Area rugs are mysterious textiles.  Here at Revive-A-Rug Cleansing & Repair, we service all types of area rugs; whether they are: Persian, Oriental, Tribal, Navajo, natural or synthetic, all rugs that come through our rug care washing facility receive a proper and thorough dry-soil removal treatment.  There are many ways to perform this task and this post will cover a few of the aspects of rug dusting that we offer to our clients in the greater Jackson Hole, Wyoming areas. 

Most of the area rugs that we receive into our shop are constructed of natural fibers.  Natural fibers can act as sponges for many different types of dry soils.  Wool fiber area rugs can hold many, many pounds of dirt that you just cannot see or even vacuum out of the rug.  Wool has little scales that dirt can hide in that makes it look like it is still clean.  Wool can still reflect light really well even when it is dirty.  The scales on the outer layers of wool fibers act like Velcro to certain dry soils and they require focused attention to these fibers to remove them.

The picture above illustrates how wool fibers can still hold on to dry soils even after the rug had been thoroughly vacuumed.  We often are asked the question from our clients in the greater Jackson Hole, WY areas if we can perform the cleaning of their area rugs in their home.  While there are always exceptions to the types of rugs that can be cleaned in a clients' home, generally we do not offer this service for many reasons, but namely for this post, it is because in order to properly remove the dust particles, dry soils and particulates from the area rugs, we need to have it in our wash facility in order to contain the large amounts of dust that will inevitably be released from these rugs.  Were we to attempt to perform this in the home, the home would then be covered by large amounts of dust and this is not beneficial to anyone.  

The three pictures at the beginning of this post represent the amount of effort that one can invest into removing dry soils from an area rug.  The dust at times, seems to come off in layers as the face fibers are manipulated with differing methods to remove it.  Different rugs with differing densities will release these dry soils based on the aggression of the tools used to remove the soils.  Each rug has its own characteristics that prevent or allow differing methods to properly and thoroughly 'dust' the rug.  Clients are usually surprised when they receive their 'Pre-Wash Report' from us after their rugs have had this step performed with the pictures of the amount of dust that was removed from the rug.  

These dry soils need to be removed prior to the rug being introduced to moisture, as it is easier for them to be removed when dry than wet(simple physics).  Many of our clients are used to having their area rugs cleaned by a local carpet cleaning company with the rugs in place in their homes.  What is happening to the rugs over time, is that if this dry soil is allowed to remain, the abrasiveness of the soils will cut, scratch, and eventually cause damage that can require a major repair of the rug.  Each time you step on a rugs face fibers, there is friction between the fibers from the pressure of your foot.  This friction can be like rubbing sandpaper together.  This even leads to destruction of the dyes of the fibers themselves(see picture below).

You can see from the two pictures above that dry soils can even cause damage to where the dyes themselves will crock onto the dry soils.  This is irreparable damage in most cases.  Unlike solution dyed synthetic carpets, natural fiber rugs with natural dyes are more delicate and require more care and maintenance.  Nylon carpets that are solution dyed contain their respective colors throughout the fiber itself.  Natural fiber materials that have natural dyes are coated and dyed usually in a dye bath(much like dyeing an Easter egg).  It is important to regularly remove the dry soils to prevent fiber damage, and a vacuum cleaner just cannot do this in your home.  

Finally, just having your area rugs given the once over in your home from a carpet cleaning company can cause the residual dry soils in the rug fibers to harden over time with the addition of new moisture from the carpet cleaners wand once it dries.  This speeds up the process of soils sticking to the fibers as the cleaning shampoos are not properly rinsed from the fibers of the rug.  It may look great when it is wet and for the next week or so, but this new, sticky environment attracts more soils which make the vacuuming even more ineffective than before.  At Revive-A-Rug Cleaning and Repair, we offer many dry soil removal options to fit the requirements of any rug that comes into the wash facility.  We hope that this post was informative and educational.  If you own area rugs in the greater Jackson Hole, Wyoming areas, please consider us as an option the next time you need area rug services.

-Rug Reviver
(307)774.RUGS(7847)