Navajo rug cleaning
Navajo Rug
Cleaning,
by hand.
A Navajo rug is a cultural artifact. Hand-spun wool, vegetable dyes, ceremonial weavings from the Four Corners. Our 8-step museum-grade hand-wash protocol treats it the way a conservator would — since 1978.
Why Navajo needs special care
A Navajo rug is a cultural record
made of wool and pigment.
Authentic Navajo rugs are hand-spun from churro or churro-cross wool and coloured with vegetal and aniline dyes — indigo, cochineal, rabbitbrush, walnut hull. These dyes are highly sensitive to alkaline detergents and to warm water; one wrong wash and an ivory background greys, or a red bleeds into the field.
Navajo weavings also have a flat, single-warp structure with no knotted pile, which means soil sits on the surface and wool fibres have less to hide behind. Our protocol is cold-water, hand-agitated with a pH-neutral soap tested on natural dyes, followed by a flat air-dry in a climate-controlled room.
Vegetable-dye safe
Cold water only
Indigo, cochineal and walnut dye all bleed above 80°F. Our wash stays below 65°F throughout — the rug is never warm.
Hand-spun wool
Lanolin preserved
Churro wool retains natural lanolin. Steam cleaning strips it, leaving the rug chalky. Our protocol keeps that oil in the fibre.
Cultural artifact
Museum-grade handling
Two-row Chief’s blankets, Two Grey Hills, Ganados — we catalogue provenance, weaver signature and date before touching soap.
The 8-step Navajo process
One weaving. Eight conservation stages.
See the full process ›
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Intake & provenance documentation
We photograph front and back under studio lighting. Style, weaver signature, suspected date and any pre-existing damage are catalogued before pickup.
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Dye and fibre identification
Each color field is examined under raking light to identify vegetal vs. aniline dyes and the wool generation (churro, churro-cross, modern). The wash plan follows from this.
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Compressed-air dry dust
Both faces are dusted with low-pressure air to lift embedded grit. Flat weaves hide soil at the surface, so this stage is critical before water.
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Cold-water dye-bleed test
Each color is swab-tested with a pH-neutral solution at under 65°F. If indigo or cochineal lifts, the wash protocol is dialled back before any submersion.
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Cold-water hand wash
Submerged and hand-agitated in cold, dye-safe, pH-neutral soap. Lanolin stays locked in the churro wool. Reds, indigos and creams hold their lines.
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Repeated clear-water rinse
Three to five fresh-water passes until every trace of soap is gone. Soap residue is the fastest way to attract new soil into a flat-weave.
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Flat air-dry, never hung
Laid flat for 48 hours in a climate-controlled room with no forced heat. Hanging a Navajo on the bias stretches the selvage permanently.
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Selvage groom & delivery
Cord edges and corners are inspected, loose wefts secured, the rug is brushed in the warp direction, wrapped in acid-free tissue and delivered with a certificate of cleaning.
Before & after
Receipts, not promises.
A hand-knotted Persian Tabriz, greyed by decades of traffic and dust, returned to full color with our 12-step cold-water hand wash.
Free estimate first
Every Navajo weaving is inspected before work begins.
Provenance is documented, dyes identified and re-warping or selvage repair quoted separately so there are never surprises.
What we do for Navajo
Eight things we do on every Navajo weaving.
- Catalogue style, weaver signature, and provenance before anything else.
- Photograph front and back under studio lighting to record dye fields.
- Swab-test each color for dye fugitivity before water touches the wool.
- Compressed-air dust both sides to lift embedded grit from the flat weave.
- Hand-wash in cold, pH-neutral, dye-safe soap at under 65°F.
- Clear-water rinse until soap residue is gone (residue re-attracts soil).
- Flat air-dry for 48 hours in a climate-controlled room, never hung.
- Inspect selvage cords, repair loose wefts, wrap in acid-free tissue for delivery.
Service areas
Free pickup across the Bay Area.
Questions
What people usually ask about Navajo rugs.
Will my vegetable dyes bleed during cleaning?
We swab-test every color before water touches the rug. If a dye shows fugitive we adjust to a lower-moisture protocol. Indigo, cochineal and walnut are the most sensitive — all can be washed safely when kept below 65°F.
Can you clean a ceremonial Navajo weaving or Chief’s blanket?
Yes. Cultural artifacts are treated with museum-grade protocol, including full photographic documentation and acid-free tissue wrapping. We’ll walk you through each step before the wash.
How do I know if my rug is authentic Navajo?
Authentic Navajo rugs are hand-spun, single-warp, lazy-line construction with continuous selvage cord edges. We’ll identify the style (Two Grey Hills, Ganado, Teec Nos Pos, etc.) during inspection and flag reproductions honestly.
My Navajo has moth damage in one corner. Can you repair it?
Yes. We reweave by hand, knot-by-knot, using wool dyed to match the original palette. The repair is documented and invisible to a non-specialist eye.
How long does Navajo cleaning take?
Seven to ten business days door-to-door. We never rush the dry — Navajos need a full flat 48-hour cycle to keep the selvages from curling.
Do you document the rug before and after for insurance?
Yes. Every Navajo gets a photographic record front and back, dated and signed. We’ll provide a scope-of-work letter for insurance carriers in the Bay Area.
Can you also appraise a Navajo rug?
We can provide a certified value for insurance or estate purposes. Appraisal is a separate line-item service — learn more here.
Clients
Said about our Navajo work.
“A Two Grey Hills inherited from my grandmother. Three other shops said they’d bleach the whites. ABC said cold water, by hand, ten days. Came back as she remembered it.”
— Kate R., Berkeley
“They catalogued my Ganado’s weaver signature, checked the palette for authenticity, and told me what I had. The cleaning was almost a bonus.”
— Peter A., Palo Alto
“A Chief’s blanket with moth damage. Rewoven knot-by-knot in matched wool — it’s invisible. Only the certificate proves the repair ever happened.”
— Jonathan & Beth S., Los Altos
More on our process
Navajo is one of nine rug types we specialise in. Explore the 12-step Persian process, browse all rug cleaning services, see the full process, or book a free Bay Area pickup. We also handle reweaving and moth repair. Serving Palo Alto, Berkeley and San Francisco.
Book your pickup
The next step is the easy one.
Tell us about your Navajo. We respond within 24 hours with a pickup window and a written estimate.