Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

Fixing a Worn Oriental Area Rug

The world of rug repair and restoration is full of challenges, as different rugs age differently and come to our doorstep with a variety of issues. This unique oval circa 1940 Art Deco rug originates in China  and was designed with bubble gum color combinations. It is made of wool and has arrived to the Flat Rate Carpet warehouse along with an identical rug, looking like this:

The Rug - Before

The Worn Oriental Rug

The Mystery of the Small White Dots

In order to understand what these white dots are, let’s take a leap back. The time is around 1940 and the place is a rug weaving workshop, somewhere in not-yet-communist China. An expert weaver can spend months working on a single rug, tying together the lengths of yarn when the length they are using is at its end. In order to save time, most weavers would not trim the end of the knots closely, leaving small, white nubs that hide inside the thick rug. As years go by, the rug wears and gets thinner, sometimes by as much as half of its original thickness and the knots become visible, dotting the rug and damaging its beauty.

A Closer Look at the White Dots

A Closer Look at the White Dots

How to Turn Back Time

This is where we come into play. Every restoration and repair process begins with thorough cleaning: The rug was dusted and shampooed, regaining its softness cleanliness. Our wool restoration team worked on this rug in three stages. First, we trimmed the end of the knots close to the base of the rug, making it tighter and shorter so it doesn’t stick out. The second stage involved adding more wool to the rug, making it thicker and nicer and lastly, we colored it using natural vegetable dyes, restoring its original looks of the rug.

The Rug - After

The Rug – After

Get Your Rug Restored

This restoration operation is just a taste of the elaborate jobs we perform regularly at Flat Rate Carpet. This kind of job takes about 5 days it costs between $370 – $440.

For more information about our rug restoration and repair process and other services, call us at (866) 466-4576 or contact us using this form.

Is Your Rug Antique?

Antique  Rugs | Flat Rate Carpet BlogArea rugs fall into many different categories, most of which refer to where the rug was woven. A Persian rug comes from Iran, whereas an Oriental rug categorizes any rug from the East. No matter where in the world your rug was made, antique rugs are a special category.

Antique rugs are area rugs that were woven at least 80 years ago, and rugs woven at least 50 years ago are labeled as semi-antique. Most antiques are woven before the year 1925, when synthetic dyes were introduced into the rug industry. Synthetic dyes lack the richness and uniqueness of natural dyes, and are considered to be lower quality.

Antiques are hand woven, with all natural dyes, but that’s not all that makes them antique. Antique rugs aren’t just old, but they also have to fit into an undefined category of quality. The rug must be well preserved, and well designed.

If you think your area rug might be an antique, it’s worth taking it to get appraised. Antique rugs are very valuable, and must be cared for properly.

The Origins of Natural Dyes

Ever wonder where that beautiful red in your rug comes from? If your rug is colored with natural dyes then it could likely come from small insects called Cochineal or Kermes. Natural dyes are often used in hand area rugs because of their bright, lasting colors and the beautiful variation in colors that makes a rug unique.

Although rugs and other fabrics have been dyed brilliant colors for thousands of years, synthetic dyes have only been developed in the past 200 years. Before the 19th Century, almost all dyes were derived from plants, animals or minerals. Here’s a list of the most common sources for natural dyes.

Red – Cochineal and Kermes (insects), madder, redwood bark and Brazil wood (plants), cinnabar and lead oxide (mineral).

Orange – Henna (plant)

Yellow – saffron, safflower, tummeric weld and many other plant sources, ocher (mineral)

Green – a mix of blue and yellow dyes, or malachite (mineral)

Blue – Woad (plant), lapis lazuli and asurite (mineral)

Purple – Although purple can come from mixing red and blue dyes, the Royal Purple that is famous in royalty comes from the secretions of a sea snail. Since this purple is exceptionally rare and expensive it was saved for the highest classes.

The Mystery of the Persian Carpet

Fancy being a sleuth for an hour or two? Well now you can, with the “Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Persian Carpet” internet game.

Picture the following: The year is 1896, and you’re at home in your flat in Baker Street, London when you get a call from Scotland Yard. You and your partner, Watson, need to investigate a crime – a young painter has been murdered and his body found rolled up in a Persian carpet.

This internet game has been designed to help you improve your puzzle-solving skills: inspecting letters, looking at interrogation reports, then pin the crime on the killer. To buy the product, register with Big Fish for free at www.bigfishgames.com. The account will let you earn free games, play community games or participate in game forums, write reviews and also offer you significant discounts.

Don’t forget your pipe and cape…