Buckled Rug

[matthewfiles]

Customer has a wool rug (Sphinx/tufted) that we cleaned a year ago. Went yesterday to clean his carpets and he pointed out that ever since we cleaned the rug it has been buckled.
It is buckled from right where the leg of a (heavy stone) coffee table is to the edge of the rug, so I thought the table was damaging it, but they say it wasn't like that till we cleaned it.
I have it in the shop now, to clean again and it lays flat for a while then buckles.

Anything we could have done to cause that?

We cleaned it with Steamin Demon then hung it on the rack to dry with fans.

Thanks,
Matthew

[Jason Whaley]

Well, since it has been a year and they never called to question the issue I would not replace it.... Clean it for free but not replace it! If you used heat I would re-clean at the same temperatures and lay something heavy on that area to try and flatten it while it dries. When re-delivering it turn it 180o around so the table will not lay on the same area.

I don't think you caused this especially if it was shop cleaned and dried before the table was re-set on it.

[Scott W]

Buckling can often be caused because the foundation yarns of the rug are of a different material from a binding / serging / overcasting on the edge. The two materials dry differently and shrink differently.

Rug plants will have a special table to correct this. What I did was use 1 (or 2 for larger rugs) 4' x 8' sheet(s) of marine grade plywood. Use carpet tacks to tack down one side of the rug every 1 or 2 inches. Reclean the rug or at least get it wet.

While wet you can pull it back to the original shape. Begin tacking around the rest of the perimeter every inch. Pull the rug flat and straight as you progress around the edge.

Dry the rug completely before removing the tacks. Remember that natural fibers abosrb a lot of moisture and can apepar dry when they are still wet. So be 100% sure the fibers are dry all the way including the edge material before you remove the tacks.

Once dried flat, it should stay flat.

Lisa, may have a better explanation of this process or other points of caution.

[LisaWagner]

Matthew,

With a tufted rug - the construction has latex along the backside to hold this rug together.

I would LOVE to see a photo.

The heavy table is responsible IF the rug is over wall-to-wall carpeting. Rugs are meant to be on HARD floors. If the rug is over a soft surface, and a heavy table on top of it, then this IS the problem.

Details on this are on my blog in this post - you can print it and share with the rug owner IF they have it over carpeting (helps sometimes to see words by another 3rd party when discussing a problem):

CLICK HERE for Rug Chick Blog on pads

Now, if the tufted rug is on top of a HARD floor - then this is how I would evaluate. If the rug in your shop only has a problem in the areas with the table - it can't be from your cleaning. You cleaned the ENTIRE rug - so the problem should naturally be all over the rug - and not just in these certain spots.

It could be if you did a FULL IMMERSION wet wash, there could be some delamination, which causes over time with tufted rugs, and a full soak can make this a big more noticeable if the quality of latex is not good - or a rug has been put under undo stress, such as heavy furniture.

If you SURFACE CLEANED the rug with a portable or truckmount, then you did not get the backing wet. With a Steamin Demon - you do get the foundation somewhat wet - so it might make it a little more noticeable, but again it should be equal throughout the rug.

A final point would be if the buckling is along the edges - there could be some shrinking if there is binding or borders on the rug ... again, a photo would be GREAT to see here.

Some tufted rugs can be given another coat of latex to strengthen it - and block it out on a floor as Scott mentions, and then strengthen that latex. If the rug has a loose material backing, with a tufted back where you can see the mesh foundation - these are candidates for this, They are flexible rugs. If it is a tufted rug where the material backing is heavily latexed to the rug backing, and you cannot peel away the material at all - then this is not a candidate for this.

Hope those points help. Let me know if you have a photo.

Lisa

www.TheRugChick.com

[matthewfiles]

Hi Lisa,

Here are some pics of the buckled rug.

The pic of the buckle is slightly exaggerated (though looking about like it did in customers home) since it is laying almost flat
in the shop. Where it starts in the middle of the rug is right where
the leg of the table goes.

As for the backing, she said her dog did that just a few weeks ago.

She says she wants to save the rug and asked me about repairs.
I told her I would check into it....Got any ideas?

It seems like the fabric covering on the back and the edging is just glued on.

Rug Buckle 003.jpg

Rug Buckle 002.jpg

Rug Buckle 001.jpg

Thanks for all you help,
Matthew

[Jason Whaley]

LOL.... I love how the dog tore/ate the backing 3 weeks ago and the wrinkle is your fault!

Sounds a little fishy to me....

[LisaWagner]

Matthew,

Thanks for the photos - I am assuming this rug IS over wall-to-wall carpeting in the home. Is that correct?

The tear can be basted back together using upholstery thread and a sturdy needle (you can find these at any needlepoint or crafts store like Cutting Corners.

If the rug is indeed over a SOFT flooring - then the table has stretched out and misshapen this rug. I would expect that some of the tufts in the area most affected will end up pulling loose if you are not careful. It's like taking a window screen and trying to push your fist through it - you bend and stretch the grid, and then you cannot quite get it flat again. This tufted rug is on a mesh grid foundation - same thing, it gets stretched and can't get it's natural shape back.

Even if you get it flatter in your shop - if it's going back in the same setting with the same table, the problem will come up again.
It might help though to put some support under the rug - using a No-Muv pad (which is pretty stiff) for support if it is over a soft floor.

You could also - cheaper route - take that ugly material backing off of the rug and use the white sticky pads Home Depot sells in squares and place this on the back of the rug, adhering to that latex, and then laying it firmly on the wall-to-wall carpet. (If this rug is by chance over a HARD floor, do NOT use this sticky pad.)

This pad is cheap, can be used once. It can stick to the soft carpeting and keep it in place and less likely to slide. It will leave a little adhesive behind on the carpeting, so they need to know that the wall to wall carpet will need to be steam cleaned if they ever move or toss the rug.

This will help keep the rug flatter ... but it will NOT fix the problem - the foundation damage has already happened because of that table, and not because of cleaning.

For the repair - simply charge by the hour. And charge for how much the pad costs and your time to help put it in place.

If the client needs you to "prove" the problem is from the table - show them my post on rugs needing a pad - and then remove the material enough to show them that the foundation is stretched/cracked in just that one area from the table leg - it should be easily visible. If you cleaned the entire rug the same way, then if this was because of cleaning then the whole rug would have a problem, not just this one area.

Hope that helps,
Lisa

P.S. If anyone wants to read the "why rugs need pad" post - CLICK HERE for the blog post.