Moroccan Rugs

Moroccan rugs

Morocco is a Muslim country in Northeast Africa on the Atlantic & Mediterranean coasts famous for their Moroccan rugs.

The population is a mix of Arabs and Berbers, while Berbers make up the majority of the population.

Rugs of Morocco

Rugs have been produced in Morocco for many centuries, but the ones that are brought to us for cleaning tend to be made after 1960.

The pile Moroccan rugs & flatweaves are usually purchased by the tourists who visit the country in search of a bargain.

Some of Moroccan rugs have a cotton foundation, large braids on each end, a thick shaggy wool pile, simple designs and a colour palette that is mostly ivory and brown.

Others Moroccan rugs will have a very bold design and bright colours

Characteristics of a Moroccan Rug

Knot: usually symmetrical
Warp: light coloured wool or cotton
Pile: wool
Ends: varied narrow kilim with braided ends or knotted fringe
Sides: two or more cords overcast in wool
Design: simple
Colours: all colours
Sizes: all sizes

Moroccan Flatweave

The Berbers weave a flatweave rug that combines kilim, soumak & brocade techniques.

Occasionally tufts of wool pile and sequins are incorporated into the rug.

Cotton, wool and sometimes rayon make up the basis of the yarns, and the designs are comprised of multiple bands or stripes

Bring Your Moroccan Rug Back to Life

We designed our 7 step cleaning process to ensure your rugs are given the expert treatment. Your rugs will go through a thorougher detox which will rejuvenate and restore their original beauty.

Also we don’t just take the dirt from the surface, we remove every last bit of soil from the entire rug, both sides.

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7 Steps to A Beautiful Rug

1. Identifying

Your rug is firstly measured, and tested for colour fastness. Then it will be inspected for any pre existing issues such as pile reversal, pet urine issues, and general damage. A report is made, photograph taken and attached to the client file.

Q. What will happen if when you inspect my rug you find you can not remove the stains?

A. We will always tell you up front what you can expect from our cleaning. If we find any areas of concern we will contact you straight away before any cleaning work is carried out. If you feel that you would prefer not to go ahead with the clean the rug will be stored until it is ready to be collected. There will be no charge for the initial inspection and/or test patch.

2. Dusting

The rug will be “dusted” using the “ Rug Badger”, a machine that gently beats the back of the rug which allows all the dry soil to fall out where all abrasive grit (which prematurely ages rugs), hair and any non water soluble soil is removed. The rug is vacuumed and is now ready for the cleaning process to begin.

Q. I have watched your video and it looks like the machine works very well but does the beating machine damage the rug in any way?

A. Definitely not. Whilst the back of the rug is gently beaten the secret of the rug badger is that it also harnesses over 40,000 harmonic vibrations per minute. It is these vibrations that shake all the dry soil out from the rug without the need of heavy aggressive beating.

3. Immersive cleaning

The washing process can now begin by firstly placing the rug in to the wash pit. The pit will be filled with water and a “rug roller” is used to squeegee the water through the rug. The rug is then thoroughly washed on both sides with a specially designed Oriental rug shampoo, and once again the “rug roller” is used to ensure that the shampoo passes right the way through the rug. Any fringes will be cleaned and detailed by hand.

Q. Can every rug be washed like this and wont the colours rug if gets too wet?

A. We wash almost all of our rugs using our immersive cleaning methods. We can also clean using various other methods right the way from full immersion washing to completely dry cleaning. All rugs are tested for colour bleed and shrinkage prior going into our wash pits and it is this test that will determine the best method of cleaning.

4. Rapid moisture removal

The rug is then rinsed and the moisture extracted using The Water Claw to remove all the excess water is pulled out of the rug leaving it as dry as possible. Rapid moisture removal is essential to eliminate the risk of colours bleeding into each other.

Q. Can every rug be washed like this and wont the colours rug if gets too wet?

5. Rug Grooming

The rug is then groomed and pile set to its original position, (which is always running down to the bottom of the rug) and placed in our specially designed drying room. It will be left in there over night to dry, sometimes longer for very thick or shag pile rugs.

Q. How do you know if the rug is completely dry before wrapping it?

A. We test all rugs with a Protimeter before removing from the drying room to ensure it is completely dry and safe to be stored if needed.

6. Detailing

The rug will then be closely inspected for any spots/stains which will be treated including any extra fringe detailing. Any additional treatments will then usually be applied at this point and then will once again return to the drying room for the final time.

Q. Don’t all the spot’s and stains come out in the was ?

A. Some spots and stains require extra treatment using specialised products. Attention to detail is very important to us which is why we have this additional inspection.

7. Finishing Touches

We will then vacuum the rug to remove any fine fibres that may have shed and groom the rug one last time before it is wrapped. We use recycled brown wrapping paper to wrap the rug as it is a breathable wrap should the rug need to be stored for any period of time.

Q. Can I still have the stain guard applied even if I decide to have it after it passed this step or is it too late?

A. We can apply any of the additional extra treatments even if you decide after we have wrapped it ready to be returned, it will just take an extra day or so before it will be ready again.

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