Another Rug Victim to Moths

What lurks in your basement could be eating your area rug

Last month we had a lovey lady come into Luv-A-Rug asking about getting a very large rug cleaned. The rug had been rolled up in the basement for years.

She was hosting a very special musical event here in Victoria and needed a rug to go under the piano.
The rug size was estimated at 12x16 feet, a very large rug by today's standards.

The area rug was not professionally cleaned nor properly wrapped for storage. My first thought and concern was that the rug was home to a lot of moth larva and damage. Moth's only leave a rug when they run out of the food source, ie wool.

The boss went to her house to look at the rug, and I am sad to report that it was very moth damaged. We could have cleaned the rug and did our moth treatment to it, but it was unusable. The moths had eaten away too much of the fibers to hide the damage.

All too often area rugs are rolled up and put in basements and storage units without being professionally cleaned and wrapped correctly for storage. Moths love dirty, dark, undisturbed area rugs. Having a dirty rug rolled up and stored improperly is prime for the little moths. Luv-A-Rug cleans and wraps area rugs for storing.

Do not take for granted that if you use a professional storage unit that your rug will be safe. Two weeks ago I had two phone calls from a client here in Victoria and one from Vernon, BC where their rugs were in Storage Places and their rugs got wet. Both were caused by carelessness of the Storage Places not the people renting the units. If the rugs were wrapped in Tyvek for storage they would have been safe.

No matter if you are storing it for a few months or years. It doesn't take long for a pregnant female moth to lay 50-100 eggs and for them to hatch and start eating your beloved rug. It saves you time and money to get your rug cleaned before putting it away.

You may think that I have written enough about moths and the damage they cause, but I don't think so. If that were the case I wouldn't see a lot less rugs that had moth damage. It is as simple as that.

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary wool moth expert