Trendy chemically washed rugs are becoming a problem....any advice?

[IluvCleanForums]

It seems a trend in our area is to buy these area rugs that have been shaved down and have been "antiqued". We have seen a growing number of them in the past couple of years and never had a problem when cleaning them. For some odd reason we have had 2 rugs from 2 different customers, in the past 2 weeks, that we have had major issues with their rugs. Both rugs look just like the hundreds of others that we have cleaned that have been chemically washed to give them a muted color or sun faded look. Both customers told us we had taken the color out of them and that there seems to be visible zig zagging white lines that were not there before in their rugs. We told the customers to leave them with us and we will look into the problem. That they looked as if they were just heavily worn and the lines that appeared were what we call "lazy lines". Now that i have examined it closer, it appears that there is wool that has literally disappeared during the washing process. We did not and do not use anything that is unsafe for wool and have never, in 88 years, seen this problem. It seems, after doing a little research, that because these thin muted rugs have become so popular that some companies that use a chemical wash to fade the rugs are doing the process to the extreme and are basically frying the wool fibers and making them so weak that within a couple of years of use they will mostly come out. Or if they get them washed they come out even sooner. Has anyone else seen this issue? and if so, what can you do or what would tell a customer who spent $7500.00 on a rug that is only worth at most $1500.00,that she spent all that money on a rug that is a piece of junk?

 

[Thewy]

Did you document ahead of time or take detailed photos?

 

[OxiFreshGuy]

Its a tough one , because how do you prove it isn't your fault?

 

[Darthmaeglin]

This sounds pretty bad. At least with Viscose we can tell customers in advance that their rug is made with more delicate materials, but if you couldn't tell any difference between these rugs and less thoroughly "aged" rugs I'm not sure what you can tell customers. I suppose the safest and most honest thing would be to have customers with "antiqued" rugs sign a waiver acknowledging that damage like this is not your fault. Of course, that's not an easy answer, if that style is popular this might turn customers away, but unless you can find a way to narrow down the 'at risk' rugs that may be the better course.

 

[Darthmaeglin]

As far as explaining the problem goes, the way you explained it here should be fine. The rugs go through a process to add age, aging is a destructive process whether it takes decades or minutes. If they don't get it there are videos on YouTube you can show them where rug makers actually use a blowtorch to finish new rugs. Fire is a language everyone understands.