Expert: Jahann and Sons Persian Rugs - 8/17/2010

Question
Hallo,

We just had our three oriental rug cleaned by a professional cleaner. There
was no particular problem with the rugs before.

Now, the problem is that we got them back with a rather nasty chemical
smell. What does this mean? Is it "normal" or inevitable to have such a
smell? And will it go away soon? Is there something to be done about it?

Thank you very much

Answer
Hi Dina,

So sorry to hear about your rugs.  What kind of cleaning did you have done on your rugs (dry clean, steam clean, washing?).  Sometimes dry cleaning chemicals can leave a smell, and also, sometimes if your rugs have heavy pet odors, the chemicals used to remove pet urine can have a smell.  If your rugs just had a standard cleaning, they should smell like wool, not chemicals.  

It is possible that the chemicals were not rinsed out of your rugs properly.  Do you think you could take the rugs back to the cleaner and ask them to rinse the rugs again?  If they say they don't rinse rugs, but rather just do dry cleaning, it would be in your best interest to find another rug cleaner that actually washes the rugs.  Like sheep, wool rugs need a good bath every now and again.  

Hope the information is helpful!

Best of luck,
Katie

Jahann and Sons Persian Rugs
West Howard Antiques District
4210 Howard Ave | Kensington, MD 20895
301.530.6660 | www.jahannandsons.com