Prior to the 1920’s, Navajo rugs
contained large amounts of lanolin that protected the wool fibers from
wear. However,
modern Navajo and other hand woven wool rugs are made from yarn that only
contain small amounts of lanolin, therefore special care must be taken
to protect and care for these rugs. Your investment should increase in
value if you know how to maintain your rug properly.
Display your rug out of direct sunlight.
Not only does sunlight cause the colors to fade, it will break down
the wool fibers
causing the rug
to age quickly. If moving your rug isn’t an option, keep the drapes
pulled during the hours when sunlight falls directly on the rug. Another
option to slow the damaging effects of sunlight is to invest in a UV window
film coating. These can be applied by the homeowner or by any window installation
company.
Always use a padded mat under your rug. Furniture legs and walking on
the rug crushes the wool fibers causing them to break down. Eventually
this leads to traffic pattern wear, furniture leg holes and fraying. The
waffle type of matting is the best as it allows the rug to breath while
protecting the fibers. Turning your rug every 6 months helps to maintain
the wool fibers and also decreases the risk of damage from moths.
Regular cleaning is a must. It’s best to use a vacuum cleaner without
a rotating brush about once a week depending on the amount of traffic
your rug gets. Many of the rotating brushes rotate vigorously to move
the nap around on commercial carpeting. Hand woven wool rugs don’t
have a nap and the rotating brushes just add more wear to your rug. If
you can’t turn off the brush on your vacuum cleaner then use the
hand attachment with a soft non-rotating brush. Never shake out your rug,
as the snapping action will break the wool fibers.
A spill on your rug doesn’t mean that it’s ruined. The trick
is to get the spill up as quickly as possible using the wicking action
of paper towels to grab most of the liquid. Don’t rub! Just let
the paper towel gently touch the liquid and it’ll absorb the liquid
on the surface of your rug. Modern wool rugs lack the heavy lanolin coated
yarn that their predecessors had and that mean the wool is porous and
wicks up liquids fairly fast so you must do this immediately after a spill.
If you catch the spill fast enough this is all that is needed.
Keep in mind that many aniline dyes may
run when wet, so if you know or suspect that your rug is made from aniline
dyed wool,
don’t try
cleaning it yourself. However, if you’re sure the dye will not run
sometimes a light sponging of cool water will remove small stains. Never
scrub and never use soaps or carpet cleaners, as they will remove the
protective coating of lanolin. With a sponge or cotton cloth, use gentle
circular motions then dry gently with a soft cotton cloth or paper towels.
Repeat several times.
Only wash your rug yourself if you don’t
mind taking the risk of ruining it. Water on wool may cause shrinkage
and
the dyes to run, which
will devalue your rug. Wool fibers are brittle when wet so handle your
wet rug carefully. All soaps and detergents will break down the lanolin
and protective oils so only use plain cold water. Place it on a flat surface
Copyright 2005 © www.thesantafestore.com
