Should I Take My Rug To My Dry Cleaner?
August 10, 2015 02:33:13pm
When it’s time to clean an Oriental or Persian rug, some homeowners wonder if they should have it dry cleaned. After all, we take our finest clothes and garments to the dry cleaner, so shouldn’t we take our finest rug there, too? The answer is a firm NO!
Dry Cleaning Does Not Get Your Rug Clean
The solvents used in dry cleaning, namely dry foam and dry chemicals and compounds, should not be used on most types of fine area rugs. Dry cleaning methods simply do not get fine Oriental and Persian area rugs clean. To begin, no dry cleaning method will rinse or wash your rug in any way. The dry chemicals are applied to the rug’s surface where they will remain and form a residue that will end up attracting even more dust and dirt. Moreover, whether the chemicals sit on the surface of your rug, or worse, burrow deep into its fibers, those chemicals will be introduced into your home’s environment, and any pets or children who play on the rug will be exposed to them. In order to be truly clean, your rug needs to go through a series of important steps: It should be vigorously dusted, then washed by hand in a rug bath, then thoroughly rinsed, perhaps even multiple times, before being dried in a drying room. None of this may happen when you take your beautiful rug to a dry cleaning company and they sprinkle or spray chemicals onto it, collect payment, and hand it back to you.
Dry Cleaners May Subcontract Your Rug Cleaning
Many dry cleaners will not actually clean your rug themselves. Instead, they will most likely send your rug to a subcontractor to clean. While in some ways, this may be better than if they were to dry clean your rug themselves, subcontracting poses a risk to you as the rug owner, since you cannot possibly vet this subcontractor. You may spend time researching what you think is a good dry cleaning company for your rug, only to have the company turn around and send your rug to an unknown subcontractor. This can make it difficult to know who to hold accountable if the cleaning doesn’t go well or if the rug is somehow damaged in the process. Next time you are tempted to take your rug to a dry cleaning company, instead take your rug to the best professional rug cleaning company in your area. The proper way to clean an Oriental area rug is by hand in a rug bath, and this takes training and a specialized knowledge that is very different from the knowledge it takes to clean your shirts. Here’s what the best rug cleaning companies will do:
- They will have highly trained and skilled technicians who specialize in rug care.
- They will actually wash your rug. Your rug will be submerged, thoroughly cleaned and rinsed, and any special treatments you request will be properly applied during the cleaning process.
- They will clean your rug in their own shop. They will not pass your rug to a mysterious subcontractor. In fact, when you call your rug cleaning company to set up your appointment, ask if you can tour the cleaning facility!
Your rug is a treasure and deserves the luxury of specialized rug care and cleaning. Do your research and find the best professional rug cleaners in your area, and don’t trust your Oriental rug with any other company than the best.
Northeast FL Rug Cleaning Pros
RugPro Oriental Rug Cleaning is the best rug cleaning service Jacksonville FL has to offer. Rugs are our passion, and we specialize in giving your Oriental rug individualized cleaning and care. If your rug simply needs a maintenance dusting or cleaning, or if it has been wrapped in your attic for decades and needs restorative cleaning from it’s backing to its fringe, we are the best rug cleaners for you. We serve homeowners and rug collectors throughout downtown Jacksonville, the neighboring Beaches and communities of Ponte Vedra, Ortega, Riverside, and more, and we’d love the chance to give your own Oriental rug the cleaning it deserves.
