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Just wondering if there was a special way to clean these rugs. I picked up 4 silk Oriental rugs from a customer today. This lady was paranoid that I was going to ruin them. I reassured her that everything would be fine. But to be honest, I’m kinda worried now. Has anyone cleaned silk rugs before? There is a large brown water mark on it. Any way of getting it out?
Watermarks can sometimes be removed by an acid rinse (i.e. low ph). I believe corporate has told me our orange deodorizer can qualify for this, but you may want to call them and double check. Key with silk (and also cotton) is to evenly distribute moisture and also to get them dry as quick as you can. We have cleaned silk before. If you aren’t feeling comfortable with it, see if there is a rug (only) cleaner in your area that you can partner with where they give you a discounted rate. Rugs can be a great money maker, but they are also extremely expensive to replace and have many “quirks” about them due to being made around the world by different people/methods that if you don’t notice beforehand, you may have an unhappy customer in the end.
If you are looking to get into cleaning these types of rugs or to educate yourself, there is a really good Area Rug Washing Class online. It help me better understand different carpet fibers and make me a better area rug cleaner. I think it is 8 or 10 weeks long. It’s taught by Lisa Wagner or her nick name “The Rug Chick”. Look her up on the net and sign up for her class.
Sean and Marcy,
Didn’t know she offered a class, but Ithink I’ve mentioned her before too in general. She is very knowledgable when it comes to rugs. Anyone that is cleaning rugs on their own should regularly read her site/blog. http://www.rugchick.com/lisas-blog/ It is a wealth of great info. IICRC also offers rug classes for anyone wanting to learn more.
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