Area rugs can be very expensive and are mostly made from wool, cotton and silk fibers. The cleaning of a rug requires special tools and a Certified Professional.  Area rugs are NOT cleaned the same a way   wall to wall carpet is cleaned. Most of todays modern truck mounted equipment solutions temperatures are too hot and will shrink natural fibers and cause dye bleeds. 

Warning:  You should never allow anyone to clean your rugs in your home. You cannot properly clean the fringe, dust the rug or dry it properly to avoid dye bleeds. You are gambling with your investment and it could be permanently damaged! 
 
  
 Steps to getting your rugs professionally cleaned. This process usually takes about 7-14 days It is all done by hand and by Universal Cleanings Services INC.  IICRC Certified Area Rug Cleaners. 

1. Complete Pre-inspection
Each rug is carefully examined for pre-existing conditions and to determine what type of rug it is. Special testing is done to determine the fiber type and construction type and the primary backing. Rugs can be made out of so many different types of fibers but most will generally all natural or synthetic. 
Area rugs are also inspected for damage by insects, rips, tears and certain types of dye variations. Many times heavy soil conditions can cover up variations in dyes, stains and bleeding that us usually is uncovered after the cleaning. One of the most common things that come up with area rugs is Abrash and Tea cupping. Abrash is a dye-lot variation when wool is dyed a certain color lets say green. Then the following batch is dyed green but is a shade or two off; however, it still gets used on the same rug(see picture below).

Tea cupping is when a rug is dyed with a hot batch of tea.  This adds a distinct aged look to a rug. This will usually lighten up with cleaning but can be corrected.

White Knots are when the cotton foundations of the rug start to present themselves. When the rugs are being woven together and rugs are being packed for shipping the yarns will break. They cannot be replaced only so the two ends are tied into a knot. Over time the rug can wear and these knots can be exposed. These can be corrected if the customer cares to.

Most hand made rugs are rarely symmetrical because of the weaving process; however, machine made rugs are usually symmetrical because they were made by computer and not by hand.

2. Dye Testing
Each and every dye is tested for bleeding. Even the foundation yarns are tested. It will never be know which dye will bleed so they all must be tested. This testing usually take about 24 hours because dye bleed usually occurs right before the fiber dries. If a rug bleeds products special dye setting are used to set the dyes.

3. Dusting
Dusting a rug to remove the dry particulate soil can take several hours depending on how soiled a rug is. Each square foot of a area rug can hold 1 POUND of soil! Rugs are vacuumed face up then we turn the rug over and vacuum it from the back. The vacuum has a metal beater bar that knocks the dry soil from the back of the rug. After several passes with the vacuum we flip the rug back over and vacuum the face again. We keep repeating the process until we don't visually see any more soil.

4. Pre-Conditioning
Preconditioning is applied to break down traffic area soil and general spots and to prepare your the rug for maximum soil removal. Universal Cleaning uses SPECIAL plant based, hypo-allergenic cleaning products that come from renewable seed and vegetable sources. These products don't contain perfumes, VOC's, solvents, phosphates or any hazardous products. The are biodegradable and environmentally safe.

5. Rug Bath
The rug is then given a cold water bath or flooded to rinse all the soils from it and the pre-conditioner from it. Special tools and brushes are used to flush remaining  soils from the rug.

6. Fringe Cleaning
The fringe is carefully agitated with a brush and cleaned with special fringe cleaning solution. Cotton backing and fringe has lignin a brown dye that can bleed out during the rug cleaning process. Quick drying of the fringe face down will prevent the dyes from wicking out.    
 
7. Extraction
All remaining water is carefully extracted from the rug to prepare it for the drying process.

After your rug has been cleaned we can also protect your investment from stains and soils with rug fiber protector.

Anti-Allergen Treatment can be applied to control dust mites and allergens for up to six months.

If a rug is going to be placed in front of a window it can also be treated with a UV-Protector. Natural rugs will fade in direct sunlight.

Universal Cleaning Services Inc. also has new pad available.  We will custom fit the pad in our shop and deliver it with your freshly cleaned rug.      
 
8. Drying
All of the rugs are dried in a dry room where we have commercial dehumidifiers the remove moisture from the air. This speeds up the the process; however, it can still take up to 3 days for a rug to fully dry. Rugs are dried face down to prevent any dyes from bleeding to the face of the rug during the drying process. High velocity air movers are use to help the drying process by providing airflow to wick moisture out.  Finally all rugs are tested with a moisture meter to determine if they are 100% dry. This ensures that no moisture is left in the rug.

9. Final Finishing
The fringe is cleaned one last time and the rug is groomed and vacuumed.

10. Repairs
Some rugs may need a repairs or new fringe, if this is the case your rug can be fixed after the cleaning process in our rug repair department.

11. Packing
Rugs are packed in rosin paper and stored in the dry room before they are finally delivered back so you can enjoy the rich beauty of freshly cleaned rug!   After we deliver your clean rug a final inspection will be done with you to assure you are thoroughy sastisfied.  

Call now for a Free no obligation Rug Audit at 919-602-5592. A Rug Audit is much more that just a quote.  Universal Cleaning Services Inc. will fully inspect your rugs current condition, construction type and soiling. We will also address any stain concerns, show how to maximize the life of your rug and how to protect if from stains and soil. We also offer FREE pick and delivery for new customers!!! Call now at 919-602-5592