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Norma at a training class for Oriental
rug care, featuring the RugBadger.
The amazing new RugBadger Dry Soil Separator pulls pounds of
dirt out of area rugs, and Norma’s Fine Oriental Rug Cleaning
is the only company in Phoenix with this special equipment! By removing
stubborn, dry, abrasive, damaging soils and sediments along with allergens,
we can really improve the health of your home. Call us for restorative
care to your family's special heirloom rugs. We’ll be glad to
arrange a rug pickup, or you can drop by our new state of the art rug
cleaning plant located in Tempe. Feel free to email
Norma directly with any questions you may have. |
The cleaning
process for fine Oriental rugs is a multi-step process which includes:
Pre-inspection
to determine rug quality and overall condition
Power dusting,
to get out the loose soil
Dye testing,
to determine the color fastness
Pre-treatment
for spot removal
Hand cleaning
and rinsing
Moisture removal
with a wringer
Drying in a
humidity-controlled environment
Grooming, fringe
cleaning/repair, Scotchgard®, etc.
For a detailed explanation
of the entire cleaning process
please go to the download page and get
your FREE copy of the book
“Protecting Your Fine Hand Woven Rug Investment”.
Step 1 - Creating the Pre-Cleaning Inspection and Rug Condition
Report
Our rug care specialist’s hand-inspect “every
inch” of your fine rug, going from the fringe to
the backing and record its current condition - in 38
separate areas.
Step 2 - Getting the Dirt Out - “The Magical Harmonic
Dusting Massage”
We’ve taken this time-tested old world way of vibrating the dirt
out of a rug with hand beaters and improved it with today’s modern
technology. Norma’s is the only firm in the southwest to have
invested in this custom-made gentle harmonic rug vibrating system. This
harmonic vibrating machine acts like an “army of gentle rug beaters”
carefully loosening the deep down dirt out of both the front and backing
of your rug.
This custom made vibrating
massager gently removes the dirt from your rug with
40,000 gentle harmonic vibrations per minute
… that means your rug will receive
“over 1,000,000 (1 million) gentle dirt-loosening
vibrations during its massage.”
These vibrations remove the dirt, BEFORE
the rug ever touches water.
This process takes at least 30 minutes for a small rug and can take
hours on larger rugs.
Step 3 - Comprehensive Dye Testing – “We Test the
Stability of Every Color in Your Rug!”
Dye testing is done to determine the stability of the dyes used in your
rug. Most fibers are dyed using a Mordant
Process, which is a chemical reaction that binds the dye
to the fiber.
“If the dyes are not stable, they will bleed as soon as they get
wet and - one unstable color can ruin an entire rug!”
Unfortunately there’s
NO way to know if the dyes in your rug are stable, unless we individually
test them. Some weavers never use a mordant stabilizing process so when
the rug gets wet, the dyes move and migrate onto other colors in your
rug… destroying its beauty and depreciating its value.
Every hand made rug is unique, and the dyes used in an individual rug
are unique too. These dyes may be natural dyes, man-made synthetics,
or a combination of both.
“Because of these variations - every color, in every rug MUST
be dye tested for stability
BEFORE the rug is cleaned.”
We individually dye test EVERY color in your rug -
that
means if your rug has 20 colors then we do 20 individual dye
tests. We test the dyes to make certain that they are stable
and that we can set them - during our washing process.
Color testing is a very time consuming process, AND an absolutely necessary
part of our profession museum quality cleaning program. “Each
color test, for each individual color, may take from 1-2 hours or as
long as 24 hours.”
Step
4 The Purified Water- Full Submersion Hand Shampoo Cleaning Process
If you really want to get your rug clean, you have to follow the 2000
year old cleaning traditions of Totally Submersing
the rug. For thousands of years rug owners have taken their rugs to
rivers and lakes to totally submerse and clean them - in cool water.
Cool water is very important - but it can be improved.
We’ve taken this proven cleaning tradition and made it better!
Our soaking submersion process produces “BABY SOFT “ feeling
rugs - BECAUSE we use
Reverse Osmosis PURIFIED WATER.
We’re 1 of only 2 museum quality fine rug-cleaning companies in
the whole United States who use this totally purified water. This is
the type of pure water NASA & Intel clean rooms use.
Because the water is totally purified - the mild shampoos clean better
and the rugs fibers rinse cleaner. Tap water leaves chorine, calcium,
and other minerals in your rug - that’s why rugs cleaned with
un-purified water feel stiffer and harder after they’re cleaned.
You just can’t get the minerals out… unless you use totally
purified water!
Our “purified water-total submersion process” breaks down
and flushes out all the impurities, and any remaining deep down dirt
and dust that are trapped in the rug’s fibers and foundation.
Step
5 - Purified Water Rinsing and Our Massive Custom Wringer In Action
Now that your rug has been gently shampooed, its time for the total
submersion rinse.
Again, ONLY purified R/O (reverse osmosis ) water is used in the rinsing
process, so your rug dries baby soft and its colors stay as bright as
possible.
Now your rug has to be “prepared for the drying process”.
Most rug shops try to just “squeegee out” the excess water
but the fact is that this can be dangerous for your rug.
Oriental rugs are liable to grow mildew if they remain damp for too
long. Therefore a quick drying time is vital, especially when dealing
with wool fibers, which absorb and hold 70% of their weight in moisture.
“This mighty hydraulic wringer, made back in the 1950’s,
is one of the few remaining of
its kind in operation today. We researched the process and after a long
search found this classic unit, then we totally rebuilt and carefully
refurbished it - to its brand new condition.
We love using it, because it really gets all the moisture out of your
rug FAST!
This unique “quality control step” dramatically
reduces a rug’s drying time so there’s
NO chance of the remaining moisture in your “baby soft clean rug”,
turning into mildew.”
Step
6 The Controlled Environment Drying Room Techniques
Depending on the style and condition of your rug, several different
drying methods may be used. Quick Drying Times and plenty of “Air
Movement” are the keys to a successful drying process.
Your rug must be completely dried on both the front and back sides,
this requires constant attention and inspection to make sure the dyes
are not moving and the drying process is properly done.
Hanging rugs in the drying room is not always the most appropriate drying
method. Drying on a blocking table is more suitable for rugs prone to
losing their shape when wet, typically needle point, crewel, flat weaves,
and dhurri rugs.
We use “stainless steel” blocking pegs to secure your rug
for proper drying to avoid any possible color contamination.
Step
7 Final Hand Grooming
The final step of the cleaning process is hand grooming your rug. This
process includes brushing the entire rug and then hand washing and them
hand grooming the fringe.
Grooming your rug allows its pile to lay smooth, much like an animal’s
fur. Every rug has a unique and definite direction to its pile - this
is caused by the position of the rug on the loom during the weaving
process.
“Fringe is very important component of any rug, because it’s
an extension of the warp yarns, that make up the foundation of your
rug.”
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