Hidden danger – bleeding rug wefts.

Every professional rug cleaner knows how to test a rug to see if the dyes are colorfast or not. At least they should know how to. =) Especially since a good percentage of new rugs today have dye colorfastness “issues.” I walk through the steps in my post on dye testing, and the video on [...]

Afghan rugs, the trade-off for new tribal rugs.

Rugs are loosely lumped into two general categories – “tribal” rugs or “city” rugs. City rugs come from “bigger” weaving operations that tend to produce rugs with more intricate designs, higher knot counts, and tighter quality control. This is a broad generalization of course. Tribal rugs come from smaller operations, or nomadic weavers who weave [...]

Make rugs not war. =)

I know… it’s supposed to be love… …but it made me chuckle anyway. I was behind a car of a rug dealer in La Jolla once, and he had a bumper sticker that read… “Rugs, not drugs.” I thought that was cute. But sometimes “war” and rugs cross paths, like in Afghanistan weavings. In tribal [...]

Watch out for Tea-Washed Rugs in the home…

Tea-washed rugs are rugs that have had a brown “tea-like” dye solution applied to the rug to make it appear darker, older, or to hide some underlying flaws (like past dye bleed damage). The “tea wash” solution, tends to be on the basic pH side, so that it will “hold” to the acid pH original [...]

High heat = high risk…for oriental rugs.

A couple times a month I get a photo of a rug that comes in that breaks my heart… because you see a really nice rug damaged by something that was entirely avoidable. My last post showed a rug that was damaged by not being attentive with a piece of dusting equipment on a Turkish [...]

A silk tufted rug – now what?

I was sent some photos of a relatively “new” type of product hitting the market – a tufted rug using silk as highlights. Now…tufted rugs are of course not new to retail shops. I’m sure you’ve seen them, rugs with a material backing, like this: Tufted rugs are what I refer to as FAKE rugs, [...]

Rug To Run From: Viscose Rugs!

Real rugs (hand woven oriental and occidental rugs) are truly pieces of hand craftsmanship to showcase in your home. They are a piece of a weaver’s life that you get to enjoy. A piece of art that will live centuries (if it is properly cared for). Commodity rugs are mass produced today to feed a [...]

Pet Accidents Happen. Now What?

Pet activity may happen on your favorite rugs this season. Guests in the home, or you away from home, restless pets can end up doing things they should not. With an inexpensive tufted rug, this can be a blessing because it is protecting a much more valuable wood floor underneath it. With an oriental rug [...]

Braided Rugs – What To Watch For

I’ve seen braided rugs come in all colors, sizes, and ages. New product from stores like Pier One, and some from the 1930′s with a story from the owner about how their neighborhood tore clothing into strips to create a community rug when she was a child. These rugs are braided. Fabric strips braided into long [...]

New Oriental Rugs – Protecting Your Investment

I use the term “oriental rug” to mean a hand-woven rug (as opposed to an “area rug” which is a machine made rug). Technically “oriental” refers to “the East” (the Orient) and rugs woven over on the other side of this great planet of ours. Academics use “occidental rug” to refer to those rugs woven [...]

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