The exquisite beauty of the handmade carpet make it one of the world’s treasures. If properly cared for, your rug can last for generations and be an endless source of pleasure in your home. Here are a few basics to ensure your rug is afforded the best protection:

Have Your Rug Professionally Cleaned In Santa Cruz, Aptos, Scotts Valley & Watsonville

Why Wash Your Rugs?

Oriental rug experts agree: the proper way to clean a rug is by hand, in water, without harmful chemicals and machines. This hand cleaning is the same method used for thousands of years. It is time consuming, but preserves these beautiful works of art and is thus worth the time and effort.

Washing your treasured handmade rugs is the best protection you can give them. Careful washing will save your rugs from destruction by accumulated dust, lint, dirt and sand.

Continued use of a carpet that contains common household soils and grit accelerates the wear of the carpet by literally cutting the fibers and encouraging mildew and pests. In-home surface cleaning of these carpets does not remove the particles from the foundation of the carpet, and is not recommended nor endorsed by any authority on oriental rugs.

What We Do

These are the steps we take when we accept your rug for cleaning:

1. Extensive, thorough inspection and documentation. The inspection will reveal whether a rug is machine- or handmade, what its likely country of origin is, and its fiber content. These factors are important to a determination of the rug’s suitability for washing. Visible pre-existing conditions such as tea-washing, old spotting attempts, tears, sun-fade, residue from past cleanings, unraveling, excessive soiling, stains, and other damage will be noted and discussed with the client prior to cleaning. Each rug is digitally photographed and the photo is saved in the client’s file.

2. Dye Testing. “Bleeding” of dyes is caused by many factors, made more complicated by the fact that weaving techniques are being imitated by rug producers in many countries. It is not possible these days to look at a rug and determine by inspection alone that the dyes will not bleed. This is why we test every rug before cleaning. If your rug has twenty colors in it, we will do twenty tests. If we determine that your rug’s dyes are likely to migrate, we will discuss alternative cleaning methods with you.

3. Dusting. Particulate matter is removed from the rug prior to washing. After the rug has been washed and is dry, we dust again.

4. Washing. Your rug is next washed with flowing water and given a gentle bath. This bath thoroughly cleanses, refreshes and brightens the rug. The shampoo is a neutral-balanced solution that has been customized for your rug based on our testing of its color and fibers. The rug will also be conditioned in appropriate cases.

5. Grooming. Your rug will be inspected, dusted, brushed and prepared for return.

6. Drying. The water is removed from the rug by hand – no wringers or rollers. Once as much water is removed as possible, the rug is hung to dry naturally. This usually takes 24 to 48 hours. In some cases, we may determine that it is safer to dry your rug flat.

7. Results. You will be delighted by your rug’s fresh, bright appearance!

We also offer affordable In Home cleaning of hand tufted and synthetic rugs.

If your wool or synthetic area rug is too large to bring in for cleaning then let us clean it at your home or business location anywhere in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara. San Mateo or Monterrey counties

Here is a 40+ year old wool rug that sits on the 5th floor of the UCSF Medical Library in downtown San Francisco.

This was our 4th visit out to clean this rug and this time we spent an extra 2 days applying a new latex/mesh backing on it.

About 10 years ago they made the mistake of sending it out to be cleaned and the backing was heavily damaged in the move. Notice the thick wrinkles in the 3rd picture.

By applying a new backing after stretching out the wrinkles, followed by a thorough extraction cleaning we’ve added many more year of life to this old fellow.

Enjoy the pictures.

Forty feet by twenty feet

Drink spills galore!

These wrinkles are big enough to trip over.

28 gallons of latex to complete

Applying fresh latex to the backing to fix the wrinkles.

Where the wrinkles use to be!

After 3 days of hard work it's all done and looking great

Oriental Rugs are not only a work of art but also an
investment, and with proper care, can last for generations.
Oriental rugs are generally made of wool. They are more
durable, resilient and stay cleaner than rugs made from
other fibers. By following these simple suggestions your
Oriental rug will provide you with many years of utility and
satisfaction. Beating is the traditional and the best method for cleaning a rug. The rug should be hung
outside in dry weather and beaten several times on each side with a paddle or beater. This dislodges any fine grit embedded in the rug.
Rotation. A rug should be rotated once every year or two
to ensure even wear. In higher traffic areas rotation should
be more frequent. Continual direct exposure to sunlight will
damage a rug, so frequent rotation of a rug will equalize the
effect of the sun. Use window shades, shutters or curtains
as often as possible to protect your rug from damaging ultra-violet rays.
This will also protect the colors from fading.
Padding. It is recommended to use a quality area rug padding under your rugs.
This will help protect them from dirt, wear and slippage, especially in heavy traffic
areas. The life of an Oriental rug can be doubled with the use of a good-quality padding.
Please contact Connoisseur with questions or to find out where to purchase quality area rug padding.
Vacuuming. Oriental rugs should be vacuumed regularly to remove dirt and grit that may damage the fibers and foundation of the rug. Vacuuming helps prevent dirt on the surface of the rug from filtering down into the pile where it can accumulate and cause increased
wear. Be careful with a vacuum equipped with a very stiff
power brush (Dyson in particular) as they create a raking effect on the pile and
can eventually weaken the knots or bloom the fiber. Be very careful with the
fringes as they can get caught and chewed up by the
rotating mechanism of the brush.  Never vacuum against
the nap, as this presses dirt back into the rug.
Occasionally vacuum the back of the rug to remove the
fine grit that may damage the foundation of the rug.
Cleaning. Oriental rugs should be professionally
cleaned every one to two years, depending on the amount of traffic your rug
experiences. This will bring out the vibrancy and richness of color as well as the softness of the wool. You may wish to have seriously dirt embedded rugs brought to our plant for a mechanical dusting
Moth Protection. Moths can cause extensive damage to Oriental rugs by attacking the pile, fringes and the knots on the back of the rugs. Moths are especially attracted to areas under furniture that remain relatively undisturbed. Frequent rotation and regular exposure to light and air
will keep moths away. If your rugs are rarely used you
can safeguard against moths by having them professionally
cleaned and sprayed with a moth deterrent.
Storage. To store a rug, wrap it in fabric rather than
plastic. Fabric will allow it to breathe which prevents rot
or mildew. Placing the wrapped rug in a chest with a
moth deterrent is the ideal storage. A rug stored in a
damp or humid area will mildew, which will weaken and
discolor the fibers. Hot, poorly ventilated storage areas
will dry out the base of the rug, making it brittle, which
destroys the rug’s strength and durability. Remember to
inspect your area rugs regularly. If a your rug is under your regular dining room table or in your TV room it would probably be best for all involved to have us give it a onlocation cleaning at least once a year and a in plant cleaning every few years.