Oriental and Area Rugs

We Pick-Up and Deliver

Oriental and area rugs are more popular than ever as more homeowners install hard surfaces but want to retain the elegance and warmth of carpet and rugs. Cleaning rugs on-site is rare and risky for a number of reasons. We can explain why in detail when you call.

The Decision

Do you know what questions to ask? You have essentially five choices to clean your area rug. 1. You can bring it to your favorite dry cleaner and they will mark-up and sublet the work to someone else. 2. You can have an untrained, uncertified average carpet cleaning technician clean it for you. This usually is a quick vacuum and steam cleaning either done in place or taken away and brought back. 3. You can have it cleaned at a factory style, assembly line plant. They usually do good work but price on volume with a percentage of "call backs" factored into the price and you probably are “encouraged” to pick-up and deliver. There is none of these in Olympia. 4. You can attempt to clean it yourself accepting much risk simply because you do not have the proper tools, knowledge and training necessary to achieve the level of cleanliness you expect. A subordinate option here of course is to do nothing but vacuum. Yet is your rug designed to endure the aggressiveness of a vacuum likely designed for stretched-in carpet? 5. You can hire a professional, insured, Certified Area Rug Specialist who will take the time to clean it as if it were his own.

The Process

Your understanding of the process helps you see the value and care that goes into each rug we clean.

• Fiber, Construction and Condition Testing & Determination. This is essential so that we can tell you what to expect and what inherent risk may be involved, if any. For instance, we can remove pet urine but often the alkaline urine salts completely destabilize the acid dyes so some color problems may result.
• Dry Soil Removal. We gently remove dry soil with a special, unique machine designed to vibrate out soil in the weave. Then the rug is vacuumed again. This is so critical and truly separates the professionals from the amateurs. The machine strops spin gently at a moderate pace while the rug is upside down over a metal grid. The amount of dry soil removed from this process would amaze you after you had seen the rug vacuumed, cleaned and dried by another professional. Remember it is easier to remove sand from your bathing suit when it is dry rather than wet.
• Extraction. In most cases, high flow, low pressure warm water is used to flush old residue and soil bound to the fiber. In some situations, immersion cleaning is the remedy when the rug is saturated with urine or other impurities. Yes, we can remove urine in oriental rugs! Some fibers and dyes are too sensitive for water and require true dry extraction with absorbent compound such as Host. Sisal is a classic example. In fact, Wools of New Zealand approve Host. From hand shampoo to wet extraction, we feature all methods so we can meet the cleaning needs of your rug.
• Drying. Controlled and supervised drying is critical. This is the phase of the cleaning process where most trouble will develop and is the primary reason caring for your rug is done off-site. Here is where fringes are monitored for browning and dyes are inspected for stability even though they have been pre-tested.
• Grooming and Protecting. This is the final step where the nap is set so the rug appears uniformly beautiful. Protection is an option to make maintenance easier for you in the future.

Underlayment

Almost all rug manufacturers recommend a proper underlayment or pad for your rug. Read your tag if you have one. We precision custom cut and sell professional grade underlayment unique for your rug(s) as a part of our service. An underlayment serves several purposes. It stops or slows rug creep. Underlayment provides shock absorption for your face fibers so harmful dry soil does not easily erode the filaments. One study showed that one square foot of rug could hold up to a pound of soil! It gives the rug a regal appearance and just feels wonderful underfoot. Lastly, it protects the floor from harmful abrasion and possible chemical attack. Again, the underlayment we sell is not cheap no-skid foam rubber available at hardware and retail stores but true, top quality, custom cut products created just for you.