Oriental rugs are loved around the world for their beauty and high level of craftsmanship. It is known that people in the Middle East and parts of Asia were making rugs and carpets at least as far back as 2,000 B.C, and maybe as far back as 4,000 B.C. The techniques and material that they used to weave the pile seem to have been very similar to what Oriental rug weavers use today.

Few ancient and handmade products survived the industrial revolution as well as Oriental rugs and carpets did. It is an extraordinary attestation to the beauty and quality of these rugs that traditional techniques and craftsmanship have remained highly competitive.

Historical evidence suggests that rugs and carpets were imported from the East and distributed throughout Europe as far back as the 11th century. For example, old European paintings have been found to have Oriental rugs depicted in them. For a very long time, however, this luxury was reserved for royalty and very wealthy people. Very few other households were using Oriental rugs, or any rug whatsoever, before the 18th century.

In the 18th and 19th centuries many countries in Europe were making their own handmade rugs and carpets, and the import of Eastern rugs and carpets was still reserved for the wealthy. With the 20th century, however, came modern means of transportation and shipping. The export of rugs and carpets from the Orient to the West now became fairly inexpensive and Western countries could no longer compete with the high quality and low labor cost of Eastern rugs and carpets. The only way for Western countries to be successful in their local market was by increasing the narrowing price gap. Knowing they could not match the Oriental rug and carpet manufacturers in terms of quality, they focused on their strengths, which meant having machines, not people, make rugs in great numbers. Following World War II both Europe and North America saw significant development of the machine-made rug industry. As a result, handmade rugs and carpets produced in Europe or North America are extremely rare today.

With all the technological sophistication and financial resources available to Western countries, it is still the rug artisans of the Middle-East with their ancient weaving techniques and simple tools that reign supreme in the rug and carpet industry of today.

Since times past, the Oriental rug has thought to be very important and should be handled with utmost care. These rugs are more durable than what most think and in the Middle East, people even throw rugs onto the street, so they may be walked on by camels. If you are thinking about the maintenance, worry not, as dirty rugs can be laundered easily. Oriental rug cleaning should be done on a regular basis and make sure you do not try things on your own as this may cause damage.

Oriental rugs have the tendency to wear out where they are often walked on. Of course, this cannot be avoided; however you can do something about it by altering the placement of your rug. Also keep in mind that if you keep walking on a dirty rug, sooner or later, it will give up on you. Dirt and sand are like sandpapers that grind into rugs, so for this reason alone, it’s important to have Oriental rug cleaning regularly.

It’s vital that you have your rug cleaned so that it can retain its worth, aesthetics, and quality. You may either clean it yourself or have a professional rug cleaning service provider do the task for you. The frequency in which you should have your rug cleaned depends on how dirty it is and how often it’s used. When you rub your hand forcefully on the rug for a couple seconds and find even the smallest dirt particle on it, then it’s time to have it cleaned. In order to keep your rug looking neat, here are key points to consider when Oriental rug cleaning.

1. Vacuum the rug, then hang it up and beat the dust as well as dirt which may still remain.

2. Place your rug on a flat surface, such as your garage floor, driveway or your deck.

3. Use cool water to wet the rug and test a small area with a mild rug shampoo, to make sure the color does not run. If not, you can continue to clean the entire rug with a long soft bristle brush.

4. Gently brush the shampoo into the grain of your rug. Ensure that you completely wet and lather shampoo with water mixture.

5. Clean your rug and its fringes by using your shampoo and water mixture. Gently brush it away from the rug and repeat until it’s thoroughly clean.

6. Rinse out the rug with running water. Get rid of standing water by using a rubber squeegee along the grain.

7. Finish the cleansing process by laying your rug out, flat to dry.