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Cleaning and Daily Care of Rugs and Kilims

Cleaniness is the first and major step towards the preservation of a hand-made carpet and it is the best care of to damage. There are no hard or fast rules to stipulate when and how often to clean a carpet since every had-made carpet is different and every hosehold exposes a carpet to different amounts of wear and dirt. There are many professional books on the care and cleaning of carpets that one may consult if one is interested in doing a professional cleaning. However, the following advice and information are basic general instructions that the average home owner may exercise in the care and cleaning of an Oriented carpet. The best recommendation is regular brushing with an old fashioned handbroom with natural bristles or the use of an electric carpet sweeper. Remember that it is just as important to brush the underlay of the carpet and floor beneath. One caution, the regular use of a vacuum cleaner will eventually start to loosen the knots andpull the fibers out of the pile, also never use the revolving brush attachment on a carpet for it will actually pull the fibers apart. The nozzle attachment is the best and may be used once a month.

Hand Cleaning at Home Prepare a mixture of the following proportions; half a cup of carpet shampoo to four and a half cups of warm water and add one tablespoon of vinegar to prevent the colour from running. Lay the carpet with the pile up on a hard flat surface. Dip the brush in the liquid and apply it in gentle even vertical strokes. Vigorous brushing or scrubbing will not clean throughly and is likely to damage the carpet in its wet vulnerable state. Start in one corner, brushing up and down, with and against the pile with even overlapping movements. The amount of shampoo applied and the pressure of the bruh should be as constant as possible over the entire carpet surface. Once the carpet is brushed vertically (lengthvise) then brush horizontally or from side to side across the pile, with the same gentle overlapping strokes. The pile should be throughly cleaned by now. Finally, brush gently in the direction of the pile as the carpet dries, so that the pile is lying in the right direction.

Drying Preferably use a room where there is a warm air current heating system. Do not drape the carpet, it must be allowed to dry flat, and don't walk, or place anything on it until it is completely dry. The warp, weft and pile of a completely dried carpet should feel soft and pliable. Remove the dried dirt and shampoo powder by gently brushing with a soft dry brushing.

Things to Avoid		Washing machines and spin dryers should never be used for any delicate hand-made item. With carpets the vibration, water temperature and harsh detergents will cause irreparable damage; posibble colour-run from the hot water and the detergents and a cement-like wool once dry. It may even reduce the carpet to shreads. Again dry cleaners sometimes advertise themselves as carpet cleaners. Their services may be useful for machine-made carpets, but an Orientel Hand-made masterpiece should never be subjected to the strong chemicals that these firms use. The damage may become apparant only after several months and the damage is irreparable.

Moth Damage Wool carpets and kilims are subject to moth damage. The dark areas of the carpet should be inspected for signs of moth damage, which will result in a weakened foundation or in the knots eventually pulling out where the nap has been eaten away. New carpet and kilims are treated with insecticides before exportations and onces in a dealer's shop they are frequently moved about to avoid this problem.

This site prepared by Tayfun Kalyoncu on 28.02.1997 and last updated on 01.05.1999.
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