Location: Digital On Demand
IICRC Continuing Education: 6 credit hours
The Intro to Rug Care course is an online class taught by fourth-generation cleaner Armen Dohanian of Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas. The class consists of four 80-minute sessions designed for new employees or those new to the rug cleaning industry. Some of the topics covered include the cleaning process, fibers and chemistry, rug construction and basic rug ID. Give your new employees a crash course in the rug cleaning process.
Member Price: $150; Nonmember Price: $225
Don't forget to fill out the registration form after checking out - you must complete the form in order to receive your credit hours!
On demand videos can only be viewed from the ARCS website and are available on your account page for 30 days after your date of purchase.
If you have any questions, please contact info@rugcarespecialists.org.
Session One – The Cleaning Process
Reviews the basic steps in a “best-practice” rug cleaning, why we do them and some of the most common prevailing methods in application today. While pros and cons of each method are discussed, editorial content is kept out.
- Pre-cleaning Inspection – Why some consider it the most important step in rug cleaning and some of the most common conditions encountered in area rugs.
- Dry soil removal – Why it’s important and ways to do it.
- Washing – From dry cleaning methods to full saturation washing. Each method is discussed covering the why and how as well as the pros and cons.
- Drying – Surveying the most common methods in use today
- Finishing processes – Grooming, browning correction, color correction, etc.
Session Two – Fibers and Chemistry
Covers the basics of the most common fibers and chemicals encountered in area rug care. Topics are discussed generically, avoiding favoritism and bias.
Fibers
- Wool – Why it is the most common rug fiber. How we go from sheep to rug yarn.
- Cotton – Production and application
- Silk – It’s advantages, disadvantages and production
- Bast Fibers – production and uses
- Plastics – Nylon, Olefin, etc.
- Rayon – production and it’s many other names
Chemistry
- Soil – most common types, how they accumulate and implications for cleaning
- Solvents – Polar and Non-polar, volatile and non-volatile and applications for cleaning
- Detergents – what they are and how they work
- The PH scale – What it is, why it’s important and the general PH of specific substances
- Sinner circle
Session Three – Rug ID – Tufted Rugs
A general discussion of tufted rugs and their specific cleaning needs and concerns is followed by a survey of the most common types of tufted rugs encountered, how to identify them and their specific cleaning needs and concerns.
- Tufted rugs – What they are and how they differ from other area rugs
- Tufted rugs made in China
- Tufted rugs made in India
- Custom-tufted rugs
- Machine-tufted rugs
Session Four – Rug ID – Non-tufted rugs
Picks up where we left off. We start with Machine-made rugs and cover how to tell them from hand-made rugs. While hand-made rug ID is not discussed, students are introduced to the basics of where they are made, different construction techniques and the terminology used, building a foundation for future classes. We wrap up with a discussion of some of the most common specialty rugs you will encounter.
- Wilton construction – both traditional and face-to-face variants
- Axminster – both tradition and the Karastan® variants
- Hand-made – piled and non-piled construction, terminology and how to tell them from machine-made rugs
- Specialty rugs – Skins, Shags, craft rugs, etc.
Armen Dohanian: A fourth-generation rug cleaner, Armen's family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.
