Washing persian carpets DIY

[i-need-a-martini]

Anyone ever done it?

I usually send them all out to be professionally cleaned every few years but it costs a bomb.

I figure I will just do it Turkish style - lay it on the concrete outside, hit it with the hose, spray it with hair shampoo, stomp all over it, rinse off and wait to dry.

Anyone else do this? Or what is your method?

[i-need-a-martini]

These are wool BTW and not silk. And old ones - anything from 1950's through the 1970's so some are a little threadworn in places but generally in good nick.

[i-need-a-martini]

And what about those thick chineses sculptured rugs - anyone ever tried to wash those at home? The ones I have are all circa 1960s through to 1980s.

[happyroo_bunji]

i'd use wool wash instead of hair shampoo

[imastawka]

Cold tap water + wool rug = Gunna shrink

[joz*garage]

similar method i use martini, but i use clothes washing liquid, mix a solution in a bucket of water preferably in a watering can.

            use a hard bristle broome to work it in and on the underside too, hose it off.. hang it up to dry 

[i-once-was-bump]

If they are not colour fast you will be in a lot of trouble once you hit them with water and soap.

You will need several people to help you lift the wet rug onto the clothes line to dry, and they take a very long time to dry.

I have only dealt with one accidently wet with water from an overflowing pot plant saucer.

Three days of hell even though it was the middle of summer and it was an insurance write off in the end even though it is still on the floor.

It is a huge one and done in "tiles", I think the style is called garden pattern.

Anyway one corner is very red and the rest of the rug is still in nice little bright coloured squares.

Oh, pure wool btw.

[lakeland27]

 an antique rug i had was washed by someone many years ago, destroyed the rug and the machine. a big ball of multi -coloured string.

[i-once-was-bump]

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@imastawka wrote:

Cold tap water + wool rug = Gunna shrink

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Actually NO.

Water, soap and agitation = shrink/felting

As long as the water temperature does not change there should not be a problem, so if you used warm water then only use warm water for the complete wash and rinse.

If using cold water then only use cold water.

The eucalyptus wool wash would probalby be good because it doesn't have to be rinsed out as thoroughly as ordinary soap.

BTW do you know what it has been woven/knotted onto?  Cotton, linen and wool warps all react differently to be washed.

[i-once-was-bump]

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@lakeland27 wrote:

 an antique rug i had was washed by someone many years ago, destroyed the rug and the machine. a big ball of multi -coloured string.

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That is so sad, you need to wash them in a bath tub or on a concrete slab.

If they will fit in the bath rolled up then you just wash them a bit at a time while rolling and unrolling until you get to the other end or as martini said on a concrete slab.