2023 Third Quarter Newsletter
3rd Quarter Update
-Robert Mann
I’m not sure when I first heard someone call a rug distressed. It sounded odd. Did they mean the rug was having a bad day? Took a minute to realize it meant worn out. Wrecked. Trashed. The kind of condition you passed on, or factored at near zero, when buying a group of rugs in better shape.
The market had changed and worn-out stuff had become fashionable. Instagram ladies with expensive shoes ‘influencing’ public taste and the public was buying. A client at one of our sales took a look at a perfectly nice Heriz in good condition and asked, “Don’t you have one just like this, but worn out?"
Worn-out rugs have been on people's floors forever. European castles, Newport mansions. The sort of ‘lived in’ look associated with old wealth. Folks who had good stuff long before others did. A worn rug can have a mystique. A ghost of its former self with a tracery of design inviting us to take a closer look.
There is a long tradition of altering the look of new rugs to suit market tastes. The author A. Cecil Edwards - a trading agent working in Iran for a British rug export company between the World Wars - postulated that a diminishing supply of old rugs in the late 1800s spurred the development of chemical washing procedures designed to make new rugs look like old rugs. The ensuing years brought us washed and painted Sarouks, luster-washed Kerman’s, and a near-endless supply of carved 90-line Chinese. New rugs 'fixed up' to suit market taste.
'Antiqued' rugs have been around for a while too; Par Inco Heriz rugs from Romania in the late 80’s, ‘full Antique’ Sardis carpets from Woven Legends, and a host of others. Producers spend time and money to make perfectly good rugs and then take 50 years of life out of them.
But what happens when the market wants a truly wrecked rug? Worn thin, bare patches, faded to a mono-chromatic sketch of its former self. What’s a dealer to do facing a classic ‘supply and demand’ dilemma of this sort? Well, he's going to find someone to wreck some rugs for him.
Commercial wash plants have always known how to soften or remove color. I recently visited facilities that are taking it all a few steps further. Pile sheared to near zero, rugs tumbled for hours to soften structure, rugs soaking in huge heated tanks of oxidizers and reducers. Rooms full of repairmen sewing up the spots that broke. Pallets of rugs in pretty good condition waiting to be ‘processed’. The attrition rate seems high - not all rugs survive - and the end product is pale, worn, and - apparently - just what a segment of the modern market is clamoring for.
Images below are from a few different wash plants in Turkey. The process is scary. Chemical solutions no regular rug cleaner would dare to use. The results can be ‘interesting’. Some of the rugs have a good look. Many simply look ‘used up’. ARCS is planning a trip to Turkey next year and will visit one of these wash facilities. Join us to see how all this works.
Rugs arriving at a wash plant in central Anatolia specializing in aggressive chemical washing. Most come from Europe and the US. The process is inherently risky with some rugs either getting too damaged or simply not looking good. The domestic Turkish dealer market seems to be washing rugs as well for sale to foreign dealers, allowing a buyer to avoid the risk and hassle of having their own inventory processed.
Rugs were often burned to remove pile (image on left). Followed by a very aggressive wash – image below – to remove carbon and soften the color. Burning is less common today.
Very close shearing has now become more common. In the photo above two older Heriz rugs are being sheared to a point where nearly all pile has been removed.
The next step is generally mechanical tumbling. Rugs are often tumbled for hours to remove excess fiber and soften their handle.
Huge amounts of wool fiber are removed in the shearing and tumbling processes. Rugs are tumbled before and after chemical washing.
The next steps vary, but generally, rugs are floor washed and soaked in very concentrated stripper solutions – hydro – often causing extensive indigo bleed (see above). Rugs are then treated with powerful oxidizers and acids, neutralized, rinsed, and dried in the sun for as long as possible.
Below is a series of images to give an idea of what it all looked like:
Upcoming Class Schedule
Discover Rug Cleaning
(Rochester, NY)
Dates: September 30, 2023
Location: Pinnacle Eco Clean, Inc.
Rochester, NY
At their 3,000-square-foot rug-washing facility located just outside of Rochester, New York, the technicians at Pinnacle Eco Clean have been successfully cleaning all sorts of textiles from around the world! Pinnacle utilizes many of the highest quality machines and devices to assist in their rug washing process, along with specially selected chemistry to deliver the best results possible in an eco-friendly manner. Their background in the cleaning industry with cleaning carpets, upholstery, and all types of hard surface flooring gave them a competitive and technological edge when they decided to take on rug washing. In the business for over 40 years, their education and insight are unmatched in their area. From rug check-in to dusting, and washing to putting the final finishing touches on their clients’ rugs, each technician takes pride in what they do, making sure that the finished result is the best it could possibly be.
Discover Rug Cleaning (Olathe, KS)
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: Kansas City Rug Cleaning and Repair
Kansas City Rug Cleaning and Repair is a medium-sized washing operation that began professionally cleaning rugs in 2014. Get up and close and personal with using a tumble duster, centrifuge, electric hanging tower & hands-on washing on the wash floor. See what cleaning rugs in a medium-sized rug cleaning business really looks like!
2023 The Experience Convention (Las Vegas, NV)
Date: September 6-8
Location: Las Vegas, NV
ARCS, The Association of Rug Care Specialists, is offering all Experience participants a chance to visit with some of the most experienced and skilled rug washers in the country. Stop by our booth for the rug quiz and chances to win some amazing prizes!
Come visit us at our booth #214!
Click HERE to register
ARCS Small Group Travel
Date: November 1-4
Location: Sante Fe, NM
We’re receiving incredible access to galleries, private collections, and museums. We’ll dive head first into the big world of Southwest textiles, visiting with the people who collect them and the people who take care of them.
Click HERE to register
Have you accessed the 'Consumer Fliers' from our website?
They are a great resource for new employees and your customers. A couple of great examples are included here.
Download the Consumer Fliers Here
If you are a member of ARCS, please join our ARCS Member page on Facebook for great information and sharing!
A.R.C.S. | info@rugcarespecialists.org | www.rugcarespecialists.org
