Rug Cleaning

Our Rug Cleaning Process gets YOUR Rug Cleaner…

Virtually all rugs are cleaned in our custom rug cleaning spa.  As we’re going to clean it fully, and correctly, we can’t clean them as effectively if we do it in your home.  We’re one of only a handful of cleaners in the UK who have a dedicated facility to clean rugs, as opposed to ‘the garage’ which is where most carpet cleaners clean their rugs.  We have over  1100sq ft of space dedicated to the proper rug cleaning, drying and storage of your rug whilst it’s in our care.  We’ve invested in some of the most advanced equipment available to ensure we do the best job possible, as safely as possible.  We like to have your rug for 5-7 working days, but for urgent requests can turn them around in two or three days.  There are many stages your rug will go through on it’s journey to its former glory, here’s what we’ll do…

Rug Pre Inspection

A qualified Rug Cleaning technician who is an expert in rug cleaning will come to your home and assess your rug.  This is vital to ensure we use the correct process and products for your valuable rug.  It also allows us, on those very rare occasions, to bring to your attention any potential issues. We’ll do a number of checks, such as colourfast tests, backing stability test and possibly even Ph tests if appropriate.

Dusting / Vacuuming

Various studies have shown that between 60 & 75% of all the soil that is contained in your rug will be DRY soil.  That’s up to a pound of dirt and grit per square foot of your rug.  It’s this dry soil that is making your rug flat and matted, but more worryingly, this abrasive dry dirt is wearing away at the base of the fibres as people walk on your rug.  As much of this soiling as possible must be removed before it is wet cleaned, otherwise it turns to a ‘sludge’ which will slowly wick back with use.  We’ll treat both the face and the back of the rug to remove as much dry soil as possible.

Pre Treatment & Brushing

Having pre-tested stains we’ll apply the appropriate product in an attempt to remove it.  By applying the correct solution and allowing it to dwell this greatly increases the chances of totally removing the stain.  As many rugs are a natural fibre, and often unprocessed, nobody can guarantee to remove every stain.  Although most stains are no problem we will warn you, if appropriate, which may not be removed completely when we pre-inspect your rug. We’ll then apply our prespray and gently agitate this into the fibres.  This attaches itself to the oily soils and ensures a more thorough cleaning by improving the rinse and extraction when we do our full cleaning step.

Flood and Extraction Cleaning

The volume of soil in rugs can be far more than your carpet.  This means extraction cleaning alone may not be the best method.  If required we’ll flood the rug and thoroughly rinse the fibres and backing.  As this is done in a controlled environment this doesn’t present an issue, as it will be thoroughly extracted to dry the rug quickly.  typically rugs dry overnight in our drying room.

Hand Finish Fringes & Groom the Pile

Once the face has been thoroughly cleaned we hand finish the fringes.  This involves using a specially designed table and mesh screen to protect your delicate fringe.  We don’t use any harsh Chlorine bleaches.  We use the most appropriate cleaner for your fringe type and then apply a solution to reducing potential browning of cotton fringes. After cleaning the pile needs ‘grooming’ in four directions before it dries.  This ensures it is all ‘stood up’ and lays in the same direction, giving a more even look to the finish. So when it’s all clean, what else do we do?

Apply Stain & Soil Resistant Treatment

A Woolsafe approved protector can be applied to the rug after finishing.  This is brushed through the fibres to ensure a deep down protection against most common spills and stains, and also helps the carpet resist dry soil, so more dust vacuums away in your home.  It doesn’t affect the feel or appearance of the fibres, unlike cheaper protectors which can have a tacky finish if over applied.

Hang to Dry

We hang all our rugs to dry in our custom drying room.  Leaving rugs wet for days in a garage is what causes most of the problems associated with cleaning.  Unwanted dye bleeding, cellulosic browning, or ‘soap burn’ are just some of the potential problems. By hanging them we can circulate temperature and humidity controlled warm, not hot, air around them to prevent drying issue.  Hanging also ensures a reduced chance of shape change.  Rugs which are just left laying out on the floor to dry don’t have any tension in them. and can dry uneven and buckled, but rugs hung correctly ensures that the rug remains under tension while drying, reducing the risk of shape change.  Rugs we clean in the day will be dry overnight and ready for a final inspection and bagging to return.