Question for the True Ruggies...

[Jose Smith]

Which of the following do you feel is most important and least important when looking at a hand knotted rug?

-dyes used (vegetal, synthetic)

-knot type (ghiordes vs. senneh or other)

-foundation (cotton vs. wool, single vs. double weft)

-fringe

-texture of wool

-design on rug

Please take everyone here through your ID process (which probably takes a few seconds). Rate these 1-6 (one being more important).

Hopefully, a point can be made here regarding rug ID/cleaning.

Jose Smith

 

[Mikey P]

I sort of asked you the same question in the other thread, but this should be great.

Thanks!

 

[rhyde]

This is the order i look at a rug

1.Design; not full proof in this day and age all designs are bastardized
2 Color pallet; natural or synthetic isn’t as important since virtually all rug area have used both. Many areas have specific color pallets and tones.
3 Fringe, end finishes & sides which are often very specific to an area or country if original
4. Wool or cotton foundation
5. Weave single or double weft
6. wool quality
7. knot type

 

[Mikey P]

Not to wear your key board out, but what does the answer of 1 through 7 do to effect your next cleaning decision?

 

[GRHeacock]

Well, this is probably heresy, but for me, these questions all have little impact on how I treat hand knotted rugs.

I have worked in rug plants where everything in the door is run through an automatic machine, whether it is a olefin, nylon, wool, cotton, linen, etc.

These plants wash 60 to 100 rugs a day, and they are all treated the same.

I have worked in plants where every rug was identified, and hand washed, doing 6 to 10 rugs a day.

My own plant- in my single car garage, I did some 10 to 15 rugs a month.

What was important to ME was- is it wool, or what material?

How dirty was it?

That determined whether it was fully immersed washed, shampooed, bonnetted, Truck Mount cleaned, hung and power washed, or the Turbo Steam Cleaned system.

Did I have problems? Yes, a couple times a year.

But the average rug in my door, no matter what the origin, was not specifically identified, or treated special if it was hand knotted, machine made, hand woven, braided, etc.

I know the purists will disagree with me, but there ya go.

Gary

 

[rhyde]

Sometime nothing…..

But that Hereke rug you have I ID’d with 1, 2 & 3 from my experience I know there might be an issue with the black & green .

I’ve got in my head what rugs are problems but one needs to look at more than the design to learn the weave, color pallet, when you do that and you can accurately ID rugs you don’t need to stop and test everything

 

[Jose Smith]

I agree 100%. I haven't pre-tested a rug in years. One should be able to ID problem rugs with little trouble, then precautions are taken at that point. Perhaps a "red flagged" rug was never a bleeder, but the right precautions are taken when washing. Pre-testing (for me) takes too much time.

But I can ID a problem rug. Many cannot. So pre-testing a rug is important for them. But as Randy mentions, looking at just the design is not correctly ID'ing a rug.

Jose Smith

 

[BRSUMMERVILLE]

To me, the three important questions when I clean a rug are: Is it natural or synthetic? Is it color fast? Does it fall or come apart?

Bob Rock

 

[rhyde]

Which brings up the point as long as you've got the mojo it really isn’t important that you do it my way or someone else’s as long as what you do is effective and keeps you from ruining rugs.

 

[The Great Oz]

Which of the following do you feel is most important and least important when looking at a hand knotted rug?

-dyes used (vegetal, synthetic) Not important. Synthetic dyes can be bad or good, depending on how the dye is set. Chrome dyes are usually solid, aniline rugs dyes are usually suspect. The same can be said for vegetal dyes, as the Chinese are currently making some rugs with poorly set "natural" color. Besides, it's pretty tough to tell what dye was used by just looking at the rug.

-knot type (ghiordes vs. senneh or other) Has no bearing on cleaning, so isn't important.

-foundation (cotton vs. wool, single vs. double weft) This one depends on the rug, so is part of a larger ID process that can be important. I'll give a three.

-fringe Number one, because it can be the biggest problem for the cleaner. Don't prequalify the condition and reasonable expectations for the fringe and you'll either anger customers or end up paying for a lot of fringe repair.

-texture of wool I'll make this number two. The soft wools require more prequalification and care than a tougher wool, and extremely coarse wool can indicate a percentage of plant fiber in the mix which will perform like short staple wool and may brown excessively.

-design on rug Little importance, with a few exceptions. For example, if you can identify the age of a Tabriz by the color and design, you will know without testing which ones will bleed.

Please take everyone here through your ID process (which probably takes a few seconds). Rate these 1-6 (one being more important).

Jose makes a good point. The rug cleaner needs to know what will bite. Becoming more accomplshed at identifying and categorizing rugs can help in many ways, but there is a point where the expertise becomes more of a hobby.

What I consider important can be found in the RIA/NIRC rug cleaning guidelines, but the edited version is this:

#1 - Construction and condition of the rug. If the fiber is prone to slip, if someone has done some color work on it, concerns about conditions such as dry rot or wear, and I'd suppose that fringe could be considered in this catagory. Has nothing to do with ID of the rug, but the more important ID of potential problems in cleaning.

#2 - General known types of rugs with problems. Beautifully knotted Tabriz with poorly set dyes, Afghanis that will turn into a potato chip when washed, oxidizer damaged rugs, Indian rugs made with a blend of "woolenized" jute...

#3 - Something I've forgotten to list here. :?

Whether the rug is a Sarouk or Heriz doesn't really matter to the wash process, once you know there are no wash-related concerns.

Or did you just want to know what people looked at first when they ID rugs?