If you have a wool or viscose rug.....

[PrincessKitty1]

......how do you clean it???

I was browsing at TJ Maxx Home yesterday (awesome store!) and found some beautiful 8 X 10 throw rugs at great prices. I want to buy one for our living room to put over our wall-to-wall carpet and add a little color to the room.

Our last throw rug was made of an artificial material (polypropylene) and it steam-cleaned like a dream. I HAVE to have a steam-cleanable carpet since I have pets. I know Home Decorators catalog and Overstock have beautiful wool rugs, too, but I've been avoiding them because I don't know how cleanable they are. Can you steam-clean a wool or viscose carpet??? Anybody know??

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Bump!

 

[smiller]

I'd like to know, too! I was just wondering the best way to tackle cleaning my living room rug...

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I'd like to know, too! I was just wondering the best way to tackle cleaning my living room rug...

Yes--our wall-to-wall carpet is nylon and we have it steam-cleaned every 3-4 months....I'm wondering if I'll be able to do the same with wool (or viscose, which is rayon--not as thick and pretty as wool, but less expensive).

 

[mpls_mm]

Wool is the best thing ever!! I try to only get wool rugs. You won't see an antique, heirloom polypropolene handed down generation to generation. Keep in mind wool and viscose are two different things. The viscose is more silky and in my opinion sheds a lot. Now there is cheap wool too, but most you will find will be better on line. Wool is a natural fiber and is just like your own hair, it is sheeps hair. Now sheep don't stain, and neither does your hair. You can clean vomit or whatever out with no issues, it will eventually release with enough vacumming. I have several wool rugs, my favorite is in the kids playroom. It has taken years and years of abuse and looks like new. The popularity of synthetics came about during the war when wool was in short supply and immediately after when parachutes and other war time products were not being made. The carpet industry spread stories about allergies to push their product. (I am an interior designer) I have seen houses full of wool carpet that was thirty years old and looked perfect, perfectly ugly too, but still perfect. Pay close attention to the amount of fibers, 15% wool with the majority a synthetic will not have the characteristics of wool. Also, when people, and I mean rich people, spend several hundred dollars a yard on carpet, it is never on a synthetic. All of the casinos and hotels in Vegas use wool, it is high traffic and long wearing. It is also better for people with allergies and less flammable. Check out the wool website at wool dot com. Finally, if any one pushes a rug and tells you it is hand knotted and has tiny little knots, it was done by child labor. Please look for a rug endorsed by an agency that guarantees no child labor or poor labor conditions.
Okay, i am done with my big wool rave.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Finally, if any one pushes a rug and tells you it is hand knotted and has tiny little knots, it was done by child labor.

I actually already knew this but I'm so glad you brought it up! I would never, never buy a wool rug that is hand-knotted or hand-tufted because I know that it is done primarily by child labor (slaves). I would only buy a machine-made rug or one guaranteed to not use child labor.

 

[mpls_mm]

There are several collectives that oversee production in "safe" area rug production. In some factories the children go to school and have food in addition to work. The sad fact is many families depend on their children to earn a living. We will never stop the practice, but we can ensure that the children do work in safe, clean environments. OT, Kathy Irelands PR guy came to our place to discuss rugs and someone brought up child labor and he got very defensive. he said that in India those kids don't shoot up schools, they are productive and happy and we are viewed as barbarians by the rest of the world. he was kind of a jerk. i've never bought a Kathy Ireland anything

 

[PrincessKitty1]

There are several collectives that oversee production in "safe" area rug production. In some factories the children go to school and have food in addition to work. The sad fact is many families depend on their children to earn a living. We will never stop the practice, but we can ensure that the children do work in safe, clean environments. OT, Kathy Irelands PR guy came to our place to discuss rugs and someone brought up child labor and he got very defensive. he said that in India those kids don't shoot up schools, they are productive and happy and we are viewed as barbarians by the rest of the world. he was kind of a jerk. i've never bought a Kathy Ireland anything

There's a big difference between home-based labor, where a child learns a craft from their parents, and factory labor. Most hand-made rugs are done in factories, and the children are basically slaves. If you google "child labor" and "rugs", most sites say that the very cheapest, poorest quality handmade rugs are those made with child labor. I agree, that PR guy sounds like a jerk--these kids are NOT "productive and happy."

 

[sadashivan]

......how do you clean it???

I was browsing at TJ Maxx Home yesterday (awesome store!) and found some beautiful 8 X 10 throw rugs at great prices. I want to buy one for our living room to put over our wall-to-wall carpet and add a little color to the room.

Our last throw rug was made of an artificial material (polypropylene) and it steam-cleaned like a dream. I HAVE to have a steam-cleanable carpet since I have pets. I know Home Decorators catalog and Overstock have beautiful wool rugs, too, but I've been avoiding them because I don't know how cleanable they are. Can you steam-clean a wool or viscose carpet??? Anybody know??

As far as I know viscose or wool rug are steam cleanable provided you buy hand knotted washed rug otherwise shrikage is possible. depends what kind of quality you buy carpet used with long fibre wool and viscose are good
check my profile for vendors

 

[4Seasons]

I don't know the "formal" answer to this, but I can tell you my experience with the wool area rugs I have.
I got an INCREDIBLE deal on 2 wool area rugs from Homedecoratorsoutlet.com last year. I got an 8 1/2 x 11' rug and the matching 4' x 6' rug for a total of $144 shipped. I had been looking for a long time and just by a fluke came across them on an 80% off clearance.
Even though they weren't the *exact* color scheme I wanted, there was NO way I could turn them down for that price! I figured if they last a couple years I'd be ahead of the game.
They are 100% wool and thick, and quite heavy actually. I've never cleaned them other than vacuuming. We do have 1 small dog and we don't wear shoes in the house. I've had them a year and they still look brand new. A couple times we've had a spill, and the liquid beads up and you just blot it off. My husband asked if I put some kind of protector on them, and I haven't. To my knowledge they aren't treated, the tag doesn't say so, it just says 100% wool. So I'm guessing wool is water repellent? The rug at the front door has taken a fair amount of foot traffic (with shoes) and all I've ever had to do is vacuum it. The last rug I had there was the cheap $20 promo special from Lowes that looked awful after a couple months.
The only downside (if you can call it that) is that they shed some, and every time I vacuum them the canister is full.
The tag on the back says "occasional professional cleaning recommended", and not to use harsh cleaners on the rug.
If you find something for a really good price, I'd say by all means get one and you'll be happy.

 

[SandraVB79]

For as far as my experience goes, the wool ones have to be dry-cleaned, and it is expensive.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Thanks for all the replies! So far, I have not found a wool rug I like that is NOT hand-tufted or hand-knotted. I will not buy those due to child labor issues. I would consider a machine-made wool rug but haven't found any. I have seen a couple of synthetic-material rugs at Home Depot that I really liked, but the one I tried to order was not available.

I'm amazed that virtually all the wool rugs I've found on sites like Home Decorators and Overstock and Pottery Barn are hand-knotted or hand-tufted. These companies should be held responsible for buying from factories that employ child labor.

 

[corkireland]

I'm a certified Master Rug Cleaner as well as a certified technician with the IICRC for carpet, upholstery, and fine fabric restoration.

I hate to say it but alot of the information above is completely wrong. To answer the original post.

Viscose is another name used for Rayon. This fiber is regarded as synthetic fibers but its made from natural cellulose. Cotton Linters and wood pulp are are regenerated and turned into a thick paste which is extruded like a synthetic fiber to produce a filament that is then plyed and twisted into a yarn. Because it is made from cellulosic materials it behaves like cotton. The natural sheen of the fiber has earned it the term art silk for artificial silk. Unlike cotton, Rayon looses 50% of its strength when exposed to moisture and has a high tendency to color bleed. When cleaned with high temperature or incorrect cleanign chemistries, the fibers can distintegrate.

Rugs produced from Visose often begin to show texture distortion from moderate foot traffic and can brown if left wet for too long. These rugs are not user friendly for diy cleaning and should never be steam extracted in home.

Wool is the standard of carpet fibers because its has the best natural resilience to crushing or matting. It has very good stain resistance and fire resistance and cleans up very well if cleaned properly. The comment made about wool being stain proof like a sheep is not true. Sheep produce a chemical grease called lanolin that coats their fibers to protect the sheep from moisture. However when the sheep is sheared, this grease is scoured and cleansed from the wool in order to dye. Un like the myth that lanolin is put back in to the wool, the lanolin has the consistantcy of axle grease and if left in, wool would resoil and breakdown in a few months of use. The stain reistance comes from the natural fiber cuticals that surround each fiber. These shed like a human sheds skins cells. However, some rugs are luster washed when they are made removing some of these rugs to give the wool a better sheen and softer hand. This processes also weakens wool's ability to naturally resist and shed soil. However, wool still needs to be professionaly cleaned every so often to remove the soil that a homeowner simply cannot remove on their own with out risk of damageing the rug.

Wool is naturally an acidic fiber and is not harmed by cool water, but steam cleaning with high alkaline cleaners can damage the wool, cause it to color bleed, or gray out. Most proffessional cleaning plants never use anything but cold water to properly clean area rugs.

The comment referencing hand knot rugs, machine made rugs and knot size in regards to child labor is compltely off the wall as well. Although machine made rugs made here in the united states like Karastans are very high quality. Hand knotted oriental rugs are true works of art and are very rarely produced by children. The smaller the knot requires a very highly skilled craftsman with lots of experience. These rugs are rarely produced by children and if a rug has been, its usually very poor quality. These rugs often take 6-12 months to complete. And the only way to earn a spot as a weaver is to be born into a weaving family. The position in most of thes rug weaving communities is very prestigous and a huge sense of pride for these people.

For a bit of info, Rugs made after WWII generally do not hold or gain value like the rugs older than WWII.

For more info on cleaning check out google for:

Sweeney Brothers dot com

Spongo Bongo dot com

dallas rug cleaner dot com

 

[mpls_mm]

I'm sure the OP wanted that info...like a year ago. I am sure all of the children who make rugs under inhumane conditions will be relieved to know they are mistaken and aren't really working. There is an area rug collective for a reason. Rugs are often produced overseas under less than ideal conditions by children. I had the pleasure or the displeasure of discussing this with the PR person for Kathy Ireland at my previous employer, he at least stuck to the assertion that children who are working are happy and productive and not shooting up schools like they do in the US. He didn't bother to refute that they even exist. I stick by it, tiny knots, tiny hands. There are families of master weavers, but the percentage is so small it is negligible. When was the last time anyone here bought a 20k rug by a master weaver? Or even saw one in a store? Come on. You'll have to let me know how many factories you have visited and how many tours you have taken and in which countries. I currently have things made overseas and I know what conditions people work under, we do our best to make sure things are good for people, we can't control a whole country though. Exploitation occurs everywhere, the worst thing we can do is pretend it doesn't exist. I think you just joined to post this and drum up some business.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I have not been able to find any machine-made wool rugs in places like Home Decorators Catalog, Overstock, etc. They're all hand knotted, presumably by children, and I won't buy them.

I also recently learned thaat the cheaper wool rugs are sometimes made from dead sheep! Since I'm vegetarian, I have stopped even considering wool rugs no matter how they're made. Child labor, dead animals, there are too many factors for me to figure out.

I have not been able to find any well-made polypropylene or nylon area rugs (found some in Home Depot a few years ago and when I tried to order them they were no longer available) so for now I'm sticking to my wall-to-wall nylon or whatever the heck it is.

I have read that in India children as young as 4 and 5 are sold by their families to these factories to work. This is slavery and if I can avoid being part of it by not buying hand-knotted rugs, so be it.

 

[corkireland]

Maybe I should back up.. to say child labor doesn't exist in the rug industry would be a lie. However, there are quality companies commited to quality rugs where no child labor is involved.. there are organizations in place like Rug Mark for one that have helped improve conditions. But the easiest way to eliminate child Labor is stop the demand for these cheaper products. Designers like Kathy Ireland are notorious for slapping their name on hand woven rugs produced by children.
Your quality rug producers will be endorced by organizations like Rug Mark, but they are going to be your more expensive rugs. And to answer when was the last time you saw a 20K rug in a store, we have one in our shop right now.. but its an antique from the 1920's as will most rugs of that value be.

But if you want a quality hand knotted carpet child labor free you are going to be investing. Expect to be investing atleast $2000.00 for even a 6x9. If its a 6x9, hand knotted and less than a grand you can almost always assume child labor.

Now if you want a quality wool rug guarenteed child labor free always, then invest in a powerloomed rug like Karastan's Axeminster collection. Made right down in Eden, North Carolina and has been for almost 90 years. Quality wool rugs if cared for properly are the standard by which all other rugs are based.

As for not being able to find quality polypropylene or nylon rugs or wool rugs, you won't find them at sites like home decorators catalogs, or over stock. Find a reputable rug dealer in your area.

As to posting to drum up some business.. why would I post to drum up business from people who knows how many miles away. We have no online products and we serve only our area.

I simply posted because the apparent lack of knowledge that was being passed around about wool rugs and floor covering in general.

If you want me to promote something then check out woolsafe or wools of New Zealand, or the Carpet and rug institute.

 

[Jorgbeinhoff]

Wool rugs gather stains, grime, and sticky Halloween candy residue. Few steps will help make your rug look as good as new again. First, shake your rug outside to get rid of any excess dirt and dust. Unless your rug specifically indicates that it should be dry cleaned only, use a vacuum to suck up any remaining dirt on both sides.Vacuum over your rug to get rid of any dust in the wool on a regular basis. Or if check with your rug's manufacturer for details on whether it needs a professional cleaning.

 

[brendahelens]

I wish you posted some pics of wool rugs. Glad i joined to this thread. I got informed.