Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

Carpet Repairs and Cleaning: How to Know When the Time is Right

We’re so busy every day that it’s hard to find the time for basic cleaning, let alone take care of major cleaning projects. The great part about Spring cleaning is that it reminds you when it’s time to get certain jobs done. Wall to wall carpeting needs to be cleaned often, but how do you know if your carpets need a good cleaning or is it time to make some carpet repairs?

Take a walk around your home, do your carpets have small bumps or ripples? As they age it’s common for carpets to start to ripple and wrinkle. These bumps are tripping hazarards which can be very dangerous for the elderly, or if they are located near stairs. Fortunately, carpet restretching is an easy enough project for do it yourself types and nearly all carpet cleaning companies offer professional carpet restretching services.

Area rug Repair Services

Are there high traffic areas of the home where the carpeting is worn through to the floor, or do you have small burns in the carpet? Certain areas of a home get more traffic than others, often leaving the carpeting in certain areas looking messier than others. It’s easy enough to replace just the carpet in the hallway with spare carpet, making your whole house look as good as new.

After walking around the home, if you don’t notice any major damage to the structure of the carpet, then all you’ll need is an old fashioned carpet cleaning. Having the carpets cleaned at least twice a year will prevent the need for carpet replacement and repair in the future, and keep your home looking beautiful all year long.

How to Weave a Rag Rug

Weaving is an ancient art form that is found in almost every culture around the world. Some groups of people weave so beautifully that their rugs and other woven pieces are considered fine artwork. Fine oriental and Navajo rugs are prized household items, however you can easily weave your own rug right at home.

Rag rugs are sturdy, home made rugs made from leftover t-shirts, bed sheets or other old fabric lying around the home. They make wonderful decorations for doorways, outdoors or even in the kitchen. In a society that’s used to tossing away old items, rag rugs are also the perfect way to reuse and recycle.

Here are links to two different websites with easy to understand tutorials about weaving your own rug:

http://www.wikihow.com/Weave-a-Rag-Rug
http://www.craftpassion.com/2010/03/recycle-tutorial-woven-rag-rug.html

It’s a fun and easy project that requires nothing more than old fabric, or a piece of cardboard. Making your own rug doesn’t take a long time, and leaves you with a sturdy woven rug for your home.

All You Need to Know About Berber

If you’ve ever seen the comedy “Get Him to the Greek,” you may know a song from the feature film called “Furry Walls.” Although set in a very silly context, this song talks about the comfort of carpeted, furry walls.

From the moment I saw the movie and heard the song, it always made me think of Beber carpeting. So I decided to share some “Jeopardy” worthy info with you, my dear readers.

Early Berber carpets came from the northern part of Africa where the Beber people spent hours creating hand spun wool. They used this wool to create all types of textiles and clothing items, including the Berber carpet.

Modern Beber, now made world wide, still features that thick, wool fluff feeling—although now offered in both synthetic and natural fibers. When laid across the floors in your home, because of its thick loop design, it offers extreme comfort, durability and long life.

Beber carpeting, made of either synthetic or natural wool materials, adds that super comfortable, furry feeling to your home (whether it covers the floors or walls). When you step into Beber carpet, you feel the soft caress and gentle support of its hand-looped fibers.

So if you want that furry, super comfortable feel in your home, consider the coziest of all carpet styles, Beber. If you’re lucky you may even get, as the song says, your “furry walls to kiss you goodnight.”

Women Carpet Weavers in Turkey

Turks were amongst the earliest carpet weavers and especially Turkish women, who played a leading role in their creation. Historically, a young woman had a better chance of marrying if she was a skilled weaved, because carpets could form part of the dowry. Even today, it tends to be women who are responsible for the weaving and men for the repair of these beautiful pieces.

In the last few decades, the demand for Turkish carpets has meant the rise of big companies, who still employ women. However, some work in the homes, and not in the workshops, and aren’t paid an hourly wage, rather a sum for the completed carpet. How much she can charge can depend on how intricate the design is, the quality of the materials and the number of knots per square centimeter.

In general these women weavers remain anonymous, although in recent years some women have begun weaving their names on the rug, earning well-earned credit for their work. So the next time you shop for a Turkish rug, look for the woman’s name woven into it, and think about how much work she put into it.