Iran: With a few exceptions, left of the dashed line uses symmetrical knots and right of the dashed line uses asymmetrical knots
Chapter 5 g Hand-Knotted Rugs: Classification, Construction and Design 101
WARP
Wo
ol Pile
Wo
ol P
ile
WARPWARPWARPWARP
Warp
Wa
rp
War
p
War
p
Wa
rpWool Wool
Width of Carpet
Length
of Ca
rpet
WARP
Weft
Symmetrical Knot, Non-depressed
Wool Pile
WARP WARPWARPWARPWARP WARP
Warp
Warp
Warp
Warp
Warp
Warp
Wool Wool
Woo
l Pile
Width of Carpet
Leng
th o
f Car
pet
Weft
Non-Depressed Aymmetrical Knot
Open Right
Asymmetrical Knot, Non-depressed, Open Right
Chapter 6 g Persian Rugs Curvilinear 139
Qum/GhoumThe city of Qum is 90 miles south of Teheran and is one of
Iran’s holiest cities. The weaving tradition in Qum is relatively new, only dating back to the early 1930s. The weave is similar to Kashan but more irregular on the back. Qum also produces more all- silk rugs than any other city in Iran.
CharacteristicsKnot: asymmetricalWarp: cotton or silk; depressedWeft: cotton or silk, two shoots; cotton may be dyed
blue or light grayPile: wool or silkEnds: bottom of rug has twisted uncut loops; top end
has kilim with knotted fringe.Sides: single cord; overcast in wool or silkDesign: floral; garden panel; repeating boteh; central
medallion with or without corners; prayer; hunting
Colors: red, medium blue, ivory, gold, brownSizes: 4 x 6 feet (122 cm x 183 cm) and smaller; oc-
casionally 8 x 10 feet (244 cm x 305 cm)
Pre-Cleaning Inspection1. The black, blue and red dyes are usually not colorfast on
silk rugs.
2. The dyes are not always lightfast on both wool and silk rugs. Check for fading.
Cleaning Considerations1. If the black, blue and red dye are not stable, clean with
low moisture procedure in Chapter 12 Rug Cleaning.
Silk Qum
Back, Silk Qum
Qum, garden panel designBack, Qum
Chapter 8 g Other Countries Producing Hand-Knotted Rugs 179
AfghanistanThe majority of Afghan rugs brought to a cleaning plant were made
after World War II. Most are made on a wool warp and weft with tradi-tional Turkoman guls on a red field. The wool warps are either cream or dark gray in color. Some have an all-cotton foundation and occasionally a linen warp.
CharacteristicsKnot: asymmetrical
Warp: wool; occasionally cotton or linen
Weft: two shoots; cotton or wool
Pile: wool
Ends: plain kilim with knotted fringe
Sides: two or more cords wrapped in dark brown or dark blue wool or goat hair.
Design: repeating guls
Chapter 8
Other Countries Producing Hand-Knotted Rugs
Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
Morocco
Algeria Libya
Egypt
Turkey
Black Sea
Romania
India
France
Spain
Port
ugal
Iraq Iran
(Persia)
Syria
Russia Kazakstan
Tunisia
Greece
Bulgaria
Armenia
Georgia
Azerbaijan Turkmenistan
UzbekistanKyrgystan
Tajikistan
Tunisia
Greece
Bulgaria
Armenia
Georgia
Azerbaijan Turkmenistan
UzbekistanKirghizstan
Tajikistan
Afghanistan
PakistanNepal
China
Tibet
Arabian Sea
Caspian Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Rug BeltThe Rug Belt
Chapter 9 g Road Map to Rug Identification 231
Hand-made ormachine-made?
Look at back of rug to determine construction
Machine-made
Hand-made
Axminster Wilton
Tufted(by hand or machine)
Other specialtyconstruction
Aubusson
Dhurrie
Kilim
Navajo Soumak
Navajo look-alikesuch as
Zapotec or Chimayo
India
China
Pakistan
Turkey
Afghanistan Ireland
France
North Africa
Egypt
*Bijar
Ahar
Kashan
Isfahan
Kerman
Southeast Malayer
Mahal
*Bijar
Ardabil
Heriz
*Joshaghan
Serab
*Tabriz
Meshkin
*Mahal
Qum
Meshed
Nain
*Tabriz
Sarouk(American or Ferahan)
Nepal(made in Nepal by
Tibetan refugees butreferred to in the trade
as Tibetan rugs)
Spain
Romania
Derbend Kazak
Kuba
Shirvan
TalishGendje
MoghanKarabagh
Turkoman(Iran,
Afghanistan, orTurkmenistan)
Baluch(Iran or
Afghanistan)
Shiraz(Iran)
Quashqai(Iran)
Afshar(Iran)
Bakhtiari(Iran)
Kamseh(Iran)
Hand-knotted orhand-woven?
Persia (Iran) oranother country?
Single Wefted?
Hand-woven
Hand-knotted
Other country
Iran
Curvilinear orrectilineardesign?*
Curvilinear
Rectilinear
Persia (Iran),Tribal or Caucasian Persia (Iran)
**Caucasian (mostly rectiliniear)Tribal
(mostly rectilinear)
Bakhtiari (not all) Karaja
Lillihan
NW Malayer
SennehHamadan
*Veramin
*Veramin
Note: Lists of rugs/countries are not all-inclusive.
Road Map To Rug Identification
* Some rugs are made in both curvilinear and rectilinear designs or may incorporate both designs in the same rug.** Caucasian rugs are not made in Iran, but in the Caucasus Mountain region, north of Tabriz, Iran.
Chapter 11 g Pre-Cleaning Inspection 249
Classifying Area Rugs Before Cleaning The first principle of area rug cleaning is it should not be done on-
location in the customer’s home. Because rug cleaning can include the occasional surprise, it is best to do the work in a controlled environment. It is understood that sometimes circumstances dictate cleaning a rug “on-location,” but it should be the exception rather than the rule.
The first step in the pre-cleaning inspection is to determine the construc-tion of the rug. See Chapters 3, 4 and 5 for details on rug construction.
Machine-made rugs are usually woven on a Wilton or Axminster loom or are tufted. Woven rugs can usually be identified by looking at the back for visible white warp yarns running the length of the rug. On hand-knotted rugs, the weft yarns running the width of the rug are often visible from the back.
Machine-made rugs can range in value from very inexpensive or as costly as some oriental rugs. Tufted rugs manufactured by Edward Fields, Lacey Champion, the Scott Group and others can be expensive. A good habit for any rug cleaner to develop is reading labels on the backs of rugs.
Chapter 11
Pre-Cleaning Inspection
Hand-knotted rug back Machine-woven rug back
Chapter 12 g Rug Cleaning Methods 267
Chapter 12
Rug Cleaning
Introduction to Rug CleaningThe Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
(IICRC) Standard S-100 states that, “When practical, the preferred system for cleaning rugs is to remove them from the customer’s home or business and clean them in a controlled ‘in-plant’ environment.” This could be anywhere from a garage to a large cleaning plant where a variety of cleaning meth-ods, or combination thereof, may be used. It is understood that sometimes circumstances dictate cleaning a rug “on-location” in the customer’s home or business. Under these conditions, it is important that the technicians are trained in techniques for inspecting, testing, evaluating and selecting the proper cleaning method.
Standard S-100 continues, “Failure to perform specialized proce-dures may result in permanent damage to the rug and/or flooring under and around the rug. Incomplete soil removal may occur due to the inability to vacuum both sides of the rug adequately. Improper wet cleaning causes prolonged drying, texture change, cellulosic browning, dye migration, mildew, and/or dry rot.” Fringe cleaning is nearly impossible in an on-location environment. Cleaning a rug in the cus-tomer’s home is the exception rather than the rule.
This chapter presents the principles of the clean-ing process that should be used on all rugs in con-juction with the appropriate cleaning method(s). These basic principles are common to all the methods available to the professional rug cleaner. Four sample cleaning procedures utilizing these principles will also be examined.
The Professional Rug Cleaner’s Checklist