Antique Rug Cleaning
We've earned the trust of Portland's top rug dealers,with our experience in new rugs, Persian rugs, vintage rugs and antique carpets cleaning and repair.
Antique, And Vintage Carpets
Many oriental rugs we clean have a family history. A good-quality rug stands the test of time and bears witness to family generations, the good, the bad, and the passage of time. Antique rugs connect generations and stimulate fond childhood memories, family get-togethers, and loved ones gone.
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These old special things need specialized cleaning, and care.
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Challenges Cleaning Antique & Vintage Rugs
Rug cleaning comes with its own set of challenges: Natural materials such as wool and cotton fibers are weakened by use and time, unstable dyes often result from neglect or well-intended carpet steam cleaning with hot water or poorly done cleaning with harsh cleaning chemicals. While hand knotted rugs are renowned for their durability time and use can weaken vintage Morrocan rugs.
Many Vintage rugs are artificially aged to change or lighten colors reducing fiber durability and such rugs need extra care during cleaning. Smoe vintage rugs are overdyed with unstable dyes that need special consideration.
Well-intended but poorly executed or haphazard repairs done by untrained experts; use of adhesive machines to bind antique and vintage rugs puts unnatural stresses on weave structures, driving further damage and much faster deterioration of antique rugs. Often it is a combination of all these and the ravages of time than make antique rug cleaning challenging.
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At Renaissance we have the utmost respect for the rugs we clean and thake extra care to clean rugs and provide great customer service.
Rug Hand Washing
For example, a circa1870s Shravan Marsali prayer rug.
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This rug was hot water extracted, and surface carpet shampooed repeatedly. Quick low labor cleaning made the rug look good initially, over time, the incomplete cleaning left behind soil and cleaning residue that attracted soil faster and over time made these soils harder to remove.
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It took Us hours of soaking and gentle hand washing with soft bristle brushes to peel off the layers built up cleaning products and soils.
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We provide a gentle deep cleaing for for your area rugs new or old.
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​Antique Rug Cleaning – Why Proper Care Matters
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Antique rug cleaning is a delicate balance between preserving history and restoring beauty. These heirloom textiles, whether antique Persian rugs, hand-knotted oriental rugs, or vintage tribal pieces, require specialized care and expertise. Age combined with floor uses over decades requires antiqure rugs need personalized special care
Improper or inexperienced rug cleaning, and cleaning chemicals —such as standard carpet cleaning methods—can lead to permanent damage, fiber deterioration, and color loss. Unfortunately, low-moisture carpet cleaning techniques like shampooing or hot water extraction often seem safe, but they leave behind residues and fail to remove deeply embedded soils, the important soils to remove from your rugs.
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Over time, these residues contribute to premature wear and fading.
Both antique rugs and vintage rugs are vulnerable. Antique rugs naturally weaken over time due to age and use, while vintage rugs are often compromised by artificial treatments designed to soften colors or simulate the appearance of age. These treatments can mask a rug’s true condition and make proper cleaning even more critical.
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Why Cleaning Antique Rugs Is Essential
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Over time, rugs accumulate harmful soils such as cooking oils, proteins, and starches. These soils don’t just dull the appearance of your antique or vintage rug—they amplify the damaging effects of foot traffic, moisture, and sunlight. Left uncleaned, they accelerate the deterioration of delicate natural fibers like wool, silk, and cotton. In addition, these soils create an ideal environment for pests like wool moths and carpet beetles, which can silently destroy valuable oriental rugs from the inside out.
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Spots happen, but spotting rugs should not be taken lightly. Improper spotting of a vintage rug can cause permanent damage to your rug, and the stains will be difficult, even impossible, to remove this is true with all oriental rug even new ones.
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Spot cleaning old rugs is similar to new rugs. The first step in preventing spots is by vacuuming them thoroughly on a weekly basis or more frequently with rugs and carpets in a high-traffic setting, such as an entryway, to remove light soiling so it doesn't build up in the carpet foundation.
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Seek out professional rug cleaning advice on spotting like here, and stay away from mystery concoctions found on the web or store-purchased cleaners made for wall-to-wall carpets that are often too aggressive to spot clean wool and other natural fibers. Hand dish detergent one drop to a cup of water is a good all-around rug spotter.
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How To Care for old Rugs Between Cleaning
Our Service Area
Renaissance provides cleaning & repair services to the Portland metro area and beyond