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What are the specific reasons for cleaning at this time? What is expected from the cleaning? Have any pets urinated on the rug, and so on?
Here at Genie we are firm believers in cleaning most rugs as wet as they can be cleaned. The oldest way of cleaning these rugs is to wash them, and wash them we do!
Cleaning Area and Oriental Rugs
First we inspect the rug with the owner (when possible) to get as much history as possible. We like to know the age of the area rug and if it has ever been washed? If so, when and by whom?
Second, we put the rugs through a dusting machine. This is a machine that has over a hundred leather straps that gently, but firmly, slap the back of the carpet as it is fed through.
This dislodges and shakes out dry particulate soil that can eventually make the rug “threadbare”. In the past rugs were hung over lines and beaten with rackets or sticks to remove dry soil. This is one of the most important steps that can be taken to prolong the life of your rugs. This method of removing dry soil is much better than the alternative of doing nothing before washing or using compressed air forced through the rug which can tear the delicate wool fibers and cause permanent damage to your fine rugs. Wool and other natural fibers do not show abrasion the way synthetics do (For most of us, this is our wall to wall installed carpet). The problem is that as a whole, most of us will not clean something if it does not look “dirty”. Wool does an excellent job of hiding soil but that does not mean it is not soiled. The dry soil works its way down to the base of the fibers and as we walk on the carpets, that soil has a way of cutting or sawing at the base and, as I said above, eventually you can have a “threadbare” rug.
Third, we take the rugs to our pit area (a slightly sloping floor that has a drain at one end) where the rugs are thoroughly saturated with plenty of fresh water.
Many times we will shut the drain or build a pool to actually put the rugs underwater.
The object here is the wetter the better. Just as in your laundry at home, you can wash more soil out of something the wetter you can get it.
Fourth, we scrub up the rugs with a lot of shampoos or soaps. The chemistry may vary on the type of rugs and dyes used. Think of wool for a moment. Take away the mystique that we often assign to Oriental rugs. It's animal hair. Not that much different than our own hair. How do you clean your own hair? 1. Thoroughly wet hair. 2. Lather. 3. Rinse. 4. Repeat. It's not rocket science, but there are scientific principles employed. We often lather, rinse, and repeat.
Fifth, after we are satisfied that we have been able to remove all soils (most often front and back) from the rugs, we do a final rinse on the scrub pit floor.
Sixth, we move the rugs to a machine for a final rinse and wring. This is an automated process for taking the rugs from the scrub pit area into the drying room. They are placed on a conveyor system that carries the rugs in a horizontal position through a series of water jets and two wide hydraulic rubber rollers. These rollers squeeze out excess water from the rugs so they are not dripping when done. Many of you may remember electric or hand crank wringers on old washing machines. This is the same principle.
Seventh, the rugs are hung vertically from one end of the rug on special poles. This allows the weight of the wet rug to aid in minimizing the shrinkage of the rug and avoids distortion and wrinkles which occur when wet rugs are hung over a pole as other cleaners do. . At this point the fringe is groomed to remove tangles. The dry room itself is the equivalent of a huge dryer. It is humidity controlled, thereby not allowing the wool fiber to be over-dried, which can make it brittle and susceptible to breakage and split ends just like your own hair. We have giant fans that move the air in large volumes and a heater that keeps the room about 120F. The rugs easily dry in about 6-10 hours and are then lowered to the floor where they are given a final inspection, and then rolled and tied and stored while we arrange for delivery to your home.
The rugs easily dry in about 6-10 hours and are then lowered to the floor where they are given a final inspection, and then rolled and tied and stored while we arrange for delivery to your home.
