Cleaning old (and threadbare) oriental rugs

greenbee

I have a huge, ancient oriental rug (about 3.3m wide and 4m long) which I was given by friends to cover the bare floorboards when I moved into this house.

I'm not crazy about fitted carpet, and I've actually grown to like this rug, but I'm pretty sure it needs a clean. Some areas are worn and faded, but others I suspect are more worn and dirty. However, with the local cleaners quoting over £500 for professional cleaning I need to come up with another option... lovely as it is, it isn't worth spending the money on.

As it cost me nothing, would you risk using a rented carpet cleaner on it? Or should I wash it by hand? At this time of year either option means it will take time to dry, but at least it is woven and therefore hopefully won't hold too much moisture!

If I can get it clean, I might treat it to some new underlay to help prolong its life.

(I have a lot more old threadbare rugs as I currently have no fitted flooring anywhere in the house, so if I can find a solution that doesn't destroy them it could be very useful!)

queengoth

I paid for my rug to be cleaned once but it was so expensive nearly the cost of the rug again. The next time it needed cleaning I put it outside on the path and hosed it down and scrubbed it with a yard brush and some washing powder. I figured if wool on sheep can get wet it would be ok with my rug. The only downside is I think I over soaked it and it took ages to dry. Definitely a job for warmer weather.

PasturesNew

I'd give it a go by hand .... not now, I'd wait until a good spell of weather and do it outside then hang it out to dry.

A good/big sponge, some carpet cleaner and a bowl of water. Just spray, wait, sponge it down with a damp sponge .... and see what comes out. Might have to do it 2-3x by hand like that ... so you really need to wait for a couple of days where there's good weather predicted and you've no plans to go out for the day, so you can keep popping out and checking how it's getting on drying, or to tackle the next bit.

greenbee

I've clearly picked the wrong time of year to try this...

Or maybe I should have just left it out in today's rain and that would have beaten the dirt out!

PasturesNew

greenbee wrote: »

I've clearly picked the wrong time of year to try this...

Or maybe I should have just left it out in today's rain and that would have beaten the dirt out!

Well, you can do it now ...if you've a good space that's dry/clear for you to do it .... and space to hang it up to dry. e.g. if you have a clean garage/similar. I just assumed that you'd be space-challenged, as most of us are

Therefore, on balance, it's better to wait (until the spring) and really give it a good go without it cluttering up your space and lurking about undried/damp for a few annoying days.

greenbee

In theory I have a garage I could use this for. And in theory, there should be space in it, and it should be clean. However... the builders (who as far as I can tell are likely to be a permanent fixture) have a lot of stuff in there. And have created quite a bit of dust (better than in the house I guess). There is also a boat in there (don't ask... it isn't mine). And I can't currently get the garden furniture in...

The rug will have to come out of the bedroom shortly as the floor is coming up to move radiators and pipework and electrics, and once it is back down it's a PITA to move as there will be heavy furniture (bed, wardrobe, CoD) on top of it. If the weather is nice at this point I'll see whether I'm feeling brave enough to give it a go. Guess I'll have to start nagging everyone about clearing up the garage!

I should probably buy it some new underlay too. It currently has a patchwork of reclaimed stuff, which has lumps in some places and holes in others.

jackyann

It may not be wool, depending on its age & provenance. I looked after one of these for a friend, many years ago, and vaguely remember spreading talc into it, beating it, and vacuuming.

I would google and see what you can find, but I would be very wary of ordinary carpet cleaner.

lessonlearned

A traditional method for cleaning wool carpets in pre vacuum cleaner days was to spread damp leaves over the carpet. this was called "laying the dust" and then when you swept the leaves away it would lift out the dust, dirt and grime.

I do wonder about staining though. I suppose the leavesc would have to be only very mildly damp - a bit siimilar to damp sugar - not too wet.

If it is old it is likely to be wool so I would use something like hand wash or traditional washing soap, taking care not to wet the hessian backing, especially as you say it's a bit delicate and threadbare.

I would do a small section at a time, and then towel dry immediately. It might be worth doing just a tiny patch area first to check the colours don't run.

Two bowls - one with the soap solution and one for a clear rinse and then perhaps paper towels to soak up the bulk of any water then towel dry wuth a proper fabric towel. And then if you can, dry it outside but not in strong sunlight to avoid fading or bleaching.

A bit slow and painstaking.

I have washed rugs and then spread them out over chairs, turning them over a couple of times during the drying process to make sure the backing wasn't damp.

suki1964

Do you know anyone who has a home carpet cleaner? Mum has a silk rug needed cleaning and I used my bissell on it and it came up lovely

A home carpet cleaner isn't so hard on the carpet. You also adjust the speed in which you walk it over. I went pretty fast and it came up lovely with no shrinking or catching

greenbee

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm going to give it a go when I have to empty the room for the builders.

thriftwizard

Greenbee, I clean a number of rugs, not professionally but many of them for resale - it's astonishing what people throw out round here! And I invested £100 in a Bissell Little Green carpet machine, and it's brilliant; has paid for itself several times over now. I haven't yet come unstuck with any of them; they have all been traditional wool or wool/linen mixes, and I always test a small bit in a corner before doing the whole thing, to check I'm not going to damage it or make the colours run. So far so good...

Only one stain defeated me & actually spread, but that was back when I was using my old method of sprinkling with bicarb, hoovering then steaming, and I'm pretty sure the stain was actually soy sauce. Apparently I should have used diluted household ammonia... luckily that wasn't a valuable one, but one I'd intended to use in one of our bedrooms. Didn't quite fit anyway...

Just one question: do you know what the rug itself is worth? Some of them are much older than you'd dream, and worth a LOT, even in quite tatty condition. I wouldn't risk one that might be worth serious money, but I swear by the Little Green for the rest!