Silk & specialty cleaning
Silk Rug
Cleaning,
no bleed.
Qum. Hereke. Nain. Fine silk rugs that are textile and investment at once. Our 10-step silk-safe chemistry, sealed flat drying and insured handling — since 1978.
30-minute callback
Get a free written estimate.
No site visit needed. Send your rug type and a photo if you have one — we’ll quote, schedule pickup, and have it back in 7–10 days.
Why silk needs special care
Silk is a protein.
Detergent is an enemy.
Silk fibre is made of fibroin protein. Alkaline soaps, hot water and over-extraction all attack the protein chain — the fibre goes dull, stiff and loses the internal light-bending that gives silk its signature sheen. Machine-washing a silk rug is a terminal event.
Silk dyes are also famously fugitive. Acid dyes on fine silk will bleed at the slightest alkaline shift. Our silk protocol is a low-pH, low-agitation hand wash with a textile-grade silk soap, performed in a controlled tub by a single craftsman. We insure every silk rug during handling.
Silk-safe chemistry
Acidic, never alkaline
A pH-5.5 textile-grade silk soap, tested on every colour field. Generic rug shampoo is alkaline and will dull silk in one wash.
Single-rug handling
One craftsman, one tub
Silk never sits in a shared tank. Each silk rug is washed alone, under studio lighting, by a single craftsman from start to finish.
Sealed drying
Flat, slow, even
Silk dries in a sealed, climate-controlled room at 68°F and 45% humidity, flat, over 72 hours. Uneven drying creates tidemarks on silk.
The 10-step silk process
One silk rug. Ten gentle stages.
See the full process ›
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Identify silk grade and origin
Origin (Qum, Hereke, Nain, Kashan), knot count, weaver signature and silk grade (pure silk, silk-on-cotton, silk-wool blend) are recorded.
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Color fugitivity test
Every colour field is swabbed with a neutral solution under studio light. Silk acid dyes are famously fugitive — if anything lifts, the wash plan is adjusted before submersion.
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Padded-table dust pass
Silk is dusted on a padded table with low-pressure air — never beaten, never hung. Only the surface dust is lifted; the foundation is left untouched.
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Single-tub immersion
The rug is placed in a dedicated tub on its own. Silk never shares wash water with another rug. The tub is filled with cold (under 60°F) reverse-osmosis water.
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Silk-safe shampoo wash
A pH-5.5 textile-grade silk soap is hand-applied with the nap. A single craftsman works the rug from end to end — no machine, no agitation against the pile.
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Soft clear-water rinse
Rinsed at matched temperature with the same RO water, in the direction of the nap, until every trace of soap is gone. Residue dulls silk fastest of all.
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Blot extraction (no spin)
The rug is laid flat between absorbent silk-safe pads and pressure-blotted. Spin extraction would shock the protein fibre and cause permanent dulling.
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72-hour sealed flat dry
72 hours flat in a sealed drying room held at 68°F and 45% humidity. Slow even drying is the only way to avoid silk tidemarks.
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Fringe finish & silk groom
Silk fringe is hand-detailed; the pile is lightly hand-brushed with the nap to re-orient the silk fibres and bring back the signature lustre.
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Inspection, certificate & insured delivery
Photographed front and back, wrapped in acid-free tissue and breathable paper, delivered insured at full stated value with a signed 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 silk rug is appraised before work begins.
Origin, knot count and insurance value are all documented and quoted in writing first. Silk-wool blend protocols are priced on inspection. Every silk rug travels insured at full stated value.
What we do for silk
Ten things on every silk rug.
- Identify silk grade (pure silk, silk-on-cotton, silk-wool blend) and origin.
- Test every colour field under studio light for dye fugitivity before water.
- Compressed-air dust on a padded table — silk never hangs and is never beaten.
- Single-tub immersion in cold (under 60°F) reverse-osmosis water.
- Hand-apply pH-5.5 textile-grade silk soap with the nap, never against.
- Soft clear-water rinse at matched temperature until no soap residue remains.
- Pressure-blot extraction between silk-safe pads — never spin.
- 72-hour sealed flat dry at 68°F, 45% humidity to avoid tidemarks.
- Hand-detail fringe and lightly groom the pile with the nap to restore lustre.
- Photograph, wrap in acid-free tissue & breathable paper, deliver insured with certificate.
Service areas
Free pickup across the Bay Area.
Questions
What people usually ask about silk.
Will the colors bleed?
Silk dyes are the most fugitive of any rug fibre, but our protocol is specifically designed to keep them locked. We pre-test every colour with a neutral swab. If a dye shows fugitive we drop the pH further and reduce agitation. Bleed-free on every silk we’ve washed in forty-seven years.
How long does silk cleaning take?
Ten to fourteen business days door-to-door. Silk cannot be rushed through a drying cycle — 72 hours sealed flat is the minimum, and we never compromise that.
Can you clean a silk-wool blend?
Yes, and this is the most common blend we see. Wool tolerates slightly warmer water than silk, so we default to the silk protocol — pH 5.5, below 60°F — because we’d rather under-clean the wool than risk the silk.
Do you guarantee no shrinkage?
Yes. Silk that is flat-dried correctly does not shrink. Shrinkage comes from heat and wringing — neither of which happens in our process. Every silk rug is measured front and back before and after.
Is the rug insured while you have it?
Yes. Every silk pickup travels and is stored under a full-value rider. On pickup we agree a stated value with you; our insurance pays that value in the unlikely event of loss or damage.
Can you remove a red wine stain from a silk rug?
Usually, yes — but the sooner the better. Fresh red wine responds to an acidic silk-safe extraction. Dried wine we’ll test and be honest with you about likely outcome.
Can you appraise my silk rug at the same time?
Yes. Certified appraisals for insurance and estate purposes are a separate line-item service. Learn more ›
Clients
Said about our silk work.
“A 900-knot Hereke I’ve had for twelve years, never cleaned because I didn’t trust anyone. ABC insured it at six figures, washed it alone, it came back glowing.”
— Elena K., Pacific Heights (collector)
“A silk Qum with a red-wine incident. I was told to write it off. ABC got it out clean, no halo, no tidemark. Twenty years of experience in a single rescue.”
— Raj P., Atherton
“A silk-wool blend that had been over-wet by another cleaner and gone stiff. ABC rewashed it pH-5.5, restored the hand, saved the piece.”
— Diana S., Menlo Park
More on our process
Silk is the most demanding of our nine specialties. Explore the 12-step Persian process, browse all rug cleaning services, see the full process, or book a free insured Bay Area pickup. We also handle silk reweaving and fringe rebuild. Serving Palo Alto, Berkeley and San Francisco.
Book your pickup
The next step is the easy one.
Tell us about your silk. We respond within 24 hours with an insured pickup window and a written estimate.