Prevent Water Damage to a Rug

With the number of home floods escalating due to the severe weather, a number of rugs will be exposed to flood water. While some may say ‘It’s just a rug‘, others know that their oriental rug is an investment meant to last generations.

The longer a rug remains wet the more likely it is to have dye migration that is not correctible. Rugs that are not washed properly and dried thoroughly can end up with mildew and dry rot problems. Both of these can potentially damage a oriental rug beyond professional repair.

Wool and silk oriental rugs can take months, sometimes years to weave by hand! If you have investment textiles you want to protect from a flood that has affected your home, simply follow these guidelines and you can lessen the risk of permanent damage to your rugs due to extended exposure to water.

Tips to minimize the damage to rugs involved in floods

• Extract the water as soon as possible using a wet vacuum or having your restoration company extract with their professional equipment.
• Make sure you extract With the direction of the rug’s fiber nap, instead of against it ( this minimizes rug damage)
• If you are unable to have the rugs thoroughly washed right away, then it’s important to get the rugs dry as possible to stop the damage risks. Dry them and wash them later.
• When transporting to a facility to be cleaned. wrap in towels or sheets to prevent dye from bleeding from rug to another.
• Do not hang rugs to dry
• Do not dry in direct sunlight. Most contemporary rugs are sensitive to sunlight fading. If you must dry in sunlight, lay the rugs face down so fading occurs on the backside only until the rugs are taken to a facility.

Gatesway Cleaning & Restoration holds a Textile Pro™ Certification in specialty rug and fabric care knowledge. Our technicians are able to pick your water damaged rug up at your home or you may drop it off at our Warren location. We’ll assess the damage and inform you of what we can do to keep your investment in your family for generations.