How to Choose a Quality Rug for Your Home

If you're considering a new rug for your home, consider these tips for purchasing the highest quality rug.

1. Weave. Look at the underside of the rug. A tightly woven, very regular weave will withstand a lot more traffic than one that is loosely woven. A tight weave will also hold the fibers better. Choose a tight weave with fairly long fibers. How can you test for a quality rug? Comb your fingers through the fibers. If a number of fibers come off in your hand, move on. Either the weave isn't tight enough and/or the fibers are too short to stay in place over a long period of time. You'll constantly be vacuuming and the rug will soon look threadbare.
    
2. Fibers. Whether it is wool or synthetic, the fiber content of the rug you choose will determine the durability of your rug. While synthetic materials offer great looks and durability at a great price, nothing beats wool. Wool is still the best fiber for high traffic areas and seldom, if ever, shows a worn "path," even after many years. It is naturally stain resistant and color fast. All things being equal, choose wool for the high traffic areas of your home and choose synthetic carpets for the bedroom areas. Rule of thumb: Some wools are superior to others. For the best wools, purchase the rug with the "silky" feel (as opposed to straw-like) that doesn't easily shed.
    
3. Color fastness or excess dye. Eventually, you will want your rug cleaned but there is always a chance the color of the dye in your rug isn't as fast as it should be or excess dye was used to create a deeper, more vibrant color in the fibers. How do you test a rug before you purchase it?
   1. Take a handkerchief with you
   2. Dampen it with hot water
   3. Rub the dampened cloth over a colorful place on the rug
   4. Determine if the color comes off on the handkerchief
      • If the color on the handkerchief is light, the dye in the rug is strong (Hot water for this test is preferred)
      • If the color on the handkerchief is dark, you can expect to experience color bleed or "migration" into the lighter colored fibers, even if the detergent used to clean it is one of a mild pH

If you're looking to purchase a good used wool rug, just know that older is better and A Cleaner World is here to help you clean it and keep in its "gently used" state. Contact us today to get your rugs professionally cleaned.