The first photograph was taken partway through the job. The extraction wand is still in view and a clean stripe runs across the pile where it has already passed. On one side of that stripe the rug is as we found it. On the other it is the same rug with the dust removed.
What this rug is
This job was a wool rug with an oriental pattern, described at the time as grey and cream. That is what we can state about it.
We do not publish where the rug was woven, whether it was knotted by hand or made on a machine, how old it is or what it is worth. Two photographs answer none of that. No stain removal is claimed either, because the photographs do not show a stain.
Why does a rug look brighter after it is cleaned?
A dyed wool fiber shows color because light enters it, the dye absorbs most of the wavelengths, and what comes back out is the color you see. That only works when the light reaches the fiber.
Dust gets in the way. It is fine mineral grit, grey or tan, millions of separate particles sitting on the fibers and packed into the gaps between them. Light hits those first and scatters, so part of what reaches your eye never touched the dye and comes back as a pale wash. Mix a pale wash into any color and the color moves toward grey. The dark outline and the lighter ground lose their contrast, and the pattern loses its edges. Remove the dust and the color reads as it was dyed. Restoring the color describes dust removal rather than dye.
What we did
- Inspected the back and the pile first. Everything after that depends on what the inspection finds.
- Dye tested a hidden corner. That is the standard step before we wet clean any rug: a little solution on a white cloth, pressed into the pile where nobody looks. If color moves onto the cloth, the method changes to less moisture and faster extraction.
- Removed the dry soil before any water went on. Both sides are vacuumed where the rug can be lifted, then the pile is worked. Skipping this step turns dust into mud at the base of the fibers.
- Hot water extraction at settings wool will take. Wool is a protein fiber and needs mild, near neutral chemistry rather than the alkaline products used on synthetic carpet.
- Overlapping passes across the whole face. The clean stripe in the first photograph is where the wand had already been.
- Cleaned the floor underneath, then set the rug up to dry.
What you should know
- No dye, no color and no coating were applied. The pattern in the second photograph was under the dust in the first.
- A vacuum reaches the top of the pile. The dust that dulls the color has worked down between the fibers, below where the suction pulls from.
- Grit at the base of the pile is hard and angular, and every step drags the fibers across it. That wear is in the fiber, so cleaning does not undo it. Every 6 to 12 months suits a rug in use.
- Cleaning does not reverse what the sun, bleach or an old urine deposit did to a dye. When a rug has one of those, we say so at the estimate rather than after the work.
- This rug was cleaned in place, on the floor where you see it. All services are performed at your home or business, so nothing had to leave the house.
When to call us
Call if your rug looks dull and you are not sure whether it is soiled or faded, or if the base of the pile feels gritty under your fingers. We clean area and oriental rugs in the home, dye test before any moisture, and clean the floor under the rug while it dries. You receive a written estimate before the work begins. We cover eight counties across North Jersey and Central Jersey, including Bergen County and Essex County. Call (908) 545-9387, 24 hours a day, by appointment.
