Renaissance Rug Cleaning Inc.
(503) 963-8565
Open 9:30-5:30 M-F
Closed weekends
no appointment is needed
for drop-off & Pick-up,
Antique Rug Cleaning
We've earned the trust of Portland's top rug dealers, one rug at a time with our knowledge of Antique rugs and antique rug cleaning
Antique Oriental Rugs
Antique Rugs are an integral part of many homes, and they can often do a lot to enhance the decor of any room.
However, with age, wear, damage, and even old repairs, cleaning antique oriental rugs can be challenging.
Frankly, antique rugs need specialized, knowledgeable, and experienced care beyond that of your average carpet cleaner.
Challenges Cleaning Antique Rugs
Cleaning old rugs comes with its own set of challenges: Fibers weakened by use and time, unstable dyes often result from neglect or well-intended carpet steam cleaning, or poorly done cleaning with harsh cleaning chemicals.
Well-intended but poorly executed or haphazard repairs done by untrained experts; use of adhesive machines to bind antique carpets puts unnatural stresses on weave structures, driving further damage and much faster deterioration.
Often it is a combination of all these and the ravages of time than make antique rug cleaning challenging
For example, a circa1870s Shravan Marsali prayer rug.
This rug was hot water extracted, and surface 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.
It took Us hours of soaking and gentle scrubbing with soft bristle brushes to peel off the layers built up cleaning products and soils.
Cleaning can be bad for antique rugs if improper, haphazard, or inexperienced cleaning is attempted. Often low, mosture cleaning like shampoo and hot water extraction leave residues and fail to get rugs clean.
Soils amplify the damage from food traffic and soils, such as cooking oils, proteins, and starches, amplify the detrimental effects of moisture and sunlight, and drive accelerated textile deterioration. These soils also make oriental rugs more hospitable to destructive pests like wool moths and carpet beetles.
Cleaning is essential to the beauty and longevity of your rugs, but it's critical to use a cleaning method that effectively removes deeply embedded soils and odors; carpet shampoo and hot water extraction fail.In the case of the rug pic above, the hot water extraction and carpet shampoo made the rug look better but didn't remove much of the soil, which causes wear and deterioration in a rug.
Spots happen, but spotting rugs should not be taken lightly. Improper spotting of a rug can cause permanent damage to your rug, and the stains will be difficult, even impossible, to remove.
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.
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.