Expert: Jahann and Sons Persian Rugs - 1/19/2008

Question
I have a 3 year old wool/silk hand made oriental rug that was made in Peoples Republic of China. The carpet is 10'x 14' and I paid $11,395 for the rug at a reputable store. The pile is very dense although I do not know the count per inch. Last week my young Granddaughter got sick and threw up on the rug in  four spots. I immediately tried to clean it with seltzer and use our steam cleaner without the steam or brushes on to extract the excess fluid from the rug. I am left with areas that are darker than they should be. The rug has a light tan background.

I need to know what to do next. I know you should not steam clean. If I try again by hand cleaning, what kind of soap would I use, and should anything else be in the water? Are any carpet spot removers acceptable? The rest of the rug is not dirty.

Thank you,
Dehlia

Answer
Hi Dehlia,
I hope your granddaughter is feeling better.  There are several things that might be up with your rug.  The color issues may be a result of the rug being cleaner in some spots than others.  It is also possible that the pile of the rug dried in different directions so that your rug now looks like velour.  Or, and this would be the worst case, the steam cleaning caused some of the color to be removed from you rug.  What you need to do next is have your rug professionally cleaned.  After a cleaning, you'll be able to find out if the discoloration was in fact just dirt or the pile.  If after cleaning you find that the discoloration still exists, you'll need to consider re-dying to restore your rug to its original look.
Hopefully this information is helpful.  If you need further clarification or would like to email me pictures, please feel free to contact me.
All the best, Katie (ruglady@jahannandsons.com)