Oriental rug cleaning
Oriental Rug
Cleaning,
by hand.
Turkish, Chinese, Caucasian — hand-knotted Oriental rugs need cold-water immersion, not steam. Our 12-step hand-wash process, since 1978.
Why Oriental rugs need hand-wash
Hand-knotted, natural-dye,
cold-water only.
Oriental rug is a broad category — Turkish (Sivas, Oushak, Hereke), Chinese (Peking, Art-Deco), Caucasian (Shirvan, Kazak, Kuba) and more. What they share is a hand-knotted pile, natural-dye origins and, for pre-war examples, a foundation that will not tolerate steam or shampoo.
Our protocol is identical to the Persian process: cold-water immersion, pH-neutral dye-safe soap, hand-agitation, flat air-dry. See all 12 steps ›
Turkish rugs
Oushak, Sivas, Hereke
Symmetrical Turkish knots, vegetal dyes that trace to Ottoman-era palettes. Cold water keeps the whites white and the rust true.
Chinese rugs
Peking & Art-Deco
Chinese rugs often have sculpted pile, aniline overdyes and a cotton foundation. We hand-wash flat, then hand-brush to restore the carve.
Caucasian rugs
Kazak, Shirvan, Kuba
Bold geometric Caucasian weavings with indigo and cochineal that are famously fugitive. We swab-test before wash, always.
The 12-step Oriental process
One rug. Twelve hand stages.
See the full process ›
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Initial inspection & pickup
We photograph the rug, note origin (Turkish, Chinese, Caucasian, Anatolian), age and any pre-existing damage before anything leaves your home.
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Studio re-inspection
Under raking studio lighting a second craftsman re-examines knot density, foundation and dye family, and flags any repairs to quote separately.
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Compressed-air dry dust
Before a single drop of water touches the rug we lift up to a pound of dry soil from a 9×12 that would otherwise turn to mud in the wash.
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Dye fugitivity test
Each colour is swab-tested with a neutral solution. Caucasian indigos and Chinese aniline overdyes are notorious for bleeding — we adjust before the wash.
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Pre-treat spots and urine
Targeted enzymatic pre-treatment for pet accidents, wine and coffee. We treat before the wash, never in it.
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Cold-water immersion wash
The rug is submerged and hand-agitated with pH-neutral, dye-safe soap in cold water. Dyes stay locked. Lanolin stays in the wool.
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Repeated clear-water rinse
Multiple fresh-water passes until every trace of soap is gone. Soap residue is the fastest way to re-soil an Oriental rug.
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Gentle extraction
Controlled pressure removes water from the foundation without flexing knots or stressing the cotton warps.
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Flat air-dry, never hung
Laid flat in a climate-controlled drying room for 24–48 hours. No forced heat. Hanging stretches knots permanently on hand-knotted Orientals.
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Fringe detail
Fringes are bleached or tinted only as needed, hand-brushed and any loose wefts secured before the rug leaves the bench.
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Pile groom & carve restoration
The pile is hand-brushed in the nap. Sculpted Chinese carves are re-set by hand to bring back the relief.
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Final inspection & delivery
A third sign-off front and back. Wrapped in breathable paper, delivered to your door, rolled into place with a written 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 Oriental rug is inspected before work begins.
Origin, knot density, dye family and any repair work needed are all identified and quoted in writing first — no work starts until you approve.
What we do for Oriental rugs
The twelve things we do on every Oriental.
- Identify origin: Turkish (Oushak, Sivas, Hereke), Chinese (Peking, Art-Deco), Caucasian (Kazak, Shirvan, Kuba), Anatolian, or transitional.
- Photograph front and back under studio lighting and document any pre-existing damage.
- Swab-test each color field for dye fugitivity before any wash water is applied.
- Compressed-air dust to remove embedded dry soil — the step that separates hand-wash from rinse-and-spin.
- Pre-treat spots enzymatically for pet accidents, wine and coffee.
- Hand-agitate the rug in cold, pH-neutral, dye-safe soap.
- Repeat clear-water rinse until soap residue is gone (residue is the main cause of rapid re-soiling).
- Gentle controlled extraction without flexing the knots.
- Flat air-dry for 24–48 hours in climate-controlled conditions — never hung.
- Hand-detail the fringe and secure any loose wefts.
- Pile groom in the nap direction; sculpted Chinese carves re-set by hand.
- Three-point quality check, breathable wrap, delivery with certificate of cleaning.
Service areas
Free pickup across the Bay Area.
Questions
What people usually ask about Oriental rugs.
What’s the difference between Oriental and Persian cleaning?
Oriental is the umbrella term for hand-knotted rugs from Turkey, China, the Caucasus, Central Asia and beyond. Persian is a subset (rugs woven in Iran). The cleaning process is the same: cold-water immersion hand wash.
My Chinese rug has carved pile. Can you clean it without flattening it?
Yes. After the wash we hand-brush the pile in the nap direction and then steam-set the carve so the sculptural effect returns. This is a specialty detail on Chinese and Art-Deco rugs.
How do I know if my rug has natural dyes?
We’ll test a fibre under magnification and run a swab test for dye migration. Most rugs pre-1930 use vegetable dyes; post-1950 rugs tend to use synthetic aniline dyes that are slightly more robust.
Will a dusty Turkish Oushak really get brighter?
Significantly. A compressed-air dust alone lifts up to a pound of dry soil. The wash then brings the field back to its original tonality. We’ll show you before and after photos on pickup and delivery.
Can you work on insurance claims for water or flood damage?
Yes. We document condition photographically, write a scope-of-work letter, and bill insurance directly with most Bay Area carriers.
How long does Oriental cleaning take?
Seven to ten business days door-to-door. Heavy repairs, re-dyeing or moth treatment may extend the timeline.
Do you also repair Oriental rugs?
Yes. Fringe rebuild, selvage, moth-hole reweave, re-warping, color re-dyeing — all done in-house. See repair services ›
Clients
Said about our Oriental work.
“An Oushak I bought in Istanbul fifteen years ago. It was dark with city dust. ABC washed it and it’s truly luminous — looks worth five times what I paid.”
— Andrew K., Oakland
“A Chinese Art-Deco with sculptural pile. They washed it, hand-brushed the carve back in, and the design dimension returned. Remarkable.”
— Margaret F., Atherton
“Caucasian Kazak with indigo I was afraid to touch. ABC swab-tested, showed me the chart, and said cold. Washed without a single bleed.”
— Robert Y., Berkeley
More on our process
Oriental cleaning sits alongside our other specialty rug services. Explore the full 12-step Persian process, browse all cleaning services, see the full process page, or book a free Bay Area pickup. We also handle repair and reweaving. Serving Palo Alto, Berkeley and San Francisco.
Book your pickup
The next step is the easy one.
Tell us about your Oriental rug. We respond within 24 hours with a pickup window and a written estimate.