Periodic Cleaning of Handwoven Carpets

Written by Abdolhossein Ghasemnejad.

Cleaning handwoven carpets is of utmost importance due to their natural components like wool, cotton and silk. A simple method of cleaning such carpets is as follows.

Way to Clean

To prevent handwoven carpets from wear and tear, they must be protected against dust particles gathered among the piles. Periodic sweeping of the carpets, therefore, keeps dust at bay. Dust particles reduce the elasticity of the carpet, hence resulting in the warps and wefts being torn. Then, we could use detergents to clean handwoven carpets. Strong detergents used for washing clothes, however, can harm the texture of the carpet as they wipe out the natural fat that covers cotton fabrics. This, too, reduces the elasticity of the carpet’s fiber. To avoid this damage, it is recommended that we use baby shampoo. After sweeping the carpet, we must dissolve the shampoo in water and then using a plain white cloth, clean the carpet towards the pile direction. Next, we can use fabric softeners or hair conditioners in the same way to soften and freshen the piles.

Important Note

There must be no foot traffic until the carpet completely fully dried out.

Bibliography

Ghasemnejad, Abdolhossein. 2014. Field Work.