How to Clean Persian Carpets: Do’s and Don’ts

Keeping your Persian rugs and carpets clean can be a dangerous and costly task if you don’t know what you’re doing. Persian rugs are a beautiful investment, and cleaning them incorrectly can cause permanent damage. To ensure your rugs are treated with the care they deserve, get a professional Persian rug cleaning in Toronto by Brilho Luxury Cleaning & Services.

We’re proud to be the number one Persian rug cleaning company in Toronto. We stand behind our client promise by showing up on time, eliminating 100% of stains and grime from old rugs, and teaching novices how to maintain Persian carpets the right way.

In this guide, our rug cleaning experts will detail how to clean Persian carpets with materials readily available in your kitchen. We’ll teach you the correct way to vacuum, scrub, and sweep without damaging the rug. We’re also going to discuss steam cleaning and which detergents you can use to disinfect a large area rug in your home or place of business.

The Difference Between Your Persian Carpet and Other Rugs

To the untrained eye, Persian rugs may be the same as Oriental rugs or even Armenian rugs, but tasteful homeowners, interior designers, and fabric experts will always know the difference. Persian carpet makers utilize a broad range of knots and natural dye hues to create a distinctive look that’s been fashionable for hundreds of years. Most Persian rugs originate from Iran, while Oriental ones come from Egypt, Turkey, and India.

Persian rugs have been a luxury commodity since 500 B.C.E. Nomadic and tribal textile artists painstakingly hand-knot these rugs on wool foundations, while well-known ruggers from Persian cities use more luxurious silk and cotton bases on looms. Persian rugs usually feature Senneh and Ghiordes knots with bold colouring and traditional designs.

If you don’t know how to clean Persian carpets, don’t engage in trial and error. It may not be possible to repair the rug. Most Persian area rugs cost upwards of $5,000, and they’re masterful at collecting grime, dirt, and soil from heavy foot traffic. If you vacuum them too often, their fibres will wear out, and if you use harsh detergents, their colours will start to fade prematurely.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Cleaning Your Persian Rug

Do: Vacuum Your Persian Carpet

Most people put rugs in living rooms and dining areas where they experience heavy foot traffic from guests, family members, and even pets. Grime, dirt, and pet hair will quickly accumulate on your Persian carpet if you don’t vacuum it at least once every two weeks.

You don’t need to transfer it to another location or lift it off the ground. Just run a vacuum cleaner on a low power setting slowly across its centers and sides. You can couple vacuum cleaning with an organic solvent to remove grime and bacteria and disinfect the rug to prevent mould and mildew from forming during humid seasons.

Don’t: Use the High Setting on Your Vacuum Cleaner

If your vacuum cleaner doesn’t have variable power settings, reach for a dedicated carpet cleaning tool. At Brilho Luxury Cleaning & Services, our technicians use state-of-the-art electric brooms to care for your rug fibres while we clean them. Vacuuming against the direction of the wool fibres with a beater bar may cause damage that’s already present in a rug to worsen.

Do: Sweep Your Persian Rug

Manual sweeping is the safest way to ensure that your Persian carpet is clean and well-maintained. Your rug won’t have to contend with the abrasive motions of a vacuum cleaner, and you can spot-clean problem areas to remove stains and blemishes. Our professional cleaners combine sweeping with mild detergents, squeegees, and scrub brushes to loosen compacted wool fibres and remove deep-seated dirt.

Don’t: Use a Harsh Rug Shampoo

If you find stubborn stains while sweeping your Persian carpet, it can be tempting to use powerful stain removers like rug shampoos to eliminate them. However, rugs with silk and wool bases are sensitive to alkalinity.

Our technicians combine mild organic detergents with clean water to create a mixture with a pH level of 5 to 8.5. We don’t use store-bought shampoos, which could save a few bucks but put your investments at risk.

Do: Handwash Your Persian Rug to Remove Odours and Bacteria

Persian carpets are famous for being easy to handwash and manually deep clean as they have been around since long before washing machines and Tide pods. In ages past, traders used to wash these rugs in rivers and springs with natural cleaning agents. You can copy their maintenance procedures today from the comfort of your home by following these steps:

Ensure that your rug is colorfast by contacting its previous owners, reading the tag, or contacting your retailer.
Shake your rug to loosen dirt.
Vacuum, brush, and wipe down problem spots.
Create a cleaning solution by mixing cold water and mild detergents in a bucket.
Run the mixture through your rug with a non-shedding sponge or soft brush.
Rinse your carpet using a garden hose and let it air dry.

Don’t: Use Aerosol Disinfectants

Disinfectants like Lysol carry harmful chemicals, such as benzalkonium chloride, hydrogen peroxide, and chlorophenol. Use a vinegar and water mixture or talcum powder to eliminate foul odours instead.

Just sprinkle talcum powder on top of your freshly washed Persian carpet and leave it overnight so it can absorb pungent odours thoroughly. The next day, vacuum up the powder.

You should never steam clean your Persian rug if you don’t have professional experience. Steam cleaning floods your rug fibres with massive amounts of water while offering no avenue for escape. Most professional cleaners have drying rooms and industrial wringers that can accommodate that process, and most homes don’t.

Learn more about carpet cleaning services by calling the professionals today. Our rug cleaning services for Persian carpets will use the most efficient and cost-effective methods.