Hand Tufted Rugs-Announcement
The announcement pictured above was found in the packaging of a recent purchase from the retailer “Pottery Barn.” This insert says: “Pottery Barn rugs now feature a synthetic latex backing instead of natural latex.” The author(s) go on to state that synthetic latex is more durable and will help to prolong the life of your new rug for many more years than one made with natural latex. They also note that synthetic latex is without proteins that are found in natural latex which can trigger allergic reactions, thus making the new rugs “healthier” for people who are susceptible to these proteins.
As a carpet and rug cleaner who is seeing more and more of these hand tufted rugs with the canvas backing I hope this new approach will allow their rugs to be thoroughly cleaned. Surface cleaning a rug that has a moderate amount of soil may be adequate, however a rug that has heavily impacted soils and liquid spills (pet accidents?) usually needs a full “soak” or immersion into a bath of water and detergents. Sometimes it is necessary to keep the whole rug soaking for several hours or even overnight to emulsify and suspend the contaminants-the latex we are seeing here at Regal Fabric Care starts to degrade almost as soon as water-based detergents are applied. What’s really sad is that we see many hand tufted rugs that have never been cleaned but still have latex that is powdering and crumbling from the back. Be careful when purchasing a “hand-tufted” or “machine-tufted” area rug. Learn more here.
QUICK NOTE: It’s not only the washing of a tufted rug that requires great care. Beating and dislodging the impacted gritty soils from the carpet fibers is the first step of the cleaning process. Some of the latex backed rugs are so weak that they cannot withstand this aggressive agitation.
Dry Soil Removal is the First Step
The rug badger, pictured above, is used to beat the back of a rug and remove the dry, gritty soils.
For more information on what to be on the look-out for when purchasing your new rugs (& carpeting) simply phone us at 781-995-0683 or info@regalclean.com.
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REGAL FABRIC CARE
10 Draper Street unit 6-Woburn, MA 01801
