Persian rug cleaning on Long Island

What we find on Persian rugs from Long Island homes

Dye migration. The single most common damage we see is a red border that has bled into an ivory field. It is almost never caused by age. It is caused by a carpet cleaner wet‑cleaning the rug on the floor with a hot solution and no dye test, or by a flood in a basement. Cold water, a stabilizing rinse and the right pH prevent it; hot water and alkaline carpet detergent cause it.

Foundation soil. A 9×12 Persian rug that has been in a Garden City or Huntington living room for fifteen years typically holds two to five pounds of dry sand and grit down in the cotton foundation, below the reach of any vacuum. It abrades the knots from underneath every time someone walks across it. No amount of surface cleaning removes it; only dusting from the back does.

Pet urine. Urine soaks through the wool into the cotton warps, where it crystallizes. It smells again every humid summer, and the alkaline salts loosen the dyes so that the stained area bleeds when finally cleaned. Persian rugs with urine get a decontamination soak before the wash, not a spot treatment.

Moth damage. Wool pile stored in a closet, under a couch or rolled in a Plainview attic is where clothes‑moth larvae feed. You see it as bare patches down to the foundation, usually on the back first. We wash out the larvae and eggs, then reweave the pile.

Fringe rot and worn ends. The fringe is the cotton warp, and it is the first thing to wear, whiten badly with bleach‑based cleaners, or rot from moisture. Once the end finish goes, the rug starts losing knots row by row. Ends are secured before the rug is washed.

Curling edges, wrinkles and dry rot. Heriz and Bidjar rugs curl at the sides; rugs that have been wet and dried slowly on a floor can have brittle, cracking foundations. Both are checked at inspection because a rug with dry rot can tear during washing if it is not handled correctly.