So What Are Persian Rugs?

Without going into extreme detail, that might bore the heck out of you, we will keep this fairly simple:

Persian rugs are rugs that come from the area fomerly known as Persia - but in todays world we mainly call that area Iran or the area around Iran. Pakistan is also well-known for quality tribal Persian rugs.

These rugs are hand-knitted rugs that come in basically two varieties.

1. Tribal Rugs

2. Rugs made in city workshops

There is a difference in these rugs, although the average person would not be able to see the difference.

So what is the difference between a Persian Rug made by tribes and the Persian Rugs made in the city?

Well the main difference is that the tribal rugs are made, in almost every case, by the same person that designed the rug. Tribal rugs are the creation from the weaver and what the weaver of the rug has envisioned in their mind.

City rugs usually have a designer that lays out the design and then a separate weaver makes the rug. Although this might seem like a minor
differnce, it can be a huge difference when it comes to uniqueness.

There are also physical differences between a city made rug and a nomadic Persian Rug.

The tribal nomadic Persian Rug is usually made of a wool foundation while
the city Persian Rug foundation is made of cotton and even silk. Both types of rugs are unique - and usually high quality oriental rugs - with many of them being very sought after by collectors.

Here are some other differences between Persian Rugs and other types of oriental rugs.

Knots That Are Used In Persian Rug Making

Typical oriental rugs are knotted with very symmetrical knots while Persian
Rugs are knotted with asymmetrical knots. Typically rugs woven with this
type of knot are more precise in their patterns.

This type of rug making is time consuming and offers very unique patterns - which is a main factor in why Persian Rugs are so sought after.

Another difference between Persion Rugs and many other types of oriental rugs is the feeling of most Persian Rugs. They are very soft to the hand and it is thought that the hand-washing process plays a big part in how the rug feels.

And a very distinct trait of many Persian Rugs is the use of blue and red colors. In almost every Persian Rug you see a heavy dose of blue and red as these are the colors most used in these rugs for hundreds of years.

Persian Rug Cleaning In Vancouver, Washington

If you have valuable Persian Rugs in the Vancouver, Washington area it would be a very good idea if you called us at Linton's Carpet Cleaning. We have the knowledge, skill, tools, and desire to clean your valuable Persian Rugs the right way.

And cleaning your Persian Rugs the RIGHT WAY is not laying them on a floor in your home, or garage, and barely cleaning them. At Linton's Carpet Cleaning when we say clean - WE MEAN CLEAN!

So Let's Take A Look At Some Issues With Persian Rug Cleaning

Many carpet cleaners are horrified to clean Persian Rugs because they have much of the same "dangers" as any other quality oriental rug. Let's go over some of the issues with any type of oriental rug cleaning - especially Persian Rugs.

Issue #1 -  Color Bleeding.  The term "color bleeding" or the term "color migration" is used to describe the unwanted movement of dyes during the WET PHASE of cleaning or the drying process. Crocking is the movement or loss of color when a carpet or other fabric is dry.

Color bleeding scares the heck out of most cleaners and for good reason. If a Persian, or other type of oriental rug, bleeds color into an area where that color is not wanted - it can literally ruin the rug. 

And in some cases these Persian Rugs are worth tens of thousands of dollars or more. And that does not even take into account the sentimental value the rug might have. It is not a good deal when a rug bleeds because of poor cleaning techniques.

Take a look at the picture below to see an example of fairly significant color bleeding in the lower left corner of this Persian Rug. This type of color bleeding can be extremely difficult (and costly) to repair.

Issue #2 -  Shrinkage.  Shrinkage. Since the foundation fibers of all quality oriental rugs are made with cotton, wool, or silk the risk of shrinking can be huge. Shrinkage is going to occur during the drying process and this drying process must be taken seriously! bleeding can be extremely difficult (and costly) to repair.

Issue #3 -  Fringe Cleaning.  With oriental rugs the fringe can be extremely soiled and hard to clean. Many cleaners do not understand how to clean the fringe on oriental rugs safely and effectively.

Issue #4 -  Stain Removal. Yikes! This one almost scares oriental rug cleaners as much as bleeding does. Since the fibers of Persian Rugs (like all quality oriental rugs) are natural  fibers they are much more absorbent and can stain much more easily than synthetic fibers.

Also, Persian Rugs are not protected, at least initially, with any type of carpet protector
so the ability for the fiber to receive stains is extremely high.

On top of that, the stain removal processes that can be used on most synthetic carpet can be very tricky on Perian Rugs or any other type of oriental rug.

For example: Red Kool Aid on a synthetic carpet is fairly easy to get out. On a Persian Rug that same Red Kool Aid can be removed - but it is MUCH trickier and time consuming.

And the stain removal process for many types of stains is much the same with Persian Rugs. The stains can be removed with a combination of stain removal techniques and re-coloring. But this can be extremely expensive.

Are Your Persian Rugs Being Cleaned The Right Way?

We are not going to beat around the bush when we talk about proper cleaning techniques for Persian Rugs or any other type of oriental rug.

They actually need to be cleaned!

Far too many carpet cleaners say they are oriental rug cleaners (this includes Persian Rugs) and yet they actually barely clean your oriental rugs! This should not be happening in our industry but it is happening and disheartening to see. 

Take a look at the video below to see how we START the cleaning process at Linton's Carpet Cleaning. The removal of dry soil is critical with any type of carpet cleaning and especially critical with oriental rugs.

We get out more soil in the vacuuming and dry soil removal phase than most cleaners get out in the entire cleaning process. In this video you see the Rug Badger - a tool specifically designed to safely get out more soil than a vacuum could ever get out of a rug. Only after we have removed as much dry soil as possible do we start the wet cleaning phase.

What Quality Persian Rug Cleaning In Vancouver is NOT

Quality Persian Rug cleaning in Vancouver doesn't mean just vacumming the carpet and telling the client the carpet has been cleaned. Heck, the client could just do that themselves and save money.

Quality Persian Rug cleaning doesn't mean laying the rug on your wood floors and spaying a little water on the carpet and giving the carpet a few dry strokes. Yes, that is technically cleaning but it is not quality cleaning.

That type of cleaning is not getting the deep down embedded soil
out of your valuable Persian Rug - or any oriental rug - or any carpet for that matter.

Quality Persian Rug cleaning doesn't mean totally ignoring the stains in your Persian Rug. 

Now, not all stains are going to come out unless you are willing to spend a fair amount of money to have the carpet repaired - but a good Persian Rug cleaner in Vancouver will make a good, honest, and fair attempt to safely and effectively remove spots and stains from your Persian Rug.

If they are not willing to do that they better have a good reason for it.

Quality Persian Rug cleaning doesn't mean you start out with a 14' by 14' rug and when the cleaning is done you have an 11' by 11' rug because the person cleaning your rug had no idea about proper drying techniques.

Quality Persian Rug cleaning doesn't mean ignoring the fringe. A beautiful Persian Rug with dirty fringe is - well - not so beautiful. The fringe needs to be cleaned and cleaned the right way.