This is from a local Jewish center - maybe 80 years old - always hung on the wall. VERY important to them. Cotton back - whole rug is very "crackly" when manipulated. How would you guys and gals clean it? By the the time I post this it will have already been cleaned but thought it would make a good topic for discussion.
I don't see a photo here, but I'm reading on my phone. If a piece is delaminating and cracking, then you need to surface clean it. I'd use an upholstery pro and choose solutions based on fiber type and dye strength. If the cracking is dry rot, then you need to get a signed release if you continue in case it falls apart. You can sandwich it between two screen frames to hold it tight, and surface clean through the screens. Some of these Israeli custom pieces are very valuable, so take care. Lisa
Hello Tufted, but is it made of wool? I ask because of the very bright colors (synthetic fibers?) difficult to believe 80 years old. how was hung on the wall? jamshid rowshan
Watch those colors. Search Lisa Wagner's site for colorfastness test and USE IT. I just used CSS from CTI for the first time on Friday for a rug that showed bleeding tendencies through the test I learned from Lisa. CSS is Color Stabilizing Sour..also make sure you take the pH of tapestry BEFORE cleaning, to see where it's at. If it's wool, leave it after cleaning at 5.5 pH. Be very careful, this one would spook me...
I doubt that rug is 80 years old. I have cleaned rugs woven in the late 1800s. Needless to say that rug does not look that old. Look at the colors and how vibrent they are? That would be my first assumption into this. What type of fiber are you dealing with? That would be my next question. Does it bleed? Give us some feedback so we can answer your questions.
Not tufted - backing is for protection - no glue. It is wool and almost like a knitted peice (for lack of a better term). Hung on the wall with a rod. Might not be 80 years but it is REALLY old. There is menaing to it but I am not Jewish and can't remeber what the thing is called.
Being a tappestry hanging on the wall and being as fragile as you say it is I would clean it while it is still hanging. I would dry clean it buy using a handheald brush attachment and giving it a really good (but gentle) pevacuum. Then I would spray (using a 32 oz spray bottle) a mist of odorless mineral spirits and agitate gently by hand with a terrycloth towel, and then vacuum again. I have used this method several times and it works well, especially when dealing with dust which is usually what you are dealing with on a tappestry.
I dont clean those. I am perfecting my Carpet Tile and Stone Restoration. I will let a person who specializes in rugs do their Magic. They can focus on Rugs and I can focus on my niche.
OK - they took it down, Last time I cleaned it (10 years ago) it was on the wall - much easier. If I remember I used OMS cleaner on it then. Here is what I did this time: The thing gets good air flow through it so I vacced it really well. I sprayed it down with a hand sprayer using encap (lightly). Brushed it with a horsehair brush and let it sit. vacced again. Since it hangs on the wall there is no ground in soil - just atmospheric soil. Color run not an issue because I didn't use much moisture at all. $250.00 easy money - probably could have charged more but I do lots of work for them in general.
