Quite often, the first question we are asked about Oriental rug cleaning is, “How much does it cost?” That’s a natural concern. At first blush, it may seem that it’s better to pay $2.00 per square foot for cleaning instead of $4.00 per square foot. And we get it! No one wants to feel like they have overpaid for a service.
However, it’s good to find out if you’re “comparing apples to apples” when it comes to choosing a rug cleaning service. For example, many companies will deliberately mislead their customers and tell them that they will “wash” their rugs, when they really don’t wash rugs. The truth of the matter is often far different.
Some companies will shampoo a rug with a floor machine and vacuum the shampoo off the rug, and call that method “rug washing.” Others may use a truckmounted steam cleaner to extract the rug like how they clean synthetic wall-to-wall carpeting, and call that method “rug washing.”
Both of these methods mentioned above, even if the rug LOOKS better, are really improper methods for cleaning a hand-knotted Oriental rug. Why can we say that? Both of these methods fail to clean the entire structure of the rug, all the way through. The service provider could actually be driving soil deeper into the pile and foundation of the rug. This can promote issues such as premature wear and dry rot. These are conditions that can become apparent years after the rug is supposedly cleaned.
What’s the solution? A far better approach is to TRULY WASH your rug! Immersion washing will clean the entire structure of the rug, the pile all the way through the foundation. This will help flush away years of residue from previous cleaning attempts and pet accidents. The result will be a rug that can last for many years into the future. So, yes, there IS a difference when it comes to Oriental rug cleaning!
