Improper Cleaning =Bad Results rug cleaning in Victoria BC

I am going to shock you by a little known fact:

Very few Carpet Cleaners are certified to safely clean wool, be it area rugs, wall to wall carpet or furniture.

To be a certified "Wool Safe" company you need to take the Wool Safe Course and be certified by the Wool Safe standards.

I did a search on the Wool safe website and there are only 3 companies in Victoria who are certified Wool Safe. Luv-A-Rug is one of the 3 and we are Victoria's only area rug specialists.

Our rug cleaners are trained to care for wool properly, that is part of what sets us apart from our competitors and makes us the Wool experts.

It is also part of why we may charge more for cleaning than everyone else. We go beyond just a quick steam clean, we go to the bottom of the fibers to get out the deep embedded dirt.

Last week a lady called and told me the sad story of her Belgium area rug. She got it cleaned by a reputable carpet cleaning company and it came back pink. It wasn't checked for dye stability.



She brought the rug to us and we are going to see what results we can achieve to remove the colour bleed. It will be a slow process, but we are hopeful.

Chemistry time: the red dye molecule is the largest of all the colours. That is why it fades faster than other colours and bleeds easier.

So for all of us ladies who have dyed our hair red and weren't happy when it faded so fast, that is why. Guys if you have ever wanted to repaint your vehicle red and couldn't figure out why red costs more than the other colours that is why.

I will keep you updated as to the progress of this rug in the next few weeks.

When you are researching carpet and rug cleaners, ask about their training and certification. You paid a lot for your rug always trust it to the professionals.

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary, your local WoolSafe rug cleaning company in Victoria BC.

DIY Cleaning tips-Are They From a Professional?

A couple times a week I search other blogs about area rug cleaning. The most popular usually are the Do-It-Yourself (DIY)/Green Cleaning/Money Saving blogs.

Nothing wrong with trying to save money and keeping your house chemical free, but where is the advice coming from?

The blogs about DIY rug cleaning are mostly by every day people and not always by professional area rug cleaners.

One of the most important things missing from a lot of these blog posts is what kind of rug/carpet they cleaned. They usually don't say and that is where problems can arise.

Cleaning a synthetic area rug is much easier than a wool area rug. Synthetic rugs are mostly made from Olefin or Polypropylene (types of plastics). They are a great rug to have around small children, pets and in entry ways. They don't absorb spills and last a long time.

When spills or pet accidents happen on a synthetic rug, it is the cotton and jute foundation that absorbs the liquid and smells not the actual rug fibers.

Most cleaners and spot removers are made for synthetic carpets and area rugs, not for wool. They are too strong to use on Wool area rugs. A lot of the spot removers were made when carpet was the most used floor covering. Now hardwood/tile are the most used flooring.

Using the wrong spot removers on a wool area rug can ruin your rug. I use the analogy that wool area rugs are just like the hair on our heads. It is the hair of a sheep, it has cuticles and grows just like our hair and is sensitive to a lot of chemicals. We don't use harsh chemicals or strong shampoos on our hair, why use them on our wool rugs? The results are similar. Use bleach on a wool rug and the wool lightens or dissolves, same as our hair.

Since you cannot be sure of what kind of rug they are talking it about it is like playing Russian Roulette with your cleaning results.

There are safe spot removers for wool. Water is your safest spot remover. A damp White Cotton towel can get rid of a lot of every day spills.

White Vinegar and water is good for fresh, wet pet accidents. Once a pet urine has dried it is pretty much a permanent yellow stain, on wool, cotton, jute and sometimes synthetic.

For red wine put a White Cotton towel on the spill and stand on it. Keep stepping on the towel until either the towel is saturated or you are not getting any more wine off the rug. If you are still seeing wine come up, change to a new towel and keep stepping around the spill.

Club soda, water, salt, dry oatmeal also work at helping remove red wine. The salt and oatmeal absorb the wine, also works for any wet spills.

If you can still see the wine spill, wet a White Cotton towel until it is damp, and keep the spill moist and get it to your rug cleaners as soon as you can. Keeping the spill wet helps the wine not set and stain your rug.

Things to Never use on a Wool area rug are Baking Soda, and any other spot treaters that do not have a Wool safe symbol or say safe for wool. Always do a test spot no matter what you use for spot treatments. Every area rug is different and will react differently even to the same type of spill.

Out of all the stain, cleaning and spot removal advice out there the best things are a White Cotton towel, water, salt, and your professional area rug cleaners.

In a perfect world spills would never happen, in our world they happen every day. Drop by Luv-A-Rug to get your free bottle of our own spot remover. 445 Beta St, (off Alpha St) Victoria, BC 250-590-6210

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary, Your Victoria BC area rug cleaning expert!

Before you Spray Read On...

Miracle sprays, late night TV is full of them. You are mesmerized by the great results one little bottle can achieve.
But Wait!! There is more.
A Lot of those miracle spot removers advertised are for synthetic fiber rugs, not WOOL. Always check the label to see if it is safe for wool or has the wool symbol.

The leading OXYgen cleaner can do permanent damage to your wool rug. Yes it is a miracle fixer for your cotton clothes, not wool area rugs. The quick fix spot remover can lead to expensive repair costs.

This rug is a 9x12 foot Cream coloured British India (Indian Abusson) with a craved in design.

It had either cranberry juice or red wine spilled on it and now because of a miracle spray spot remover the rug has permanent yellow stains.



The spray did one of to things:

1. Removed the red spot and dyed the wool yellow through oxidation or
   
2. It bleached out the red spot to yellowish/brown spot.

Either way it was not the desired result by the owner.
They do have a few options:

• Live with the yellow spots

• Replace the rug

• Or get the whole rug dyed a new colour.

If the spots were one the end only we could trim the rug back, but there are yellow stains in the middle of the rug too. We are still waiting for the client to decide what they want to do. Not an easy decision when the rug is this big and fits their decor.

This does give the home owner a chance to redecorate the whole room differently though. Yes it would be more to redecorate than find a similar rug, but sometimes a new look is good too.

PLEASE read the label of any spot removers or cleaners you may have. If it doesn't say it is safe for wool do not use it.

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary, Your Victoria BC wool rug cleaning expert!