Tips For Maintaining Your Oriental Rug

Your Oriental or Persian rug is a treasure, and deserves to be protected as such. When it comes to protecting your rug, extending its life, and keeping it healthy and beautiful, maintenance is key. Here’s what you need to do:

1) Rotate regularly. Rotate your rug at least quarterly, and more often if it is in an area of high foot traffic. If sunlight hits your rug, it needs to be rotated at least monthly. Rotating the rug helps to prevent abrading, crush marks and other damage from furniture, and minimizes the appearance of bleaching or fading from the sun.

2) Vacuum frequently. Frequent vacuuming is by far the most important maintenance task you can do for your rug. Vacuum your rug regularly in order to remove the dust, dander, and debris that gets tracked into your home. A rug that is in an area of infrequent use can be vacuumed weekly, whereas rugs in areas of frequent use or heavy foot traffic should be vacuumed 2-3 times per week. At least once per year, vacuum the face of the rug and then flip it over and vacuum the back, and sweep the floor underneath the rug. When you vacuum, set your beater bar high, and for antique rugs, you may want to turn the beater bar completely off.

3) Install a rug pad. Keep a good, high quality, supple pad underneath your rug in order to help it resist wear and tear.

4) Avoid sunlight. The dyes in the threads of your rug will fade over time when they are exposed to intense sunlight, so whenever possible, position your rug out of the sun’s path. If this isn’t possible, rotate the rug often and pull the shades or close the blinds in the room during the times of day that the sunlight is the strongest.

5) Stay dry. Moisture is an enemy to your rug’s natural fibers. Don’t set houseplants on your rug. When you water the plants, moisture gets trapped in the rug’s fibers and can cause dry rot, which is often complicated (and always costly) to repair. If water is spilled on the rug, quickly remove it by dabbing it up with a clean towel.

6) Spot clean. When a spot or spill occurs, act quickly, or the spot can become a stain. It’s critical that you only blot the spot, and do not rub or scrub, as this only works the spot deeper into the rug’s fibers. When you’ve blotted as much of the spill as you can, you’ll need to test your rug for colorfastness to ensure the dye in the threads won’t bleed if you clean the area with water. Moisten a clean towel with either water or club soda. Then, find an inconspicuous place on the rug where two or more colors intersect. Use your finger to press the moistened towel against the rug and hold it for a full 10 seconds. Lift the towel and look to see if any colors have transferred onto the towel. If no colors have transferred, it is most likely safe to address the spot or spill, provided you only use the water or club soda and a clean towel. If color transferred onto the towel, or indeed, if you simply want to be on the “safe side,” call a good rug cleaning company and let the professional rug cleaners take care of the spot for you.

7) Address pet urine immediately. If you have pets, keep a close eye on your rug. If your pet has an accident on the rug, immediate action is required. The longer the urine is left to sit in the rug fibers, the greater the damage it can cause. Bacteria can flourish and as the urine becomes alkaline, it becomes far more difficult to remove. In the meantime, the urine can damage the dye in your rug.

8) Apply protectant. Apply a protectant to your rug, or better yet, hire a great rug cleaning service to apply the protectant to your rug. A protectant will add a measure of protection to the face of your rug, and will give you extra time to address any spills that may occur.

9) Inspect routinely. Watch for moths, repairs, etc. and address them immediately. Moths will lay eggs in the dark corners of the rug that are hidden by heavy furniture, so be sure to inspect such areas regularly.

10) Clean professionally. The best thing you can do for your rug is to have it thoroughly cleaned by a good professional rug cleaning company. Hire rug cleaning specialists to dust your rug every 6-12 months, give it a maintenance cleaning approximately once per year, and deep clean it once every few years.

At RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning, we are passionate about high quality rugs, and know that they need high quality cleaning and care to keep them healthy and beautiful. Our rug cleaning technicians are highly skilled and extensively trained, with a keen eye for detail, all of which are important in ensuring your rug gets the best care. Jacksonville FL homeowners and rug collectors trust RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning with their heirloom Oriental and Persian rugs. Call today and let us get started cleaning your rug!

12 Common (and not so common) Styles of Oriental Rug – Find the Rug For Your Home | RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning Jacksonville FL

The names and styles of Oriental rug can be overwhelming and downright confusing. Here are some of the most common Persian and Oriental rug styles to help you make sense of the world of exquisite area rugs and find the perfect rug for your home.

1.  Afshar – Afshar rugs were first woven by nomads, and eventually by the villagers in southeastern Iran. They are noted for their geometric patterns and medallions with diamond patterns, typically in colors of crimson, gold, and ivory.
2.  Aubusson – The Aubusson style originates in the village of Aubusson in central France, but these rugs are most commonly produced in China, Pakistan, and India. The design is typically one of floral motifs and bouquets, in soft, pale pastels and ivory.
3.  Bidjar – Bidjar rugs originate in northwest Iran, and are known for their stiff and dense pile, as well as their rich jewel tones, large medallions, and lustrous wool.
4.  Bokhara – The Bokhara style originates in modern-day Uzbekistan. These rugs are known for their abundant usage of reds and a fine silk-like texture. Typically 5-8 repeating colors of earth tones are used, in a highly stylized pattern.
5.  Gabbeh – The Gabbeh style originates in southwest Iran. This style is earmarked by broad stripes, geometric patterns, and color block, in a palette of 5-8 bold colors, all of which give the rugs a modern look, and at times even a primitive look. With these rugs, the emphasis is on color, rather than design detail.
6.  Kazak – The Kazak style originates in modern-day northwest Azerbaijan, but are traditionally woven in Afghanistan and Armenia. This style is noted for highly stylized animal, floral, and tribal motifs in palettes of 3-7 colors, often including deep indigo and red.
7.  Khotan – These rugs originate in modern-day eastern Turkestan and are easily identified by rich, warm colors and Asian influences, including dragons and stylized patterns of native florals. The pomegranate is the most important regional symbol, and is used frequently in Khotan rugs. Traditional Khotan rugs are longer and narrower than standard rugs.
8.  Oushak – Oushak rugs originate in Turkey, and have been woven in western Turkey for centuries. They can often be identified by their soft and shimmering wool in muted tones of gray, pastels, and earth tones, and geometric floral motifs and patterns.
9.  Qashqai – Qashqai rugs originate in Iran. A palette of 6-9 colors, including deep indigo and red, are showcased in bold, geometric symbols and tribal motifs.
10.  Sarouk – These Persian rugs are known for their thick pile and velvety wool, and can be identified by their floral patterns, bouquets, and arabesques. They are traditionally made with blue weft threads, though a multitude of colors may be used in the overall patterns.
11.  Soumak – These flat-weave rugs are thick, strong, and exceptionally durable. They often depict small birds and geometric animals and tribal symbols, and feature grand medallions.
12.  Tabriz – Tabriz rugs originate in northwest Iran, and offer classic medallion designs and patterns in every color imaginable, including often pale pastels.

It’s easy to see how rug lovers fall in love with Oriental rugs! After you find the best Persian or Oriental rug for your home, the best thing you can do for it is to keep it clean with regular maintenance cleanings, and to take care of spots and spills immediately when they occur. That’s where we come in! Fine rugs should only be cleaned by skilled, trained, professional rug cleaners. RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning is the best professional rug cleaning service, trusted by homeowners throughout downtown Jacksonville, Riverside Avondale, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, and all along the First Coast. Let us give your area rug the cleaning and care it needs and deserves!

Rug Cleaning: A Job For The Professionals

Your Oriental rug represents a significant investment, and maintenance cleaning is one of the best ways to ensure the rug stays healthy and beautiful. When the time comes to have your area rug cleaned, what are your options, and which one is best for your rug?

Option 1: DIY Rug Cleaning
We live in the age of information, and it’s easy to find tips and instruction for do-it-yourself rug cleaning. However, not even the best-intentioned DIY rug cleaning instructions will enable you to clean your rug the right way. In fact, you could do irreparable damage to your priceless rug if you attempt certain cleaning techniques without the proper training and equipment.

Option 2: Carpet Cleaners
Carpet cleaners are trained and equipped to clean wall-to-wall carpeting, which is very different from fine wool and silk hand-knotted rugs. Even the best carpet cleaning companies who use the hot water extraction method will not be able to clean your area rug or Oriental rug as well as a great professional rug cleaning service. A carpet cleaner may also try to clean your rug in your home. This can be a very wet and messy job, and can damage the rug, as well as the room it’s in. For the best results, a rug should be taken from your home to the professional rug cleaning facility, where it can be cleaned thoroughly with industry tools, or submerged in a rug bath.

Option 3: Professional Rug Cleaning Company
When it comes to cleaning, protecting, restoring, and preserving your rug, it’s best to find a certified rug cleaning service and trust your rug to the professionals. Cleaning and caring for luxurious area rugs and Oriental rugs is too important of a job to pass to anyone else or try to do yourself. In order to clean a rug properly, a technician should be highly trained and certified by the IICRC. The first step of a great rug cleaning job is a thorough inspection, which only a rug cleaning professional can provide. Then, depending on the type of cleaning you choose for your rug, it may be dusted using harmonic vibrations, and meticulously treated to diminish stains, and likely submerged and hand washed in a rug bath. Each of these actions requires professional training, expertise, and a passion for cleaning exquisite area rugs with the care and attention that they deserve.

Skip the DIY, avoid the carpet cleaners, and find the best rug cleaning service in your area!

The Best Jacksonville FL Rug Cleaning
When the time comes for your Oriental rug to be cleaned, you have several options, but only one right choice: find a highly rated professional rug cleaning company to clean your rug. For rug owners in downtown Jacksonville, Mandarin, San Marco, Riverside, and throughout Northeast Florida, RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning is the company to trust with your favorite rugs. We have a passion for beautiful wool and silk rugs, and believe that the only way to clean a rug is by hand. Everything from our patented rug duster to our custom built rug bath reflects our love of rugs and our commitment to clean and preserve them in the best way possible. Call today and schedule a cleaning for your own treasured rug!

Tips For Vacuuming Your Wool Rug

Routinely vacuuming your rug will do wonders to keep it looking great from day to day, as well as help to preserve it long term. The best professional rug cleaners will tell you that it’s just as important to vacuum your rug correctly as it is to vacuum it at all. Use our tips to make sure you are vacuuming your Oriental rug the right way!

1. First and foremost, take a moment to inspect the rug. If your rug is an antique, or if it is especially delicate or brittle, vacuum with caution. For the best results, use a vacuum attachment with a brush on the end, and gently go over the surface of the rug. Otherwise, if the rug is not brittle or delicate, your canister or upright vacuum will do an adequate job of suctioning the dirt, sand, and debris from your rug. Begin by using the lowest suction available, and increase the suction only as needed.

2. Vacuum in the direction of the pile. If your rug is flat woven, vacuum across the width of it.

3. Don’t run the vacuum over the rug’s fringe. This will likely result in fraying. Instead, use the vacuum’s handheld attachment to clean the fringe.

4. If your rug has serged edges, avoid running the vacuum over these edges more than once or twice, as this may cause the fibers to loosen and the finished edge to therefore deteriorate.

5. Vacuum the rug front AND back. It might seem odd to flip your rug over and vacuum its underside, but this is an effective way to get out even more dirt and grit before it has the chance to damage the rug’s backing.

6. Don’t forget the wall hangings. The rugs on the floor are not the only ones that need to be vacuumed. Rugs act as great air filters no matter where they are, so if you have any rugs that are hanging on the wall, or any other rugs that are displayed in less traditional ways, those, too, must be vacuumed.

7. Rotate rugs after dusting. In high traffic areas, rotate the rug so that it does not get worn more in some places than others.

8. Vacuum regularly. The key to keeping your rug in great shape is maintenance. For rugs in high traffic areas, try to vacuum once per week, or twice per month. This way your rug is far more likely to stay in great shape than if you only vacuum it once a year during spring cleaning. Dirt particles are sharp against the fine wool and silk threads of your rug, and will corrode them when left to settle into the fibers. Instead, chase them out with routine vacuuming.

9. Ready for the best tip of all? Take the worry and hassle out of it and call on a good professional rug cleaning company to dust your rug!

Dust, dirt, and grit are highly corrosive and damaging to your rug’s fibers, but a great professional rug cleaner can help! At RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning, we specialize in gently but thoroughly removing all debris from wool and silk fibers. We have the best rug dusting equipment on the market, and usually remove several pounds of sand, soil, dirt, and debris from rugs. RugPro is the best rug cleaning company Jacksonville FL homeowners love to call on for the highest quality rug cleaning and the best in customer care.

Why Does The Dye In My Rug Bleed?

One of the greatest debacles that can befall a fine rug is dye migration, or the bleeding or running of dye colors. In order to protect your beautiful wool rug, you’ll want to first understand what makes the dye run:

– Excess dye – If your rug is brand new, it will have a high risk of bleeding because of the excess dye in the fibers. This excess dye will inevitably wash out in the rug bath, but the key is to make sure the dyes wash out in the water itself, rather than spread onto the other color fields of the rug. Entrust your wool rug to only the best professional rug cleaning company. Trained cleaning technicians will know how to apply dye stabilizing solutions to protect your rug and make sure no dyes migrate during any step of the cleaning process.
– Intense heat – Even if the dye in a rug has been tested and proven to be colorfast, the dyes may still run if the rug is exposed to high heat during the cleaning process. Again, to make sure your rug is cleaned in a completely safe way, do your research and find the rug cleaning service that cleans wool rugs carefully and according to the proper methods. Also, keep your rug away from direct sunlight. Even the heat from the sun can break down the dyes, causing them to run when the rug is washed.
– Urine stains from pets – Pet urine is highly acidic, but as it sits in the fibers of your rug, it becomes alkaline. This alkalinity will cause dyes to run where the rug has been soiled with urine, even if the rug is colorfast overall. The key here is to clean up pet stains as soon as they occur, whether you clean them up yourself, or schedule an appointment with a great professional rug cleaner as soon as the pet accident occurs.
– Incorrect cleaning – If you have ever rented one of those DIY carpet cleaning machines, or hired a rug cleaner who was not correctly trained, your rug might have residual chemicals in its fibers. Likewise, if your rug was cleaned by carpet cleaners instead of one of the best professional rug cleaners in your area, the carpet cleaning solution may still be stuck to your rug’s fibers. In any case, if your rug was cleaned using the wrong cleaning solutions or methods, there may be residue left behind that has affected the acidity of the dye, causing it to run or bleed.

So, how do you avoid having your rug ruined by bleeding dyes? Research the highly rated rug cleaners in your area until you find the best rug cleaning service, and then trust your rug to the care of its technicians. The best professional rug cleaning company will hire only the most skilled technicians, and will make sure each one is highly trained in every step of the rug cleaning process, beginning with the proper way to test the dye for colorfastness.

If you live in Northeast Florida, RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning is the company to trust with your rug! We are passionate about rugs and have devoted ourselves to understanding how to clean them in the gentlest yet most thorough way. We test for colorfastness, extract dust and dry soils, and then submerge your rug in a rug bath – the time honored and most effective rug cleaning method known. Rug lovers and collectors throughout Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, and St. Augustine call us, knowing we will care for their rugs the way we could clean and care for our own. Call today to set up your appointment with the rug cleaning pros!

The Benefits Of Cleaning Your Rug By Hand

When the time comes to have your Oriental rug cleaned, nothing will do a better job than having it hand washed in a professional rug bath. Even the most exquisite rugs get dirty, of course, and you want a cleaning process you can trust to get the rug thoroughly cleaned in a way that will not damage the rug’s fibers. A rug bath is the perfect solution to your need!

What Is A Rug Bath?
A rug bath is a special tub constructed by the best rug cleaning companies in their shops. A rug bath is deep enough so that the rug can be submerged, and has hoses connected to it in order to create waves or pulses of water. Rug weaving itself is a centuries-old practice, and when those early rugs became soiled, they were cleaned by hand in the flow of a nearby river. As you can guess, the rug bath, with its pulsing water jets, is meant to emulate the flow of a river. Little has changed in the way rugs are constructed, and likewise, little has changed in the most effective methods of cleaning such rugs!

Benefits Of A Rug Bath
There are three main benefits to having your rugs cleaned in a rug bath.

• Gentle – Your Persian rug is a treasure, and you should only trust it to the most gentle cleaning process there is. What could be more gentle than being washed by hand in a bath?
• Thorough – In the rug bath, the rug is completely submerged, and then washed meticulously by hand. Every inch of your rug is cleaned, front and back. No dirt or debris will be left in the fibers or foundation – the result is just clean, soft pile.
• Safe – The finer your area rug is, the more you want to pay attention to its care. In a rug bath, rugs are cleaned one at a time, under the keen eye and skillful hand of a rug cleaning expert.

Cleaning a rug in a rug bath and washing it by hand takes longer than just shoving it into a washing machine and pressing “start,” which is what many rug cleaners do. Take the time to find a truly great rug cleaning service for your rug – it deserves it! You’ll know the company when you find it, because they’ll have a hand built rug bath on site, as well as skilled technicians who are extensively trained to hand clean any rug that comes their way, from simple cotton area rugs to the most elegant hand-knotted silk Persian heirloom.

Professional Rug Cleaning Service Jacksonville FL
The best Jacksonville FL rug cleaning service is RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning, and we specialize in giving each rug a luxury level of care and a deep and thorough clean. Together with our outstanding client service, it’s easy to see why rug collectors throughout Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine, and throughout Northeast Florida trust us with their rugs of all kinds. For the safest, gentlest, and most thorough clean, we are the rug cleaning company for you!

How Often Does My Area Rug Need to Be Cleaned?

Rug owners and collectors know that routine cleaning is the most important thing that can be done to keep Oriental rugs clean, protected, and able to be enjoyed for years. However, how do you know how often a rug should be cleaned, and to what extent? We’ve compiled recommendations from the leading experts in the rug care field, so that you can rest assured your rug is getting the care it needs when it needs it!

1. Rug Dusting
Rug dusting is recommended every 6-12 months. Regular rug dusting is critical, as it removes dry soil from your rug’s fiber and backing, including dust, sand, dander, hair, dirt, debris, and more. Rugs that are located in high traffic areas of your home can hold a surprising amount of soil and dust in their fibers. In fact, our rug dusting tool will often remove several pounds of debris from a rug, even when the owner brings it in routinely! The best rug cleaning services are equipped with rug dusting tools that loosen and remove these soils mechanically through intense vibrations. This process is gentle on the rug, yet highly effective at removing soils from deep within the rug’s fibers.

2. Maintenance Cleaning
Maintenance cleaning is recommended every 12-18 months. The maintenance cleaning process will vary among rug cleaning companies, but should include a full inspection, dusting and dry soil removal, low moisture cleaning, a neutralizing rinse, and a thorough drying. This process, when done by the best professional rug cleaner you can find, will keep your rug clean, and thus, protected. Only through removing debris and cleaning the rug’s fibers can the rug be protected from damage.

3. Deep Cleaning
It is recommended that you get your rug deep cleaned every 2-3 years. The best professional rug cleaning companies specialize in deep cleaning packages, which should include dusting and dry soil removal, deep submersion and hand wash in an industry-specific rug bath, a neutralizing rinse, and a number of other services that are customized to your rug’s unique needs, including the application of a stain protector or brightening of the rug’s fringe. Deep cleaning is the luxury care for rugs, and is suitable for even the finest Persian and Oriental area rugs.

4. Restorative Cleaning
Certain events merit specialized cleaning regimens. For example, a rug that has been hidden away in a dusty attic or storage facility will likely require a restorative cleaning. Likewise, a rug that has been severely contaminated by pet urine stains, or damaged in a flood, or suffered from an infestation of bugs or mildew will require the same treatment. In some cases, this damage may be irreparable. However, if there is one thing that could potentially revive a rug from one of these certain perils, it’s a restorative cleaning, performed by the very best professional rug cleaners that can be found.

Keeping your area rug beautiful and healthy can be boiled down to two concepts: Stick to a rug cleaning routine, and find a great professional rug cleaning service to perform the routine cleanings. If you live in Northeast Florida, this is no problem at all! RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning is the best Jacksonville FL rug cleaning company, with rug cleaning packages to fit the unique needs of your rug. Our technicians are trained to identify all types of stains, and address each one with a customized cleaning regimen. We specialize in keeping rugs healthy by keeping them free from dust, debris, and stains, and by using the best tools and methods in the industry, coupled with a genuine love of what we do. Our clients in Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fleming Island, Riverside, and throughout Jacksonville trust their treasured rugs to us, and we’d love to provide your rug with the same level of care.

How To Find The Right Sized Area Rug For Your Room

Most homeowners choose rugs based solely on their appearance, and understandably so. However, your rug’s size also has a lot to do with how well it suits your space and complements your home as a whole. Follow these tips for finding the perfect area rug for your room!

Living Room

• Most designers recommend choosing a rug that will cover the majority of the floor, with approximately 18 inches of exposed floor on all sides of the rug. If your living room is large, and the furniture is arranged in the center, find a rug that is large enough for all pieces of furniture to fit completely on the rug’s surface. Standard sizes of rugs that would fit a large space like this include 8’x10’, 9’x12’ and 11’x14’.
• In a medium space, or a space in which the furniture is primarily arranged along the walls, find a rug that allows the front legs of all furniture to fit onto the rug. Standard sizes of rugs for these spaces include 6’x9’ and 8’x10’.
• In a small living room, position the rug in the center of the room. No furniture legs need to touch the rug, but a coffee table or ottoman would look good in the center of the rug. Standard sizes of rugs for such spaces include 4’x6’, 5’x7’, and 5’x8’, or a 6’ round rug.
• If your living room serves multiple purposes, use two different rugs to differentiate among the uses. For example, a piano situated in one part of the room may have “it’s own” rug, whereas the sofa and coffee table by the TV in the other area of the room would have a separate rug.

Dining Room

• In the traditional layout for a dining room, the dining room table and all 6-8 chairs all fit onto the surface of the rug, with room on the rug to spare. Find a rug that is large enough that when you or a guest push a chair back to leave the table, the legs of the chair do not go off of the rug. Depending on the size of your dining room set, several standard rug sizes include 8’x10’ and 9’x12’. If your dining room table has a round top, a 6’ or 8’ round rug would look great.

Kitchen

• Depending on the way your kitchen is arranged, you may choose to have only a small rug, most likely in front of the sink where there is the most foot traffic. A standard rug of 2’x3’ works well in such a space.
• If you have a galley kitchen, select a narrow rug or a runner to go the length of the space between the sections of the kitchen. Standard rug sizes for such a space include 2’6”x8’ and 3’x5’.

Bedroom

• Depending on the arrangement of your bedroom furniture, you may choose to arrange your rug (or rugs) in a number of ways. For example, you may find runners to flank your bed. In this case, a runner could run alongside the bed and in front of each nightstand. Standard runner sizes for this design include 2’6”x8’ and 4’x5’.
• You may choose to have a rug beneath your bed, with two legs of the bed on the rug, and the edges of the rug extending around the bed on 3 sides. A standard size rug for this layout is 5’x8’.
• You could have a runner beneath your bed, extending on two sides, with no furniture legs on the rugs. Standard sizes include 8’x10’ and 9’x12’.

Hallway

• Your hallway may only have furniture on one side or against one wall, in which case you could select a runner to go the length of the opposite wall. Or, your hallway might be wide enough that you have furniture along both walls, in which case the runner could go the length of the hall, flanked by furniture on each side. In either scenario, the standard size runners that would fit such hallways include 2’6”x8’ and 3’x12’.

A rug is a detail or nuance in some rooms, and the centerpiece in others. The good news is that there is an Oriental rug or area rug for each type of room, and every kind of home, from historic homes in Riverside Avondale and St. Augustine, to contemporary homes with modern style in San Marco and Mandarin, to beach houses in Ponte Vedra and Atlantic Beach.

The Best Rug Cleaning Company In Jacksonville FL
For all shapes and sizes of rug, RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning is the rug care service to trust with your area rug. We are the rug cleaning experts, and we specialize in thoroughly cleaning your rug so that it will perfectly complement your living space. Our highly trained technicians love to carefully take each rug through the steps of our high quality cleaning process, from extensive dusting, a thorough wash in the rug bath, and a customized treatment regimen to address your rug’s unique needs. Trust your rug to Northeast Florida’s expert rug cleaners, and you will love the results!

Your Guide To Common Rug Styles

There is an endless selection of beautiful area rugs, from hundreds of countries, with every type of motif, in every color under the sun. So when the time comes to find a new rug for a room in the house, how do you even begin looking for the right area rug? Our introduction to rug styles can help you refine your search for the perfect rug for your home.

Traditional Rugs, Contemporary Rugs, And Transitional Rugs
There are three main categories of rug style: Traditional, Contemporary, and Transitional.
1. Traditional: Traditional rugs are either antique Persian and Oriental rugs, or modern-day representations of such rugs. These rugs are recognizable by their patterns and borders, and central medallions, often in diamonds, oval, hexagons, or octagons. The motifs are often floral, or otherwise intricate. The rug’s design may be the exact pattern that has been used for centuries, even in modern-day representations and replicas. The designs are passed down through generations, and represent a tribe, a city, or a people, and are rich in symbolism. Because of their rich histories and exquisite design detail, traditional rugs are often considered formal rugs, but can still be used in many types of room and style of home.
2. Contemporary: Contemporary rugs are noted for their bold colors, stark contrasts, and dynamic styles, often with an architectural or geometric “look.” Contemporary rug designs often like to borrow from past eras, and may have design features that imitate Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern, or Craftsman-era styles, but always with an unmistakably modern feel.
3. Transitional: Transitional rugs feature designs that blend the elements of both traditional rugs and contemporary rugs, but are not bound by the conventions of either style. Transitional rugs often seek to capture the elegance and culture of the traditional rugs, but in a more casual and modern way, and might be juxtaposed with a bright or contemporary color palette. For example, a transitional rug may feature a floral design, but without the strictures of a border, or may use a traditional rug design, but in a decidedly modern colors.

Within these three overarching categories, numerous types of rugs exist. For example, dhurries, kilims, and soumaks are flat-woven, traditional style rugs that are popular in many design schemes. Persian and Oriental traditional rugs are timeless, and highly desirable, especially as antique, but also as modern-day creations. Moroccan rugs are made of wool or cotton, with a high pile that feels almost like shag. Natural-fiber rugs are made of plant fibers, including sisal, seagrass, and jute, and are popular, whether natural or dyed. There is an endless selection of beautiful rugs in every style, color, and size, including the perfect one for your space.

The Best Jacksonville FL Rug Cleaning Company
Fine rugs require fine care, and no one takes better care of your beautiful area rug than RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning. We are the premier rug cleaning company, serving the greater Jacksonville area, as well as Ponte Vedra, Ortega, Fleming Island, and the Beaches. Schedule a rug dusting, a maintenance cleaning, or a deep cleaning in our state-of-the art rug bath and find out what our devoted clients have known for years: we are the rug cleaning specialists, and the best in the business!

Is Your Oriental Rug A Tribal Rug Or A City Rug?

Oriental rugs are often divided into two categories – tribal rugs or city rugs. These rug styles are very different, but whether you prefer bold shapes or elegant curvature, rich colors or muted palettes, there is a perfect Oriental rug for you and your home. We can help you distinguish one style from the other, so that you can identify your own rug, or find the next rug for your bucket list of must-have rugs!

City Rugs

• Famous qualities: City rugs are renown for their elegance, precision, sophistication, and refined qualities
• Common regions of origin: Tabriz, Kashan, Amritsar, and Tehran are all well-known cities that produce such rugs.
• Common design features: City rugs incorporate curvilinear designs, extremely fine weave and detail work, and elaborate patterns, usually botanical or floral in nature. Perfect symmetry is featured throughout the rug’s design, as symmetry was thought to reflect the perfect order of the universe. Pile is generally cut very low in order to showcase the detail of the weave.
• Construction: Each city has its own characteristic set of patterns and colors, which are represented in each of its rugs. These patterns, in turn, can be used to trace the rug back to its city of origin. The design plan for each rug is created by a master rug designer, and consists of sophisticated knot-by-knot instructions. Rugs are woven in a shop by multiple weavers, often under the watchful eye of the master rug designer, who ensures that the plans are followed exactly, and that the quality of work is up to the desired standards. In general, city rugs come from extraordinarily gifted and revered rug designers, highly skilled weavers, large scale operations, and tight quality control.

Tribal Rugs

• Famous qualities: Tribal rugs are coveted for their elemental, geometric patterns and bold colors.
• Common regions of origin: Tribal regions that are known for their rugs include Afshar, Arab Khamseh, Baluchi, Caucasian (from the Caucasus Mountains), Kurdish, and Persian Qashqai, among many others.
• Common design features: Animals, people, and symbols are represented in geometric, block style patterns. Looser weaves and coarse fibers are other earmarks of tribal rugs.
• Construction: Tribal rugs are woven by nomadic weavers who weave as they travel. They were woven on portable looms which were significantly smaller than those used in city rugs and other types of weavings. Therefore, tribal rugs are smaller in size than many other types of rugs. Even tribes who eventually settled in villages used these smaller looms. The patterns for tribal rugs have been handed down from generation to generation, in the oral tradition, often going back centuries. The weavers know the patterns by heart. These tribes often have no written histories, and these rugs retell historic events and express cultural heritage through their patterns and symbolism.

In addition to being highly prized works of art, tribal and city rugs are highly valued for historic and cultural purposes. The weaving methods for both styles of rug have been used for centuries, if not millennia, which adds to the allure of the Oriental and Persian rugs, especially to rug lovers like all of us!

The Best Of The Jacksonville FL Oriental Rug Cleaners
Exquisite Oriental tribal and city rugs call for an exquisite level of care. RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning specializes in delivering this level of cleaning and care for Oriental rugs, and we pride ourselves in being the best rug cleaning service in the region. It’s easy to see why we are the favorite rug cleaning company of homeowners and rug owners all along the First Coast, from St. Augustine, Jacksonville Beaches, and Fleming Island, to Riverside Avondale, Ortega, and beyond. We work with each client to design and customize a rug care regimen that fits the unique needs of the rug, as well as the wishes of the client. We also use rug cleaning methods and systems that are proven to be safe and effective for even the finest threads, richest vegetal dyes, and centuries-old construction. Your rug is safe with us, and you will truly love the results!