Evening star., 1940-03-09
Dirt and Grit Branded
As Enemies No. !
OF Fine Carpets
Rugs Respond to Care,
But Cleaning Should
Be Done by Expert
BY KRIKOR KRIKORIAN.


Natives of Oriental countries do
not wear shoes when walking on
their rugs but take them OF before
entering the room. Natives Of west
ern countries are not so particular.
It is for this reason that carpets
used in the West are inclined to
gather more dust and grit and to
wear out much more quickly. Many
of the beautiful and rare Oriental
carpets in our museums would not
have survived the ordeal of time and
the elements had they been used in
the West.
Dust and dirt brought into the
house are no friends of the yarns
that compose the carpet pile.
Tramped further into the founda-
ton of the rug by slow or dancing
feet, they settle at the juncture of
the base of the nap and warp, where
they become constant menace to
the life of the carpet. Many of the
particles of this grit are sand, and
silica is as sharp as razor blade
and will wear the rug into a state
of dilapidation after certain length
of time unless removed at the first
opportunity.
The best way to clean carpets
thoroughly is by washing them with
soap and water, because soap is an
excellent solvent of grease contained
in much of the dust that settles in
side the pile. Furthermore the
heavy water pressure applied to rugs
in a modern carpet cleaning plant
will soon remove sandy particles
that cling to the foundation of the
rug. It is for this reason that all
carpets should be washed as fire.
quently as possible by qualified
specialist. It is not too often, in fact,
to wash them every two years thor
oughly.
Cleaning a Special Art.
The reason why rugs should not
be washed at home Is that cleaning
of carpets is a special art and one
that unfortunately has not been
taken seriously by some home max
ers. Suffice it to say that a pro-
fessional cleaner, after removing
dust and mire from carpets, washes
them with good olive oil or naphtha
soap several times, surface and back.
This process involves pressing the
soap directly inside the pile by means
of brushes, then taking out the dirt
soaked soap water either by suction
or by scraping. Heavy water is then
forced into the foundation to re-
move particles of grit that may be
still clinging to the base. This
process is repeated on both sides of
the rug several times until the
water that oozes out of it comes out
crystal clear. The reason why car
pets should be cleaned on both sides
is that some dirt and sand still
cling to the base each time one side
OF the rug Is washed. This also is
one reason why rugs cannot be
washed at home properly.
The best Oriental rugs are washed
by soap and water, and so are good
domestic carpets. Dry cleaning (or
cleaning with gasoline) does not
remove grit from rugs completely.
AAoWCFCAy SdA HNOS Clldk al WILL OuU
can be dry cleaned. Cotton rugs
also should be cleaned by this
process, because they usually do not
have fast dyes. AS for rugs with
unstable dyes, expert cleaners know
them on sight and set their colors
before washing them with soap and
water.
It Is easy to see, therefore, why
home makers should not encourage
cleaners who offer inducements by
means of price cutting. A simple
elimination of second or third wash
Ing saves time and labor expense,
but the grit still remains in the rug.
Furthermore, there Is constant dan
ger that the colors may run and,
II not prepared in time, may ruin
the carpet. In my capacity as con-
sultant I have often been requested
to straighten out destruction caused
by running colors, which could have
been easily eliminated had a pro-
fessional cleaner handled the task
Of washing.
Water Causes DRY Rot"
DRY rot" is caused by water re-
manning inside the carpet. Carpet
cleaners of reputation, after washing
the rugs, take them out to a "dry
room" to dry in the warm air or
simply hang them in the open air.
DRY rot" may also be caused by
washing rugs on the floor or hav-
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