Carpet Cleaning Tips and Carpet Care:
Cleanliness is the first and major step towards hand-made carpet care and it is the best care of to damage. There are no hard or fast rules to carpet cleaning and stipulate when and how often to clean a carpet since every had-made carpet is different and every household exposes a carpet to different amounts of wear and dirt. There are many professional books on carpet care and carpet cleaning that one may consult if one is interested in doing a professional cleaning. However, the following advice and information are basic general instructions that the average home owner may exercise in the care and cleaning of an Oriented carpet. The best recommendation is regular brushing with an old fashioned handbroom with natural bristles or the use of an electric carpet sweeper. Remember that it is just as important to brush the underlay of the carpet and floor beneath for thorough carpet cleaning. Three main points to note when vacuuming a kilim are: don't use high suction settings, vacuum on both sides, and don't vacuum the fringe. The regular use of a vacuum cleaner will eventually start to loosen the knots and pull the fibers out of the pile, also never use the revolving brush attachment on a carpet for it will actually pull the fibers apart. The nozzle attachment is the best and may be used once a month.
Carpet Cleaning and Carpet Care: Hand Cleaning
You can prepare a mixture of the following proportions; half a cup of carpet shampoo to four and a half cups of warm water and add one tablespoon of vinegar to prevent the color from running. Lay the carpet with the pile up on a hard flat surface. Dip the brush in the liquid and apply it in gentle even vertical strokes. Vigorous brushing or scrubbing will not clean thoroughly and is likely to damage the carpet in its wet vulnerable state. Start in one corner, brushing up and down, with and against the pile with even overlapping movements. The amount of shampoo applied and the pressure of the brush should be as constant as possible over the entire carpet surface. Once the carpet is brushed vertically (lengthwise) then brush horizontally or from side to side across the pile, with the same gentle overlapping strokes. The pile should be thoroughly cleaned by now. Finally, brush gently in the direction of the pile as the carpet dries, so that the pile is lying in the right direction.
When drying, preferably use a room where there is a warm air current heating system. Do not drape the carpet, it must be allowed to dry flat, and don't walk, or place anything on it until it is completely dry. The warp, weft and pile of a completely dried carpet should feel soft and pliable. Remove the dried dirt and shampoo powder by gently brushing with a soft dry brushing.
Carpet Cleaning Tips and Carpet Care: Blotting and Stain Removing
When spills occur, dilute with plenty of water to clean your carpet. Next, blot from the edge of the spill toward the center. Avoid rubbing the area when carpet cleaning. For solid spills, take a spoon and carefully scoop up the material. Also blot the floor on which the kilim is laid. When blotting is completed, place a shallow container (such as a tray with a low lip) under the stained area and dilute the remaining stain by passing some clean water through it. Then remove the tray, dispose of the contents and blot up the liquid from the kilim, repeating this procedure as often as needed to remove the stain completely. It is always best to attack the spill immediately when carpet cleaning.
Carpet Cleaning Tips and Carpet Care: Things to Avoid
When cleaning your carpet, washing machines and spin dryers should never be used for any delicate hand-made item. With carpets the vibration, water temperature and harsh detergents will cause irreparable damage; possible color-run from the hot water and the detergents and a cement-like wool once dry. It may even reduce the carpet to shreds when trying to clean it. Again dry cleaners sometimes advertise themselves as carpet cleaning service. Their services may be useful for machine-made carpets, but an Oriental Hand-made masterpiece should never be subjected to the strong chemicals that these firms use. The damage may become apparent only after several months and the damage is irreparable.
Wool carpets and kilims are subject to moth damage. The dark areas of the carpet should be inspected for signs of moth damage, which will result in a weakened foundation or in the knots eventually pulling out where the nap has been eaten away. New carpet and kilims are treated with insecticides before exportations and ounces in a dealer's shop they are frequently moved about to avoid this problem.
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