Today I want to talk about a protecting coating for the rug. There are many people out there who think that protectants really do not do the trick but from a professional cleaners stand point - get everything in your home coated in a protectant! I have had customers call me to thank me for applying the protection for their rugs. They were able to first hand see the effects of blotting a spill up rather than seeing it soak in the rug and leaving a large stain. You must act quickly with any spill and begin to BLOT it up almost immediately. DO NOT RUB or you will get to live with the stain forever as well as a "fuzzy" looking area on your rug. With a protecting coating of product you have a much better chance of getting the liquid up.

The process is very simple - when you bring your rug in for cleaning we will apply the product after is is washed and still in a damp state. After an evening in the dry room with temperatures at one-hundred twenty degrees the product has cured and it is ready for every day use. The product will not change your rug in anyway - the colors will be the same, you will not be able to feel it on the fibers and you will not be able to see it. But what you will see is when you have a spill the liquid will "bead up" on the surface. There are some exceptions, i.e. a whole pot a steaming coffee will almost immediately penetrate the surface as will large quantities of any liquid. But for the every day ins and outs of life I can only recommend a protective coating on your fine home furnishings.

If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 513-251-2351 or email me at orientalrugman@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

I recently talked about wet rugs but a rather interesting one came in today that I wanted to share with you.

This rug is an 8 x 10 hand made Oriental Rug that has a vibrant blue background with a floral design in reds, browns and greens. It is a lovely piece except for the mildew problem that it has. It was in a basement family room which is very seldom used and while getting ready to entertain the owner found the rug in deplorable state. Over half of the rug has disintegrated from exposure to water over a prolonged time. There is nothing that we can do with this rug except to discard it.

It is really ashamed because it was a lovely rug and it is sad whenever one has to be thrown away. I again want to remind you to check areas of your home that are not used often - for water damage. All it takes is one good storm or frozen gutter or downspout and you can have water infiltration.

If you rug has water on it please call us or bring it in as soon as possible so that we can clean and dry the rug to prevent further damage. if you have any questions please call me at 513-251-2351 or email me at orientalrugman@hotmail.com.

Flokoti Rugs

If you have been to Greece you know what a Flokoti Rug is. They are usually all one color (natural) have longer fibers and come in many different qualities. A Flokoti looks good in almost any decorating scheme and some how seems to be the favorite rug of the family pet.

Cleaning them is somewhat tricky but it can be done. You must, like any other rug, vacuum them often. This is hard because of the length of the fibers – but it must be done. This type of rug will catch and hold the dirt deep down if you do not vacuum it regularly. We wet clean the Flokoti Rugs – scrub and rinse them completely before they are sent to the dry room.

If your pet has urinated on the rug we are able to do an enzyme bath to get the urine and odor out. Be aware that often the stains will not come out.

If you have any questions about Flokoti Rugs please call me at 513-251-2351 or email me at orientalrugman@hotmail.com.

Antique Hook Rugs

I wanted to tell you about a very good friend and also a client of mine who has many very old hand hooked rugs that were made by her Great-Grandmother. I am as old as the hills and she is my age so that will tell you about how old these rugs are.

When her GG-Mother made them she took old clothing that the family had out grown and cut them into small strips and then turned each under and sewed by hand the wool cloth. She then hand “hooked” the rugs to form the rugs using a piece of burlap as the base of the rug. She did several nautical motif rugs, the family dog and also a very lovely little cat on a rug.

Through the years these little “gems” were passed down from family to family finally coming to my friend. We clean these rugs very gently as they have become fragile through the years.
So if you have an old rug that needs to be cleaned please bring it in so that we can do an evaluation of the rug and see if we are able to clean it.

Please call me with any questions at 513-251-2351 email me at orientalrugman@hotmail.com.

Hello, If you are having a problem with an Oriental Rug or just have a question about rugs regarding cleaning, repairs, or general care and feeding please leave a comment below and I will answer them on the blog. Have a great day! Ben

Last week in all of the snow, ice and horrible winter weather I had water damage due to an ice dam in my box gutters. Water running in - damage to the floors and ceiling - but this reminded me that with the melting snow and ice check your windows and lower level floors for water infiltration.

If you have an Oriental Rug in the finished lower level check it for signs of water damage. Often time we do not go down stairs and it is an easy area to over look. It the rug is damp get it dried out as soon as possible. Use a small fan and try to raise the damp area off the floor. Water, when allowed to stand on a rug for a prolonged time, Will cause color run and also mold and mildew. It the mold is allowed to grown unchecked you could end up with a major problem in your home.

If you have any questions please call me at 513-251-2351 or email me at orientalrugman@hotmail.com.

New fringe on an old rug is often just the ticket to make that old piece look alive again. The fringe on a rug is not only decorative but it also helps to preserve the body of the rug. As we walk on our rugs we will walk on the fringe and eventually this will break down and wear away. With out the fringe you will begin to wear the body of the rug which can be very expensive to reweave.

Let me tell you about a little rug that recently came into the plant that we placed a new fringe on and it looked great. It was a small old Kerman - jewel tones and very distinct pattern. It had a somewhat long but abusive life on the floor of a larger home. The rug was passed down to the next generation and the new owner brought it in for a much needed cleaning and repairs. The fringe ends of the rug were almost worn off completely and there was minor damage to the sides of the rug.

Our customer chose a ready made fringe with a single knot in a off white color for the ends that would be applied after we cleaned the rug. This poor little guy had not been cleaned in many years and when we floor scrubbed it there was a river of soil streaming from it. After several rinses and a re-scrub the lovely jewel tones of Sapphire and ruby began to really look good.

After drying the rug went to the repair department where the new fringe was applies as well as serging to the sides. This little beauty was now ready to grace the floor of it's new owner's home.

If you have rug that is dirty and well worn please bring it into our plant for an evaluation. We may be able to turn it into your newest treasure.

Any questions please call me at 513-251-2351 or email me at orientalrugman@hotmail.com.