We opened a rug spa here in Va Beach. Strange how as soon as you open a spa rugs start showing up. In less that 60 days we have already brought in 50 rugs. That is almost one a day. It has been exciting and challenging at the same time. Seems each one has a special challenge of it's own. However we have narrowed down a very nice system to pre-inspect,ID,price,clean and then dry area rugs. Biggest problem now is storage. They take up a lot of space. We have decided here at TMF to showcase one a week to show how to ID and clean. Let's get started and test your knowledge. Here is Rug #1. Each picture will show the front with a section of the back folded over it. Can you ID it and recommend how to clean and price it? Rug #1 7x9
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 This rug is a flatweave. Weave is commonly called Dhurrie and probably was woven in India. Big dif between these and kilim is that there is NOT a split in the weave. Kilems have a split in the weave wherever the color changes ,wheras this one has more of a zigzag look on close inspection. This rug looks like wool on a wool foundation and the fringe (warp ends)are dyed brown and are not tea washed ON second look fringes may be cotton.How bout you do a burn test to confirm this. Things to watch for are colorfastness and if this rug is on a wool foundation this rug will likely get bumpy. Have you done a bleed test yet? If yes, how do you perform your bleed test? Pricing for straight up cleaning of these is anywhere from 2-4 per square foot with odor control at 50 to 100% more.
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Rob There is no sense in telling you how to clean when I don't know what your tools , equipment, training and cleaning solutions are . So I can give you real practical help on how to safely and effectively care for this and other rugs can you please list off the above? (thanks)
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Hi Rob, Best of luck with the rug Spa. I agree with Dusty that it must be a Dhurie. It is not from the older rug producing areas like Iran, Turkey or Central Asia. I am not trying to shill product but two products can really help with bleeders. ChemMax makes DyeFix that helps set loose dyes so if you treat it with DyeFix first it is far less likely to bleed. The other is ChemMax’s Anti-Dye. If a rug starts bleeding you can pour it on and the loose dye can not stick to the lighter areas. Usually a darker color like red starts to bleed and turns the white areas. Best wishes, Barry O’Connell http://www.spongobongo.com/Perkk1.htm
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Fringes are cotton. It bled slightly. (Clamp white towel with straight cleaner on back) It cleaned up well. It did get bumpy. It was a Pier 1 rug. Tools on hand; Rug Badger Pit Steamin Demon Cimex truck mount
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Thanks Barry. Barry I don't mind you mentioning Chem-Max. Some of the best stuff out there!
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Hey rob, whats your setup like? What process do you use? Me and eyeball have been kicking around setting up a really nice rug cleaning "spa" I guess you would call it here in Indy. We have a huge shop already and clean rugs with our TM but I see these amazing setups that blow wand cleaning away!!
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Hi Rob, I agree with all the above. I too clean rugs with my TM, but have been looking into learning submersion cleaning and offering that service. Will you post some pictures of your rug spa?
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 How about a video Todd? [video=youtube;z6rqLxsMHvU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6rqLxsMHvU[/video]
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Oh and this rug had light cat urine with a ton of cat hair. It was brought in by a guy who took his cat to his future mother in laws house and he said fix it no matter what it costs.
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 Wow really like this. I have a few questions though. How do you know what the rug it is and where it came from just by looking at it? Do I need to look at tags? How do you know if it is genuine? Can I clean this with citrus and or a buffer?
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 I am not familiar with the citris cleaners but general guidelines for wool rugs the solution should be pH neutral or slightly acidic. Buffers or optical brightners are not recommended. Because wool is a protean based animal fibers iit is very different than a oil based fiber. Too high an alkaline pH and the dyes can run which we call bleeding. Also a rug that was HWEed with a solution of pH 9 – 13.5 can look OK but may bleed next time it is washed no matter what solutions are used. I mentioned Anti-Dye above. The thing with that is that if a rug starts to bleed in the pit you can apply this directly to the rug. I will ask Paul Lucas how to make it work with non-pit washing. Best wishes, Barry
Re: TMF Rug Spa-Weekly Rug #1 You guys should. It's very profitable. And I'm working on a DVD right now for a really simple and effective process we have perfected!
