When it comes to cleaning Afghan rugs look no further than TLC Carpet Care in Parker Co. TLC Carpet Care has been cleaning area rugs in Parker CO for over 12 years. Our caring and experienced staff will help you thru all your cleaning needs.

Afghan rugs are weavings from the country of Afghanistan. The majority of these rugs are wool knots woven on a wool or flax foundation. The wool fringe is an off-white, beige or brown colour. The colour scheme of the field generally incorporates bright reds and black. They also produce “war rugs” with military designs in the field. 

Though there are room-size finely woven rugs from Afghanistan, many of the pieces brought into the Parker CO are true tribal weavings in smaller sizes.

Tribal weavings, because they are woven on smaller looms (and often during travelling if the weavers are nomadic), do not have the symmetry or the stability of the city factory woven rugs. For many this “less than perfect” and more creative quality is what draws them to collect tribal pieces.

Cotton is used as the foundation fibre for most rugs because it allows more symmetry and the rug is flatter when on the floor. Afghan rugs with wool foundations (due to the difficulty in obtaining rug quality wool) do not lie flat and do not have an even tension in the weave. Usually corners are curled upward and there is noticeable asymmetry.

Especially if the wool is spun by hand, the twists in wool fibres are different from batch to batch used in the weaving process and as with wool jumpers that upon a first cleaning can tighten and loosen in different areas, this happens to every single Afghan rug woven on a wool foundation during its first wash. This means that these rugs do have a high likelihood of changing their shape during their first wash.

Due to the war torn nature of Afghanistan, certain standards of rug weaving quality cannot be monitored. All rugs from every country have a certain bit of “extra” dye that comes out in the very first wash. Rug fibres are to be washed thoroughly before they are woven into a rug, yet with tribal pieces this is generally not as thorough as desired. This means that the first wash will release a sizeable amount of dye into the water.

TLC Carpet Care's in Parker process is gentle. We use a mild shampoo and cold water on all wool rugs and we use a vinegar soak to “set” Afghan rug dyes for cleaning (if spills have caused pre-existing dye bleed in your rug, this vinegar will “set” this pre-existing damage too). All of this is rinsed out thoroughly.

With Afghan rugs and their first wash, the shape will change due to the tribal weaving characteristics and the variance in the wool twists and tensions in the foundation. We will attempt to reverse some of this change by stretching the rug onto our rug stretching frames cautiously over a period of up to one week to try to give the rug a flatter, more stable shape.

Our goal is to remove from your rug the dirt, dust, bacteria, odours and contaminants that have collected in the fibres during its use on your floor – and to do so in a manner that is not harmful to the rug. We use products that are safe for rugs, for people and for pets. Unfortunately, a bath is the only way to thoroughly clean a rug and with these tribal pieces this means the first bath will result in some buckling, some stretching and perhaps some shrinkage of certain foundation fibres. We cannot avoid this.

To truly get your rug clean you must realise that on the first wet wash your Afghan rug will change shape a little. We’ll let you know if we expect a “big” or “small” change as we will be able to see and show you the “warning signs.” There is nothing we can do to avoid this. Stretching afterwards will help lessen the change.

Your other option is to have your rug “surface cleaned” with just the top fibres being cleaned without getting the foundation wet (similar to how upholstery is cleaned). This is not as thorough a process and will not create great results from a heavily soiled rug (or one with pet odours) because the inside of the rugs construction is not cleaned (which is where most of the dirt hides)….but it is better and more sanitary than not cleaning the rug at all.

If you own an Afghan rug, you will need to give us written authorisation to proceed with the cleaning of your rug.

Call TLC Carpet Care in Parker Co today;720.314.0178