How To Clean FRINGE.... Lisa- Take it from here!

[bensurdi]

Scenerio:

You pick up a rug from a clients house. It's an expensive wool rug with fringe. Give three different ways to clean this rug that will all give good results. And most importantly. How do you clean the fringe to prevent browning and make it look great...

Thanks.

[LisaWagner]

There is only one thorough way to clean wool rugs - WASHING them. There are not 3 options. All other methods are surface cleaning.

Wool does not brown - it wicks up soil when a rug is not thoroughly dusted or washed.

Fringe - if it's cotton - will brown if there is soil not washed out in the bath process (which rarely happens, especially if you do extra scrubbing during the bath), and rarely happens when you give the rug an acetic acid rinse.

Many of the problems cleaners have cleaning rugs come from applying carpet cleaning methods, solutions, equipment in a rug cleaning environment. They also may apply their synthtic fiber training on natural fibers and create problems (use Stain Magic on wool and you will understand what I mean...)

There is no easy way to handle this or any other craft. There are simply steps - but you need to, if you really want to handle expensive TRUE oriental rugs, actually break down and get the right training. If you are asking for a quick 3 ways to handle a rug you actually now have in your shop ... you are asking for trouble. Make sure you have workmanship insurance coverage.

You need to be knowledgeable about fibers, dyes, construction, and pre-existing conditions.

So - besides a PHOTO of the rug... I would need:

1) fiber test (face fibers and foundation fibers)
2) dye test - is it colorfast
3) construction - is it woven or tufted or a custom specilaty rug
4) are there contributing factors that may bleed the dyes - pet urine, past in-home cleaning with alkaline solutions - or matters with the construction - milldew or dry rot

If you can do a little work and post those elements, then I can give you a better set of recommendations. Otherwise, the easiest way to clean rugs is to subcontract it to a real rug plant and not worry about learning all you need to in a forum post.

Sorry if that sounds harsh ... I just don't want to see you get into trouble if indeed this is an expensive rug like you said. MOST states do NOT have workmanship coverage for damage caused DURING the cleaning process - which means many times this is exempt from the policy and you pay for it out of pocket.

Usually cleaners do not discover that until after they file a claim.

Lisa

www.TheRugChick.com

[bensurdi]

Hey Lisa! I am posting this to give good content to the forum of rug cleaning because I know that Fringe cleaning is a big concern for a lot of companies and I think it's good to cover it, especially from the Rug Chick!

Let's say this is a woven rug, stable colors, and you can clean it as usual.

You mentioned doing a thorough dusting of the rug prior to washing it.
You mentioned doing an acid bath ( 50/50 Vinegar & Water ).
And you said that doing those things would give you the best cleaning results and ensure that the fringe would not become discolored as it dried.

Is there any step in between or after those steps that should be done?
What about shampooing the rug with a rug shampoo? Would you do this before or after the acid bath?

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: What type of training is available for people just starting out in the rug cleaning business, or even for people that have been cleaning rugs for a few years that want to take their level of experience to the next level?

[sharp_shepherd]

Very useful information and warnings Lisa. Some cleaners just don't care enough to take classes and pay to become a knowledgeable "expert" cleaner. I hope this helps them realize the importance of trainings and certifications.

[LisaWagner]

Thanks for the comment Shepherd - and Ben, thanks for the follow-up.

Here are two posts covering some of your questions:

CLICK FOR DUSTING POST

CLICK FOR WASH PIT POST

My point in my comments was that if the rug is properly WASHED versus surface cleaned with portable/truckmount - you do not have the fringe cleaning issues that other less thorough methods create. We wash with rug shampoo, and use cotton shampoo on the cotton fringe as needed.

As far as training - the RCT class by IICRC covers some good basics, the CRS class by RIA covers more Rug ID and not as much hands-on as the current IICRC courses (but some who teach those IICRC classes are teaching using their own pit systems so you do not get a complete picture of all of your options - they are teaching to sell their system). But, that said, those are your options. CRS is way more expensive than IICRC - and again they concentrate a lot on rug ID which is great for marketing, but is not really giving you the basics training that a lot of cleaners are looking for (and the price usually keeps those who want just a little more education out of their market).

I will be teaching a few more rug cleaning clinics this year to fill in the gap between the IICRC and the RIA options simply to bring some practical training to those looking for it. I'll post those dates as they come up. There will be no tests, no memorizing test questions ... it will simply be cleaning dirty rugs and learning what to do when you get into trouble, and avoiding it in the first place.

Rug cleaning is a poorly served segment of our industry. The ones who are super knowledgeable from the retail side don't want to share their systems and secrets with the cleaning industry as a whole ... and those from the carpet cleaning sector are trying to apply the equipment and chemicals made for synthetic fibers over to the area of collectible and natural fiber textiles - and doing a bad job at it, and making it much more complicated and expensive than it needs to be.

It will require some UNlearning on your carpet know-how to become thorough with your rug know-how.

Hope that helps some ... you won't be able to learn it from a post, you will need to DO it to learn it ... and not from a book either.

Lisa

www.TheRugChick.com