You just received a family heirloom, an antique oriental rug that has been passed down for generations. You weren’t going to put it on display but decided that you wanted your visitors to see and appreciate this work of art, and besides, it will look so lovely on your hardwood floors. You stand back and admire it for a moment, before sternly warning your kids not to bring anything into the livingroom that might damage it. Three days later, a grape juice stain appears, which no one will admit to having caused. Hollering at the perpetrator isn't going to fix it!
You have three basic choices - you could go to the cupboard and find some carpet cleaner that you have used on your other carpeting throughout the house, and try to remove the stain yourself... but you risk causing further damage. You could go to the phone book to find a professional carpet cleaning business and give them a call... but are they skilled in cleaning such a beautiful, cherished family heirloom, or would they treat it like they would any other carpet? Or, you can find an antique rug specialist, who is qualified to clean any handwoven Oriental style carpet.
An antique oriental rug specialist has the experience and know how to clean your family heirloom without ruining the design, quality, and fabric. They are trained to take great care of their customers’ family treasure, and to recognize the materials and dyes that are commonly used in handwoven rugs. They know which chemicals can be harmful (causing dyes to run, or damage to the fibers) and which ones’ won’t cause further damage. They are also trained in the methods of using the cleaners properly.
There are many different types of stains such as wine, mud, grass, blood, pet stains, which can signal disaster to an heirloom carpet. Even when you take what you feel are reasonable precautions in displaying a handwoven carpet, accidents still happen. With most stains, prompt action is required – a call to a carpet specialist in such an emergency can give you first response actions that will help to keep the stain from setting, and then you can take it in for professional care to have the stain fully removed, or as much as is possible.
Most of us do not want to preserve a stain as a visible reminder of an accident! The wrong action in response to a spill can preserve the stain for posterity, instead of the desired heirloom treasure!
A professional antique carpet specialist can assist you in preserving the value of your handwoven rug for decades to come.
Tracy Collins, marketing assistant for Image Carpets, Inc., http://www.imagecarpetsinc.com. Image Carpets, located in New York City, offers the trade, designers and retail clients a discerning choice of hand-made antique Persian, Indian hand made oriental rugs , Turkish hand made rugs and European rugs and other oriental hand made rugs and carpets.
