MAINTENANCE
The maintenance of tribal rugs is fairly simple.
On normal circumstances, a rug may be broomed going the way of knots ( the hand runs smoothly when brushing the pile), or lightly vacuum cleaned. From time to time it might be good to reverse the rug for a day, feel free to walk over it in order to let thedust fall, then vacuum clean the area and the rug.
When a rug can be taken outside and shaken (not beaten) this may be a good annual maintenance, specially as a little sun exposure may destroy pests such as moth.
At intervals of several years, and according to rug exposure to dust, it is a good exercise to wash/clean it or have this done by a specialist. Rugs with natural and vegetable colors may be cleaned by yourself; those with possible artificial colors require a professionnal testing in order to insure the cleaning technics to be used.
ANTI-MOTH
Moth are the worst enemy of rugs, beside water and fire. They may also endanger all wool, silk and felt made items. Therefore, a preservation action is required, and we recommend an anti-moth action on all your rugs, stored or not, at least every spring:
- expose rugs on both sides to the air and light for a few hours
- spray an anti-moth product on both side before putting back in situ or in storage
once you have made sure there are no moth cocoons that you would then stiffly brush out.
REPAIRS
Rugs/carpets may require a repair or a restauration at times: wearing of selvedges and fringes/braids is a normal process that can however be slowed down by moving a rug around in order to alternate exposures. One should never wait once a damage has been recognised, since this damage can be the source of a much wider one. We recommend you consult a specialist in such cases and remain available should you wish an appropriate reply and solution, offering adapted quotes when required.