Efficient Antique Rug Cleaning in Homestead
Cleaning precious collectible rugs is a process that should be carried out with responsibility and care. Once in possession of an antique rug, a collector (or investor) assumes the role of a trustworthy custodian of essential artifacts and part of the artistic heritage of great importance to future generations.
Many valuable artifacts of weaving arts have been lost to neglect, pets, and their owners. Professional antique rug cleaning of area antique rugs requires skill and that skill inevitably comes with a price. The Antique Rug Cleaning Homestead Service that happened to be in your custody ought to be cleaned at least once every year as the film of dust collected on the surface of the rug will affect its appearance. Such annual cleaning can be carried out at home, though, and relatively inexpensively to boot.
Here is a straightforward and effective way to do it:
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Dusting
To get relieved of the loose dirt and dust in your rug, turn the rug pile-downwards and vacuum the rug using a commercial vacuum cleaner. Ensure that the vacuum cleaner’s head has some weight; the process essentially consists of beating the dust out. The process of ‘beating your rug’ is essential; dust justify in the foundation will turn into mud when, in later stages, water and shampoo are applied. Turn the rug pile-upward and give it another gentle vacuum to extract any dust justify in the wool fibers.
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Washing
Before undertaking this step, look for ‘hot’ jarring colors on your rug. For instance, such colors (candy red, for example) are often synthetic and prone to ‘bleeding.’ To ensure the stability of the dye, spit on a white cotton cloth and rub it against the ‘suspicious’ area. Saliva is alkaline; it will react with the chemical dye, and the fabric will be stained. If this is the problem, you are better off sending your rug to a professional. If the cloth has no traces of color smudging, you are safe to proceed to the next task.
Fill a bus pan with lukewarm water adding cooking salt, commercial vinegar, and wool shampoo or detergent. Mix thoroughly Using a soft brush, preferably a natural fiber one, clean the rug, moving the meeting gently in circular motions against the direction of the pile. Concentrate on small areas (a square foot at most) and dip the brush in the cleaning solution (lukewarm water, vinegar, cooking salt, and shampoo), shaking off the excess water before proceeding further.
You may have to prepare the cleaning solution more than once if you see it is dirty, or you may run out of it if the rug is quite large. Note that no rinsing is required; the foam will soak into the wool and dissolve entirely without a trace through the encounter with salt and vinegar.
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Drying
Once the washing of the rug is complete, leave it in the sun if possible. Otherwise, if the cleaning is done indoors, use a fan or a heat fan instead. Within a few hours in the sun, a bit longer indoors, your rug with shine with colors. The last step is to vacuum the rug, gently combing the pile in the right direction (from top to bottom). You will notice that all traces of soap residue are gone, and the rug looks and smells new.
As a responsible custodian of an antique rug, you should NOT wash your rug in a washing machine (you will ruin the foundation of the rug beyond repair); dry-clean your rug (same effect); water soaks your rug (this may cause bleeding of colors). Use powered rotary-brush cleaners on your Antique Area Rugs Washing as they are explicitly designed for wall-to-wall machine-made rugs.