However, a new study challenges long-standing beliefs. Using internationally recognized wear and soiling protocols, Dr. Ágnes Zsednai with the WoolSafe Organisation tested 100% wool woven carpet head-to-head against an identical 80/20 wool/nylon blend.

Key findings from the WoolSafe lab study:

• Pile retention: 100% wool held its pile thickness better in the critical early years of simulated use.
• Appearance retention: The 80/20 blend showed faster loss of pattern clarity and more flattening.
• Soiling: The nylon blend trapped more soil. While it released some during cleaning, it consistently showed higher residual soil levels.
• Shedding: No significant difference between the two constructions.
  Overall, adding nylon did not extend the performance life. In fact, the blend showed disadvantages in both appearance and cleanliness.
  

  Wool sample out of the Hexapod after 6,000 revolutions. Samples were subjected to various stages of wear to demonstrate their performance over time. Sample 5 (3,000), sample 6 (4,000), sample 7 (5,000), and sample 8 (6,000).

This study provides the most substantial evidence to date that high-quality woven wool carpet performs better on their own, without synthetic reinforcement.

80/20 wool and nylon sample out of the Hexapod after 6,000 revolutions. Samples were subjected to various stages of wear to demonstrate their performance over time. Sample 5 (3,000), sample 6 (4,000), sample 7 (5,000), and sample 8 (6,000).

What this means for the U.S. cleaning market

Nylon dominates the installed carpet market in the U.S., with polyester making significant inroads in residential spaces. Wool is often seen as a niche or luxury fiber.

For cleaners, this new WoolSafe data has important implications:

1. Wool is not a weakness; it is a strength. Many technicians assume that wool needs nylon blended in to stand up to traffic. This study shows otherwise. Pure woven wool not only competes, but it also excels in long-term appearance and soil management.
2. Commercial clients benefit from longevity. In high-traffic spaces, such as hotels, offices, and public buildings, lifecycle costs matter more than initial costs. A carpet that keeps its appearance longer reduces replacement cycles, disruption, and environmental waste. Wool provides that durability.
3. Cleaners can advise with confidence. As service providers, we frequently receive questions about which fibers to specify. With this study in hand, cleaners and consultants can recommend 100% wool woven products with evidence-based assurance of performance.
4. Education matters. Cleaning wool requires a different approach than cleaning synthetic fibers. Technicians who complete the WoolSafe Fibre Care Specialist course gain the skills to care for wool safely and effectively in both commercial and residential settings. WoolSafe Approved Service Providers are listed in a global directory, making it easy for businesses and consumers to find trusted local professionals.

Comparison at 5,000 revolutions: Clean vs. soiled samples of 80/20 blend and 100% wool.

This research was conducted by Dr. Ágnes Zsednai, the WoolSafe Organisation, at the request of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). For more details about the WoolSafe Lab and the course to become a WoolSafe Approved Service Provider, visit��.

The post Rethink Carpet Fiber Durability appeared first on Cleanfax.

When rugs are woven, there is often some additional work done to help create a particular finished look. With wool rugs, “luster washing” is a common treatment we see come into our rug facilities, and it is one to make note of in pre-wash inspections as luster-washed rugs present unique cleaning challenges.

[one_half]

Luster washing is a chemical wash to help give a wool rug more sheen. Using solutions that are often bleach-based, the process dissolves the outer cuticle layers of the wool to make them smoother. This softens the colors, makes the wool softer to the touch, and gives the fibers more shine, like silk. In fact, with extreme chemical work, these rugs are often mistaken for silk by consumers.

Luster washing done well creates a beautiful effect; however, this process to add luster to rugs has a cost.

The price of high sheen

The chemicals used in luster washing are removing the natural protective layers of the wool. Under the microscope, the layered scales of wool become smoother after this process.

The unintended consequence of removing the outer cuticle layers is that it also reduces the natural strength, durability, and repellency of the wool. This makes the wool more susceptible to UV fading, more prone to permanent stains from spills, and more likely to wear from foot traffic.

The most familiar example of the consequences of a strong luster wash are Chinese hand-knotted wool rugs woven in the 1980s. These were rugs made with excellent wool and dyes and given a strong chemical wash to create a heightened shine and softer feel.

Since the chemical wash affected only the surface pile of these rugs, it’s possible to see the exact physical impact on the wool fibers when you compare their chemically affected tips to the base of the fibers.

This particular production of Chinese wool rugs is known to be very sensitive to sun fade. They are rugs that cannot be dried in the sun after cleaning because they will dramatically lose their color.

Due to the high sheen of these Chinese wool rugs, they can continue to look attractive even when they are especially dirty. The shine can hide damage that is occurring to the fibers, in particular fading of colors or pile wear. If you are not detailed with your pre-wash inspection, you might uncover some surprising problems as the damage will be much more evident after cleaning.

[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

A Chinese hand-knotted luster-washed wool rug cut open to show the wool knots. The tips of the wool are chemically softened and faded. The base of the fiber is darker and stronger.

Grinning open the fibers during a pre-wash inspection will show fade and if the rug has been chemically luster washed.

The original pink wool of this Chinese rug has faded to beige on the front side.

[/one_half_last]

This particular Chinese rug (below) had not been cleaned for more than seven years.

A Chinese luster-washed wool rug with more than seven years of soiling that is hiding some pre-existing damage. Sun fade areas are noted, as is an area where a plastic protector has caused damage. Layers of soil can camouflage problems on these rugs.

The wool had a strong shine despite the layers of “life” embedded in the fibers. It was important to prepare the client for the fact that several areas of sun fade from the windows were going to become more noticeable after the rug was cleaned. Additionally, a plastic chair protector that was used along the right side of the rug caused some fiber damage due to small plastic teeth on the underside that cut away at the weakened wool.

Knowing that the rug is luster washed and sensitive to fading and wear, these areas could be discussed with the customer before the wash proceeded to help manage expectations. As anticipated, removing the years of soiling revealed all the areas impacted by sun and use.

After washing, the rug comes back to life with stronger color and shine but also shows every area of damage much more clearly.

Luster-washed wool rugs are also much more prone to creating pooling effects in traffic areas. The wool is less resilient so it will wear in incorrect directions, which can create shadowing due to the change in light reflection.

On a luster-washed wool rug, years of traffic has led to fibers pointing toward the side rather than down with the natural grain of the weave. The change in reflection creates a strong light and dark difference in the color as a result.

In Chinese rugs, you tend to see this effect particularly along the edges and in high use areas. The friction of traffic breaks away the lightest tips of the wool and reveals a slightly darker tone underneath. This can become a darker shadow in front of a sofa with regular foot traffic. The weakened wool can also lead to pile distortion in traffic areas where fibers lay in the wrong direction, creating color difference.

With stronger wool, pile distortion can often be corrected. With luster-washed wool, it is a bigger challenge to try and improve these areas because it is not just temporary distortion, but fiber wear and damage.

It is important to be aware of how these rugs are being used in their setting to spot potential areas of concern BEFORE you reveal them with your great rug cleaning work.

How to help customers protect the look of luster-washed wool rugs

You cannot bulletproof these rugs, but there are strategies that can minimize and even out wear, as well as protect the fibers to buy an owner time for effective cleanup of spills before the rug stains permanently.

• 

  Luster-washed wool rugs are not able to repel spills, so they are much more susceptible to staining. Fiber protector is especially important to recommend with these rugs.

  Rotate regularly: These rugs in open areas will wear faster and develop shadowing (light/dark areas) as the tips of the fibers break away from years of traffic. Recommend that customers rotate luster-washed rugs regularly to help even up this wear over time.

• Vacuum regularly: It is the fine grit that cuts at the wool to cause wear, so regular vacuuming by owners of these rugs is especially important. A quality rug pad will also act as a shock absorber to help slow down wear.
• Use fiber protector: Applying a fiber protector to luster-washed rugs will help repel spills and soils, giving owners more time to clean up while limiting permanent staining damage.
• Clean spills promptly: With the chemical wash having removed the wool’s natural repellency to spills, immediate cleanup is more important than ever.
• Use professional cleaning products: Clients need guidance to avoid grocery store spot and stain removers on these rugs, as many are not safe for use on wool. With these chemically-weakened wool rugs, consumer products often create cleanup disasters.
• Limit UV exposure: Recommend that clients use window treatments to limit UV exposure to these rugs to slow down the fading process. Some wool protectors offer UV protection as well.

In the past, luster wash work was performed only to the face side of wool rugs. This made them easier to identify in an inspection process because the back side would be much darker than the front side. A rug cleaner could grin open the rows of wool and see that the tips of the fibers are lighter than the base.

Today with the popularity of “distressed” rugs, chemical work is being performed to BOTH sides of rugs to fade the front and back. This aggressive chemical work makes the rugs harder to identify and creates�� new challenges for both rug owners and professional rug cleaners. We will dive into that topic in my next article.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist, and an owner of Blatchford’s Rug Cleaning in San Diego, California. For rug course and training details, visit .

The post Luster-Washed Wool Rugs: What You Need to Know appeared first on Cleanfax.

Rugs may shed for a variety of reasons. The shedding may be due to poor fiber quality, poor construction quality, or poor homeowner care. Here is an overview of common instances of rug shedding and whether there are any tips to help.

Wool and silk woven rugs

Tufted rug shedding.

Hand-knotted rugs are often sheared after the weaving process in order to create the ideal pile height for the style. The shearing process itself can leave small fibers that can “shed” when the rug is new.

The best-quality production houses wash rugs after they are created to remove this residue, but even with this attention to detail, small cut pieces can be missed. With the best-quality rugs, shedding will stop shortly after the sale because any loose cut threads will be vacuumed up.

Rug shedding problems happen when the shedding does not stop. This is often the result of poor-quality fibers or poor-quality construction in the rugs.

A good-quality, standard pile height, hand-knotted wool or real silk rug should not shed.

It takes a certain strength in wool and silk yarn to twist and hand knot a rug. This means traditional, hand-knotted rugs will not shed unless there has been some type of serious damage to the rug (for example, very heavy traffic, water damage, or moth damage).

Sometimes, in a rug with good quality wool, the shearing process is not high quality, and the makers miss some strands in the process. These missed strands can pop up with general use and vacuuming, and these areas look as if a cat has clawed at the rug.

Poor shearing results in pulls. Poor construction fibers pull out.

To know whether a rug is made of bad, brittle wool or has just had a bad haircut by the shearing tool, tug at these fiber pulls/sprouts. If bad wool is the problem, it will pull apart and pull free. If bad construction is the issue, the entire knot will pull out. However, if it will not easily pull free, then there is simply a missed strand that needs to be cut. Take your scissors and give the strand a trim.

Shaggy and chunky wool

People who buy shaggy wool or large chunky wool rugs come to believe that all wool rugs shed.

Wool begins as short staple fibers that are spun, twisted, and plied together into yarn. However, at the core, wool is short strands blended into these longer strand creations. This means the longer and bigger the wool construction, the more likely the owner will to have short strands pull loose.

The quality of the wool in these rugs may be very good or may be very poor. Very good-quality rugs will stop shedding after several months, as all “loose” short strands pull free and away with use. The very poor-quality rugs will shed for their lifetimes and will wear down thinner in high-use areas because they break with use.

Shedding in bad shaggy and chunky wool.

One tip for shaggier wool rugs is to use a horse hair brush to groom and pull away the loose strands, as vacuuming can be a problem. A beater bar brush vacuum is never a good choice for these rugs, and any vacuuming is usually by hand tool.

Another shag and chunky wool rug tip is to take the rug outside when the landscapers are around and have them use their leaf blower to fluff up and blast away the dust and “stuff” in those fibers. (It works much better than a vacuum on these rugs.)

Tufted rug shedding

Tufted rugs are rugs that are held together with a latex glue backing. These rugs have a material covering up the back side.

In India, the wool that is not strong enough to use in hand knotted rugs is used in lower-quality production wool rugs like “hand loomed” rugs and “tufted” rugs. These are the rugs being sold through online rug stores for hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars.

With these rugs, if you take your thumbnail and strongly scratch the front wool fibers, you can break them apart, and the texture of the wool is scratchy instead of soft to the touch.

Whenever I receive an email from a consumer complaining about a new rug that is shedding heavily or having odor issues, nine times out of 10 it is from India. (The tenth is from Morocco.)

Shedding in a bad tufted wool rug.

High-quality tufted wool with breaks from wear.

Shedding traffic area on a looped wool rug.

There are extremely high-quality wool and silk tufted rugs produced by companies such as V’Soske, Edward Fields, Custom Looms, and other high-dollar custom tufted rug creators. When these rugs have fibers that pull away, it is due to heavy traffic, aggressive beater bar vacuum damage, or moths.

Some tufted rugs are constructed with a hooked style, and loops in areas with heavy foot traffic can break and pop up. Poor-quality fibers obviously break more frequently with less friction, but even the best-quality fibers can break with constant friction. It is extremely important to not use beater bar brush vacuums on hooked-style rugs or any rugs where poor-quality fibers have been used.

Plant fibers

Plant fibers, like jute, sisal, and nettle, do not have the longevity of wool, cotton, or real silk. These fibers also do not have flexibility and durability, so they will break and shed in higher traffic areas.

Jute sisal breaking and shedding.

New sisal jute rug with breaks.

These fibers splinter and fray in the process of creating braids, basket weaves, or large knots used in the typical styles of these rugs. The fibers have a texture of straw, and they snap and break easily in traffic areas.

Use a horse hair brush to loosen up small pieces and then follow up with a hand vacuum tool to help pick up the tiny broken pieces. Using an upright beater bar vacuum can sometimes cause too much damage to these rugs.

These are rugs that will shed and wear down consistently if under regular heavy foot traffic. It is important to rotate them to even out the wear and shedding.

Artificial silk

Viscose and all its fake silk derivatives (e.g., bamboo silk, banana silk) are the weakest fibers in the rug world today. They are chemically processed wood pulp and cotton waste byproducts, so they are essentially pressed, high-gloss paper. This means that, of all the fibers out there, these are the most likely to shed and have fiber pulls. These rugs, usually in the higher-traffic areas, look like they have cat pulls when the fibers break. You can easily pull these strands apart because they have no strength.

Shedding viscose rug.

Another negative of these fibers is that, when wet from a spill, just like paper they easily stain and can turn to “mush” if not cleaned up immediately. Plain water spills can sometimes permanently damage the texture and shine on viscose rugs.

Viscose rugs will shed continually and are considered “disposable,” decorative rugs because of these problems. One tip to help protect viscose rugs is to have fiber protector applied to them when brand new to help boost repellency of any spills and prevent customers from having to buy another rug when the first spill happens. Protector will not bulletproof the rug, but it will help lessen the extent of the damage.

These rugs are also easily damaged by most durable vacuum cleaners. A better choice is a light-weight cordless vacuum to help pick up and remove surface dirt and grit without tearing apart the rug fibers. Artificial silk fibers have no ability to hide soil, so they dirty quickly and show it. Vacuuming should happen as often as the counters and floors need to be wiped off and swept up.

With this overview on the most common shedding scenarios, cleaners can give their clients the best advice on how to minimize the problem or recommend they buy a better-quality rug.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist, and owner of K. Blatchford’s San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. For online rug course and training event details, visit
.

The post Shedding Rugs: What You Need to Know appeared first on Cleanfax.

In the past, jute was used as a foundation fiber in some hooked, needlepoint, and (a few) pile rugs. Today, however, there seems to be a “jute renaissance.” Jute has become one of the more widespread fibers in the rug world, especially in rugs coming out of India. We are seeing jute used not only for foundation fibers, but also as a face fiber for jute rugs.

New jute face fiber rug from India.

From the retailer’s point of view, jute rugs have two major advantages: Jute plant fibers are quick and cheap to grow. Anything that gets rugs to market faster and at a lower cost is an advantage to the rug sellers.

For the cleaner (and consumer) there are major negative aspects to jute, specifically that jute is not a very durable or easy to clean fiber. Most jute rugs end up becoming “disposable rugs” if they are in heavy-use locations. Though these rugs are marketed as “eco-friendly,” the fact that they reach landfills faster than traditionally woven rugs is not particularly environmentally friendly.

Hooked rug with jute foundation fibers.

The most common challenges for professional rug cleaners that come from jute rugs and how to handle them is detailed within this article.

Jute browns with water

If you are a professional carpet cleaner who has ever had to tackle installed wall-to-wall wool carpet, which happened to be woven on a jute backing, then you know how dangerous this situation can be.

Jute foundation browning a white

Get that jute even a little too wet, and the white wool can turn shades of coffee brown.

Jute will turn brown when it’s wet. It releases oils that brown the fibers. Since the way to get rugs clean is to wash them, this can create a cleaning challenge.

Some rug cleaners, if the rug is not too heavily soiled, opt to go with a good vacuuming and low moisture cleaning methods.

With heavily soiled jute rugs, some cleaners wash, giving them an acid side rinse (to help prevent the browning) and dry them quickly. The longer a jute rug takes to dry, the more problems can arise.

Some cleaners dry these rugs face down to wick any browning issues to the back side. If a cleaner has a drying platform, the rug can lay face up with warm, dry air run underneath to create that same wicking dynamic toward the back side of the rug.

Jute does not clean up well

Jute does not give a wow when cleaned the way wool does, it does not have a great soil-hiding capacity, and the fibers easily break and split when under normal use. This means aggressive scrubbing is not an option. The fibers also easily discolor from spot and stain removers, so in-home cleaning efforts often leave large bleach halos around all of the spills.

These can sometimes be dyed to help lessen the do-it-yourself damage, but often the time and skill needed for this type of work is not worth the rug involved.

Do-it-yourself spot removal can make it even tougher to make a jute cleaning job look great.

Jute will look better after washing, but there is never a dramatic result with the work. Jute does not have great texture or sheen, so there is nothing to pop back to life with a great cleaning job.

Many of today’s jute rug productions are loosely (quickly) constructed rugs that come from India, and they tend to stretch and buckle.

If the rug is anchored down with heavy furniture, the edges can stretch out of shape in the home. If the rug is given a full wash and moved around without careful handling when wet, it also is possible to stretch these rugs out of shape. Once they lose their shape, it is next to impossible to get them square again.

These are not rugs to hang up wet to dry.

Jute becomes brittle

Jute is a very absorbent fiber, and if left damp too long, it will develop mildew and eventually dry rot.

As jute ages, it also dries out and becomes brittle — and loses its strength as a result. You will see this in very old hooked and needlepoint rugs in which the jute foundation splits and breaks along the folded edges and in high-traffic areas.

Old, hand-hooked American rug from the second World War.

With hand-hooked and rag rugs made during the era between the two World Wars, often the jute used as the foundation in these rugs begins to disintegrate with age. The face fibers (wool and cotton) stay completely intact, but the foundation threads split and tear. When deterioration occurs in the foundation of these rugs, they must be removed from floor use, and other ways to display them must be found because they will continue to fall apart.

Old Spanish wool rug woven on a jute foundation that is deteriorating
from age and moisture damage.

With extremely fragile pieces from this era, traditional cleaning methods are not safe. These rugs need to be secured between nylon screens to allow no flexing or bending of the foundation and soaking and rinsing with as little agitation as possible. This will help prevent further damage to the deteriorating foundation fibers.

Jute holds odor like no other fiber

Jute is a primary fiber used in the production of machine-loomed rugs. When a customer brings in a synthetic-loomed rug and says the rug does not looked stained from their dog but smells horrible, this is the result of the jute.

The synthetic plastic fibers are not soaking up the pet urine; instead, the very absorbent jute interior fibers are acting as a sponge. The synthetic fibers hold the moisture inside the jute, so it is very difficult for the rug owner to dry out these areas, and this leads to a fungal and bacterial pet petri dish in these rugs.

Aggressive decontamination and odor removal steps need to be taken to make these rugs “clean” again, and sometimes the price to save the rug exceeds the cost to simply buy another one.

Contemporary, Indian, chunky-braided jute rug with jute backing.

With these rugs, cleaners need to inspect the back side of the rug more closely than the front side. Dark shadows in the foundation will often be mildew and urine salts. If the problem is left alone for too long, these areas will develop into tears or holes.

Manage expectations with jute rugs

With all rugs, but especially with these jute creation rugs, the more time a cleaner spends pre-inspecting and testing, the less time will be spent trying to fix unexpected disasters.

If a rugmaker has cut so many corners to make a rug cheap that fully washing it safely is not possible, then explain the structural problems and any options that may be available to get the rug as clean as is safely possible.

If a rug owner has allowed five cats to make the jute rug their own litter box, and the odor is horrendous, then sometimes recommending that they put their money toward a new rug instead of saving this one is the best option.

Some rugs are worth saving. Jute rugs generally aren’t.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist, and an owner of K. Blatchford’s San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. She was recognized as the 2006 Cleanfax magazine Person of the Year for her industry contributions. For online rug course and training event details, visit .

The post What to Know About Jute Rugs appeared first on Cleanfax.

If you go to the mass-market rug retailer websites and pull up a “tufted rug” for sale, you will inevitably see the care comments along these lines: “Shedding is natural and may be heavy. Odor is natural and may get heavy if wrapped in plastic. Colors may fade.”

None of these conditions are “natural” for a good quality wool rug. They are indicative of poor quality wool, poor dyes and poor adhesive holding these tufted rugs together.

Due to the large amount of negative reviews on tufted rugs, especially the worst ones coming out of India, there has been a shift to try to find a cheap way to craft rugs that “look” woven even though they are actually poorer construction than the tufted rugs they mean to replace.

This new rug type that is becoming a headache for both rug owners and rug cleaners is called India “hand loomed” and India “loomed by hand.”

These rugs are being presented as if they are hand woven rugs, and the prices imply they are good quality. However, these are wool and viscose rugs that more than any on the market today are being considered as highly flawed merchandise.

Corners are being cut

The structural problem with these “hand loomed” rugs is something that cannot be seen easily from the outside.

These rugs are crafted on a loom that is similar to a fabric loom, with levers pulling and pushing the fibers together, rather than a weaver actually “tying” (technically twisting) knots around two warps.

If you watch the “hand loom” process next to a “hand knotted” process you will see the construction quality differences. I encourage you to search YouTube for videos of both so you can see the processes with your own eyes.

A “hand knotted” woven rug will take months to weave, whereas a “hand loomed” rug can be crafted in hours.�� There are consequences of corners being cut in the quality.

With a “hand knotted” rug, the warps are the fringe tassels of the rug. Wool knots are twisted/tied around two warps across the width of the rug. Then a weft, or several wefts, is used to interlace in front and behind each and every warp in order to hold that row of knots solidly in place. Then the next row of knots is tied.

With a “hand knotted” rug, the fringe tassels often have a kilim (flatwoven base), or tassel knotting, to hold those ends securely in place. The wefts are wrapped around the outer cords so that the sides also are securely held in place.

This is important to know because both the fringe and side cord securing is absent on a “hand loomed” rug.

A “hand loomed” rug production presses fiber strands together, connecting them with quite thin threading, and with no proper securing of the ends or sides. They are produced as flat woven rugs and pile rugs. Here is how to spot them.

‘Hand loomed’ rug identifiers

1. All edges are the same. No natural fringe.

These rugs all have a simple wrap finish around all four edges. If there is fringe it will be clearly added after the fact and NOT a foundation thread. These rugs are cut along the edges, and sometimes they have glue along the edge to try to help hold them together.

2. Easy to stretch. Stretch marks in field.

If you take any corner of these rugs you can easily stretch the rows and columns out of alignment. If the rug has been down on the floor for months you will begin to see “stretch marks” and wrinkles in the rug from it stretching apart.

3. On flat woven “hand loomed” rugs you cannot roll them from all edges.

These rugs have an especially heavy foundation thread running in either the length or the width, and as a result you cannot roll them from one direction. It acts like Axminster carpeting, which can only be rolled from one direction. A true hand woven flat weave will be able to be rolled from the end or the side equally.

4. Grin open pile “hand loomed” rugs to see large loose foundation tracks.

Grin the rug from the front side with the length and with the width to see if you can see the large foundation threading. You can take tweezers, or even your nails, and easily move and pull at the thinner threads. The stability of these rugs is incredibly poor. Foot traffic also moves these threads and eventually pulls the rugs out of shape and tears them.

5. Easy to pull out tufts, and they are “V” shaped.

You will be able to easily yank out a wool tuft from the face of the rug, exposing that it is the shape of the letter “V.” These tufts are pressed into place similar to how tufted rugs are, except that tufted rugs have glue applied on the back to hold them in place. In this case, nothing is holding these tufts in place except the pressure of the neighboring threads, and as they stretch and move apart these areas shed as they lose those tufts.

Problems with cleaning

These rugs are new to the market, and they exhibit problems after only months on the floor so they tend to come in because of wrinkling issues, tearing issues, shedding issues or accidental spills.

Due to the lack of stability in the foundation of these rugs you will be able to see the rug pulling loose and apart in the traffic areas. You will also be able to see the edges pulling loose.

Due to the loose construction, any spills will be fully saturated through to the backside because these rugs have no repellency to liquids.

Vacuums, extraction wands and bonnets will cause damage to these rugs. They cannot take the agitation that other rugs can.

When the interior thick fibers swell in the washing process, it is easy to pull these rugs apart. If the thick fibers run the width of the rug, then they are likely to pull apart as the rug is pulled through a rinser/wringer, and can pull apart in a centrifugal spinner.

All other extraction tools also can be too much stress on those thin connecting fibers, and any shifting in the tension can lead to the rug literally coming apart.

This is one of the few rugs that is high on the list of most rug facilities’ “rugs to run from” list.

Warn your customers

When you identify a “hand loomed” or “loomed by hand” rug from India, share your concern with the owner. They need to know that they have a rug that has structural flaws, especially if they paid thousands of dollars for it.

For your customers who are shopping for new rugs, you can give them a copy of this article to show them what to be on the look out for. ��These rugs are poorly made and a horrible choice for use in high activity rooms or in homes with pets.

No one likes to be ripped off, so you can be the hero who helps protect them from wasting thousands of dollars on a rug that may only last them a few months before they discover it is flawed. If you become the source of rug education for your customers, then you can help them choose a quality rug that you can clean for them for decades.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, a NIRC Certified Rug Specialist and an owner of K. Blatchford’s San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. She was recognized as the 2006������𲹲Դڲ�����magazine Person of the Year for her industry contributions. For online rug course and training event details, visit��.

The post A Rug to Run From: India Hand Loomed appeared first on Cleanfax.

The residue left behind from on-location cleaning methods can lead to problems for wool in particular, so these products are designed to reduce those associated risks.

Especially with colorful wool rugs, leaving residue that is on the alkaline side and using high temperatures in the cleaning process can contribute to yellowing, loss of color and future dye migration of acid dyes left in a buffered alkaline state.

Acid rinses can help to bring the pH of wool fibers back to a “safe” range, but by its very nature with wool rugs it is always best to wash these rugs in a cleaning facility rather than cleaning on-site.

Most rug washing facilities predate the creation of “wool safe” solutions and their teams are skilled in the art of caring for wool rugs. With thorough washing, they are not utilizing the techniques that create the concerns we see with installed wool carpet.

When does a “wool approved” product really matter? When you are cleaning wool with a portable or truckmount.

Acidic solutions

One tool to always have in your rug cleaning chemistry tool box is an acidic rinse.

While most fiber rinses have surfactants, you might choose to use a rinse with no added surfactants, because that limits residues left behind. Acetic acid and citric acid are a choice of many rug cleaners.

With acid dyed wool rugs, an acidic application can be used to stabilize the dyes during the cleaning process.

Acid can be used to pre-treat pet urine stains on wool to help remove odor-causing urine salts embedded in the foundation fibers.

An acidic rinse on wool can help remove cleaning solution residue, and on cotton fringes it can help alleviate or reverse cellulose browning.

The right acid can be a multi-use tool that can help make you a better rug cleaner.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist and an owner of K. Blatchford”s San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. She was recognized as the 2006 Cleanfax magazine Person of the Year for her industry contributions. For a copy of her latest free report “Rug Disasters — and How To Avoid Them” visit her rug education website at .

The post Choosing Chemistry for Rug Cleaning appeared first on Cleanfax.

There has, however, been little or no attention to the chemical solutions used on rugs before they are sold and the harm they cause to the wool rugs before they even reach rug cleaners.

Most rugs are given a light chemical wash after being woven. Although each country has its own “special sauce” for this purpose, many use a low percentage chlorine bleach solution.

They do the wash in order to help wash away impurities, rinse away excess dye and help soften the colors a bit by dissolving the outer wool cuticle layers.

Wool is a hair fiber, and this type of treatment is not unlike what is done when someone wants to add to their own hair some highlights, more sheen or even more dramatic color results — if they are so inclined.

Most wool treatments are considered fairly harmless to wool fibers. There are, however, some treatments that are more extreme in an effort to create a “wow” initial result with a rug, but with consequences that occur later in the rug’s life.

And sometimes those “consequences” pop up during the cleaning process by an unsuspecting rug cleaner.

Let’s discuss the more common chemical washing treatments, what they are, how to identify them and the dangers they may pose to rug cleaners.

Luster wash

The purpose of the “luster wash” is to make a rug have more sheen to it, and to soften the feel of the wool pile. The solution helps to dissolve some of the outer cuticle layers of the wool fibers to help them to reflect more light and have a softer touch.

A light luster wash is given to most rugs before they go off to be sold. However, some countries give aggressive luster wash treatments in order to make the wool look almost silk-like in the way that it shines.

Rugs woven in China and Pakistan can have a strong light/dark direction to them, which is maximized by these chemical treatments. Rug owners sometimes mistakenly believe their wool rug is silk due to this sheen.

How to identify luster washed rugs

Wool rugs that look like silk are a sign of a heavy “luster wash” processing. There is a very strong light and dark direction. When you grin open the fibers, you will see that the base of the fibers are darker than at the tips. It is almost as if they have been “frosted” at the tips like highlights in hair.

Antique wash

Sometimes the chemical treatments are not meant to make a rug shine more brightly, but are meant to “age” the rug to make it appear to be older than it is.

“Antique wash” is a more aggressive treatment to not just eat away at the wool cuticle layers, but also to help fade/mute the colors substantially.

True antique rugs have a certain patina and mellowing of the colors that comes from age and use. In an attempt to try to attain that same result in a new rug, there is aggressive degradation of the rug that can lead to an almost disappearing of the colors as well as wearing down of the fibers.

As with hair that has been too aggressively treated with bleaches or peroxides, the strand can break, become more brittle and can lose the ability to hold color. Wool is no different.

Poorly executed chemical processing can make a rug’s original colors disappear. It can also create a rough and brittle texture to the rug.

In some new rugs where this chemical antique wash work has been too aggressive, the rugs are sometimes dipped in ink to try to create something decorative from a rug that has essentially been burned of its wool content.

How to identify antique washed rugs

Wool rugs that have been given an “antique wash” will have a strong color change from the back of the rug to the front. In some contemporary rugs with this processing, both sides are processed, so grin the rug fibers open to see the original color in the middle of the fibers. If that original color is very strong, then you will know this rug has been chemically treated.

Tea wash

Other rugs today are “mellowed” by covering them up in an over-dyeing process referred to as “tea wash” or “herbal wash” treatments.

In some countries, rugs are packed in tea leaves to help give this type of gold/brown hue naturally to help soften the rug’s colors. In most cases today, the rug is “tea washed” using solutions that can range from natural dyestuffs to chemical solutions such as potassium permanganate.

The quality of this chemical treatment varies as much as with the other treatments. You have low-end applications, which are essentially sprayed on one side of the rug only, and higher-end applications that have the rug dipped in the solution to try to attain an even result.

I refer to this as a “spray-on tan” for rugs, because they are not permanent, and can be blotchy if low quality.

How to identify tea washed rugs

Wool rugs that have been “tea washed” have an overall gold or brown tone to them. The fringes will be beige instead of white, and this can wash away with fringe cleaning solutions, so be careful. If you grin open the rug fibers, they will be darker at the tips instead of lighter.

Dangers from chemically washed rugs

There are four main concerns with cleaning technicians attempting to deal with chemically washed rugs.

1. Color fade and change from sun or spot removers

These rugs fibers, especially the luster and antique washed ones, are damaged fibers. Those more aggressively-treated rugs become much more sensitive to sun fade and also more prone to color change with use of some spotting solutions.

Avoid drying these rugs in direct sunlight. Always test spot removers in small areas before attempting any larger use.

2. Pile distortion and fiber breaking

High sheen wool rugs have fibers that can easily get distorted and break from the use of extractors, brushes or other tools. They also can be damaged from foot traffic in a way that creates shadowing that may not be correctable with washing.

Avoid heavy scrubbing on high sheen wool rugs. Make sure that your extraction strokes are with the pile direction, not against it. Wands with a Teflon head will help prevent fiber breaking. Use softer brushes for grooming, and a gentle hand with tools going with the grain. Never rake the field of these rugs with a carpet groomer.

3. More susceptible to staining

With luster and antique washed rugs, the protection of their wool cuticles has been compromised, and this makes them more susceptible to permanent staining. Be aware of this before you promise a client that spots/spills are “no problem.” They may be a problem on a chemically washed rug.

With tea washed rugs, it is not unusual to have a spot remover remove the brown dye treatment and create a bright white area on the rug. Remember, these applications are not permanent, so stay gentle in your cleaning solution choices.

4. Odor and sensitivities.

Some chemically washed rugs have residue of their treatments absorbed inside the rug’s cotton foundation fibers. I have had several consumers contact me regarding having chemical sensitivities to “tea washed” rugs from India after flood incidents. These rugs tend to have thicker foundation wefts that may not release the solutions as easily as thinner fibers would.

If a rug is woven (you can see the knots on the back side of the rug), most odors can be removed through fully washing the rug and using the appropriate solutions targeting the type of contaminant causing the odor.

Inspection is the best protection

When a rug is covered up in soil, it can be a surprise when cleaning uncovers “problems” like pile damage, dye damage or discolorations due to past chemical wash treatments.

The more time you spend inspecting a rug, the less time you will spend trying to correct problems that are not your fault.

Determine if a rug has been chemically washed, and then discuss those issues with the client before the wash. When you address the issues beforehand, you are educating the client, and also protecting yourself in the process.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist and an owner of K. Blatchford's San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. Her blog at  is the most visited and referenced website on rug education in the cleaning industry. If you would like more information about her online and hands-on rug courses, please visit .

The post Chemically Sensitive Rugs appeared first on Cleanfax.

It is made shiny with the use of a viscose liquid chemical processing, and is technically referred to as “viscose rayon” but, in rugs, it usually is referred to only by the first name because it sounds fancier than “fake silk.”

A proper analogy is that viscose rayon is the “sausage” of the fiber world, simply because it is a lot of by-products spun and processed together into staple fiber strands, and you truly do not know what exactly is in it.

What we do know is that this inferior fiber presents several problems for cleaners, all of which they need to be aware of. Here are four common challenges to cleaning viscose rugs, and some tips to minimize rug cleaning disasters.

Shedding

Viscose rayon fibers are weak, and the spinning of staple fibers into strands to weave with means that you have a lot of breakage. Regular foot traffic, and vacuuming, will pull loose strands that often look like a cat has used the rug as a scratching post.

Avoid scrubbing the rug during the cleaning process. This can keep the problem from getting worse. Soft window washing broom brushes or soft hand brushes are preferable to rotary scrubbing or other rotary extraction tools.

Since these strands are already loose, you can charge by the hour to shave or clip the worst areas. This is an additional repair charge. Make sure you point the problem out before the wash rather than after, or you will be doing a free repair.

Bleeding

Rayon does not readily hold dye. It fades and bleeds. Cleaners need to do a dye test to see if it is possible to safely clean the rug without ruining it.

If the dyes are not colorfast, good results can often be attained using an upholstery tool to surface clean the rug, twice if necessary. Ideally, the cleaner can use a tool that has a smooth Teflon head so that marks are not created with the tool strokes.

It is always wise to clean one test area first if taking this route so that you can see the results before attempting to surface clean the entire rug. It is important to have your cleaning and extraction strokes going with the direction of the pile so that distortion is not created.

Yellowing

Cellulose fibers yellow when wet, so it is expected that viscose likes to yellow when cleaned. Spills often become yellow areas, and fibers tend to yellow after cleaning.

Using an acetic acid or citric acid rinse can assist in lessening the yellowing in the rug during the dry time. Speed drying the rug, or drying it face down, can lessen this yellowing effect on the top side of the rug. The back side, however, will become more yellow over time.

Stiffening

Artificial silk rugs of all kinds can become stiff and matted after the cleaning. This makes the fibers look blotchy and makes the top pile feel like cardboard to the touch.

Sometimes a misting of a very small amount of fabric softener (diluted and mixed thoroughly in a sprayer) over the damp fibers prior to the final drying phase can soften the fibers.

Hand grooming the rug after it is 100 percent dry can also soften the fibers. This is done slowly, by hand, with a spotting brush or similar short bristle brush. Section by section, the cleaner slowly brushes an area against the grain to help loosen the stiffness, and then slowly brushes the same area with the grain to lay it back in place.

Some instructors have recommended using velvet carding brushes for this grooming, but they are often much too aggressive for viscose fibers. Try softer bristle options. It is important that the brush strokes be slow so that you do not break off fibers and cause damage.

Cutting corners

Because the essence of this rug is trying to find a “cheap” way to create the look of silk, there is a cost to cutting the corners of quality.

Viscose rugs are one of the few rugs that look worse with time, and with cleaning. Their best look will be on the day it was purchased.

You cannot assume the rug was purchased at a low price because the owner may have been unscrupulously sold it as the “real deal” — silk.

Regardless of whether it is real silk, or viscose rayon fake silk, your training in fiber testing, dye testing and pre-inspection skills should help you to know when to take on the job and when to run from it.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist and an owner of K. Blatchford’s San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. Her blog at is the most visited and referenced website on rug education in the cleaning industry. If you would like more information about her Textile Pro training program on rugs and fine fabric care with Jim Pemberton, send an e-mail to their team at TextilePros@gmail.com.

The post Viscose Rayon Rugs appeared first on Cleanfax.

Wool is the best fiber for rugs. The dyes are vivid, it washes beautifully and it is strong and lasts longer under foot traffic.

Even the lesser quality wool rugs from a decade ago, perhaps the ones chemically processed from China, would still perform well — some of them for decades.

You had two choices: You could purchase great investment wool rugs, the types sold at rug galleries. A second choice would be the “not-so-great” commodity wool rugs, the types sold at big box stores.

But, if it was wool, it was worth owning. You could take that to the bank.

Today, it’s an entire different ballgame. Wool is being pushed aside. The new contender is… the synthetic rug.

The synthetic fibers, olefin (polypropylene), polyester and acrylic are being used to create “fake” wool rugs… but as you can see side-by-side, it”s like putting particleboard next to real wood.

Now, some might think it is great that we now have a lot of inexpensive synthetic area rugs on the market. These people would be wrong, because lower costing rugs end up having a higher cost that buyers need to be aware of, because sales people are not going to tell you this.

Here is the real scoop on “fake” wool. First, the “good:”

Synthetic area rugs — the ”good”

1. They are cheap

If you pay more than $5 per square foot for a synthetic nylon, olefin (polypropylene), polyester or acrylic rug, you are being ripped off.

You should truly pay next to nothing for these rugs because there is minimal labor cost in their production. All are machine made and the fibers are essentially poor quality plastic.

The backs of olefin rugs are hard to the touch and they are not flexible when you roll them; they are stiff. They feel like plastic on the back because they are plastic. There will be machine stitching along the edges.

2. Some are stain-proof

Olefin rugs especially are pretty much stain-proof. Because it’s solid solution-dyed plastic, there are no dye sites for spills to penetrate and recolor and stain.

And, even for stains that do occur, you can use chemicals as aggressive as bleaching agents or oxidizers to remove discolorations without typically damaging these fibers or their color.

3. They can be cleaned with hot water extraction

Unlike wool rugs, you can blast synthetic area rugs with heat to clean them. Just take care around the edges which can sometimes stretch or buckle when wet.

Otherwise it’s a very quick clean.

Synthetic area rugs — the ”bad”

1. They require more frequent cleaning

The great thing about wool is that those fibers have lots of “pockets” in its construction to hide dust and grit, so they look good even when they are dirty.

That is not the case with olefin, polyester and acrylic, which are solid and smooth plastic strands.

This means there is no place to “hide” soil, so it simply sticks to the outside of the fibers, and these rugs get duller — and uglier — faster.

This means owners will want to clean their synthetic rugs after months on the floor rather than after a year or two as with their wool rugs.

Even though they can often just be surface cleaned with hot water extraction (if it”s just normal soiling), cleaning a few times year can add up.

2. They wear and yellow faster

Because they are plastic, they do not have longevity, and do not wear well with constant abrasion.

Whereas with wool rugs they gain a patina with age and use, with synthetic rugs they just get flatter and more worn.

3. They are sticky and scratchy

The most maddening thing about these cheap synthetic rugs, for both their owners and for the professional cleaners who are asked to clean them, is that they grab everything and are tough to get to release lint, hair and grime.

With shorter pile synthetic fiber area rugs, you will be tempted to just get a lint roller to try to roll up the stuff sticking to the fibers because typical vacuum cleaners fail.

Because they are plastic, they are not soft to the touch. They aren’t rugs that feel great when you walk on them barefoot, and kids certainly are not going to want to roll around on them. Pets will still make “accidents” on them.

Synthetic area rugs — the ”ugly”

Speaking of pets, having synthetic rugs can sometimes be a nightmare in trying to remove bad odors from them.

1. Odor problems can be expensive to handle

These synthetic rugs often have jute fiber foundations. So, although an olefin rug fiber is not going to absorb contaminants like pet urine, the heavy jute strands absorb it up like a sponge, and it is very difficult to remove this with surface cleaning methods. Jute fibers are the king of odor-holding fibers.

This means if there are any serious odor issues with synthetic rugs, there are two choices.

First, you have to fully wash and deodorize the rug, often charging much more for that service than the purchase price of the rug.

Second, tell them to buy another one.

With synthetic rugs, especially the olefin ones, you can use oxidizing solutions to remove truly rancid odors that regular washing is not getting out.

2. You will never say ”wow” after cleaning

What”s great about being a cleaner of wool rugs is that there is always a “wow” between when a client brings it in dirty, to when it is clean again.

One of the pitfalls about having more synthetic rugs on the market today is that often the buyers of these rugs are not aware they are synthetic, and after they pay good money for a good cleaning, the “after” look of the rug is better but never a “wow.”

Seriously, how “great” can plastic look?

Disposable versus enjoyable rugs

When I was growing up in our rug gallery business, the two groups of rugs we had were “investment” rugs and “decorative” rugs.

I was surrounded by antique and semi-antique works of woven art in our gallery. I was always amazed by the stories of how these rugs were literally knot by knot crafted by hand over months, and sometimes years, of weaving.

Today the rug market has been overridden by a lot of really bad products. There are cheap synthetic rugs, and cheap wool tufted rugs, all basically considered “disposable” rugs.

They are considered disposable synthetic rugs because of the problems I”ve noted here. And tufted rugs are the same because of the growing problem with the latex holding them together. The landfills are slowly being filled with these rugs that only last a few years.

As a professional rug cleaner, knowing this helps you advise a rug owner on whether they should invest in cleaning their synthetic rug, or to perhaps put their money toward another rug.

Even better, toward a new wool rug.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist and an owner of K. Blatchford”s San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. Her blog at is the most visited and referenced website on rug education in the cleaning industry. If you would like more information about her Textile Pro training program on rugs and fine fabric care with Jim Pemberton, send an e-mail to their team at TextilePros@gmail.com.

The post Synthetic Fiber Rugs appeared first on Cleanfax.

Let”s go through different scenarios that you, as a professional cleaner, may encounter. This knowledge will help you identify, and then avoid, potential problems.

Here is a picture of a wool and silk Nain rug that has bled, where the red dyes have migrated into the neighboring off-white areas.

What could create this type of dye migration? Several things could have happened.

Fugitive dyes

If the red is shown to not be colorfast during your dye test, it could bleed from improper exposure to water from a flood or a poor cleaning attempt.

Your dye testing process will show you the potential risk of dye migration during cleaning, and you can determine what dye stabilizing solution and cleaning solution to use.

”Excess” dye

If the rug has never been cleaned previously, there might be a bit of “excess” dye in the fibers that may wash out on the first cleaning, just as with a new colorful shirt in the laundry.

Or, if the rug is from a weaving area that does not have access to a thorough washing of the wool prior to the weaving, there may be excess dye in the wool waiting to be released.

You see this in some American Indian weavings, some Afghanistan rug weaving and some other tribal weavings where water may be scarce.

The next photo is an American Indian rug that has bled.

Over-dyed applications

Some rugs are given an “over-dye” application after the weaving process.

The most common is a “tea wash” treatment, where a brown dye mixture is applied to the rug to make it look older, or with softer colors. This is also called henna-wash, or gold wash, or antiquing.

As with anything, there are both poor quality and high quality versions of a tea wash.

In the poor quality, it is sprayed on, and will crock off on to a dry towel during a dye test.

Here is an example of a poor quality tea wash Chinese rug.

A better quality tea wash will hold strong during a future washing, but over time will fade, first most noticeably on the fringe tassels (which will turn from beige to white) and then in the rest of the field of the rug over time.

Worth noting is that, sometimes, a “tea wash” is applied to hide flaws, such as prior dye migration or past stains.

It”s important to closely inspect tea washed rugs on the front and back to look for any warning signs.

The next photo is an example of an India rug that has been tea washed because it had bled.

Another common technique to “color up” a rug is to use ink to hide flaws or to enhance the colors of a rug with poor quality fibers or dyes. The problems with this type of “painting” of the rug today is that if it is using ink, this often bleeds out when wet because a dye stabilizing solution is not going to work on ink.

A proper dye test will show you if ink has been used.

Something else that can be “added” to the rug is done by “accident,” and you can see the result in the next photo.

Yes, we are speaking of pet urine, which starts off as an acidic stain, and then turns alkaline over weeks and months.

If it is not cleaned up right away, this can create permanent dye damage that devalues the rug.

A rug may have colorfast dyes, but all of the areas with urine exposure may bleed no matter which steps are taken to prevent it.

It”s important if you are washing a rug that has pet stains to have a release so that the owner understands that any dye damage existing from the pet urine contamination is not reversible, and although you will take great care in washing the rug, you will not be able to prevent damaged areas from losing dye.

Test, test, test

Most rug dye migration disasters can be avoided by thoroughly testing the dyes of the rug before you clean it, so you know which rugs to run from.

1. Test with hot water or a high pH spotter. It is important if you are testing the front side of the rug that you “grin” open the fibers so you are testing the entire fiber, and not just the “tips” of the fibers.

2. Test with your dye stabilizer or dye lock solution as directed. If your first hot water test shows migration, then you test with your stabilizing solution (acetic acid, citric acid, etc.) to see if it also migrates with this test. If there is no improvement in the transfer during the test, then you need to look more closely as to whether you have bad dyes on your hands, or perhaps ink.

3. Test the back of the rug, too. Sometimes the bleed is not coming from the face fibers, but coming from dyed weft threads. Test the back of the rug to make sure the wefts will not bleed. You can also test the back if you are afraid of making any unintentional marks on the front of the rug with your dye test (or if the rug is so filthy you cannot get to the dyes from the front to test them).

Walk from the bleeders

With the right training, and the right solutions, it is possible to wash rugs that are “bleeders.” But if you do not feel confident in that area, it may be a better choice to seek out someone else who is. Leave it to the rug plant professionals.

If your dye tests come up as troubling, most rug plants have the chemicals, tools, wash system and water removal equipment to handle the trickiest textiles. It”s always good to have a plant you can subcontract to when you know you have a bleeder on your hands, and most will extend a professional discount to you.

If you do take on the risk yourself, because you feel you have the right training, solutions and tools, then at the very least send some photos to others in your network to get any additional insight before you begin.

It never hurts to seek out support before your work begins, and can end up saving you from a disaster if you happen to have some knowledgeable cleaners in your circle to give you some guidance in the process.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert, NIRC Certified Rug Specialist and an owner of K. Blatchford”s San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. Her blog at is the most visited and referenced website on rug education in the cleaning industry. If you would like more information about her Textile Pro training program on rugs and fine fabric care with Jim Pemberton, send an e-mail to their team at TextilePros@Gmail.com.

The post Why rugs bleed appeared first on Cleanfax.