Owning carries with it the responsibility of taking care of the thing being owned. This is especially true when it comes to Oriental and Antique Rugs and Carpets. These are artworks that represent the very rich culture that had been handed down for a number of generations. They are essentially the fruit of a long-standing legacy and take years to make. However, a tiny mistake or error in taking care of these is enough to ruin it for good.
If you plan on investing or you already have a rug or carpet in your home, here are things that you need to do to ensure that it will stay for the years to come-as it was always meant to be:
- Research, research, research. In the same way that we plan and research before buying a new home, we must also look into the history of the rug or carpet. Each component/material of the carpet requires distinct care that must be taken into consideration to make sure it lasts.
- Never place it in a room that gets hit by direct sunlight too often. Being constantly exposed to sunlight causes unwanted bleaching of colours-much like what happens to our hair when we’ve been in the sun for too long. Also, temperature changes can make threads brittle over time.
- Don’t place it in places where there is a lot of damp or where it is likely to be damp. The damp makes the dirt cling more to the thread and accumulate deeply, making it more difficult to clean.
- Cleaning and washing it on your own is a no-no. Cleaning these is not as simple as placing your laundry in the wash. Doing it on your own would often result in discoloration or stretching that could distort the weave and ultimately ruin it.
- When you see a stain, don’t try to remove it on your own. The materials and natural dyes used react differently to the usual cleaning agents that we commonly use. They don’t take kindly to bleach either.
- Carpets and rugs like to be stroked the right way too! This is because each carpet and rug has its own flow or lay. Have you ever tried stroking a cat in the wrong direction and saw that the pattern of its fur gets messy and jumbled? The same applies to carpets and rugs when you stroke them the wrong way, only that unlike cats, it is more difficult to restore it to the way it was before.
- In this age of do it your own kits, you would think that you are capable of doing things on your own. However there are a few notable exceptions, and the cleaning and repair of rugs is one of them. They are best left to experts who have years of experience and complete array of tools necessary to make the job done.