Oriental Rug Cleaning in Downtown & FiDi, NYC

In a glass-and-steel apartment off Broadway or Maiden Lane, a hand-knotted rug is often the warmest thing in the room. Some were inherited, some were gifts, some were carried home from a trip, and all of them are hard to replace.

Machines are never part of the process. Each rug's fibers are identified, every color is checked, and only then is it washed by hand at our facility.

Wool and silk need opposite handling. Wool is hardy but shrinks if the water is too hot. Silk is fragile, and scrubbing dulls its sheen. Knowing which one is in front of us shapes everything that follows.

Colors come next. A damp white cloth is pressed against each shade. Natural dyes on an older piece and synthetic dyes on a newer one can both move, and if any do, the wash is adjusted to hold them.

Then the rug is soaked and washed by hand, flushed until the rinse water is clear, and laid flat to dry slowly so the foundation does not ripple. Fringe is hand-cleaned and combed straight, and the pile is brushed the way the knots lie.

If we spot a loose edge, a worn patch or an old repair, you hear about it before the wash. Nothing extra is done without your okay.

Tall windows on high floors pour sunlight onto rugs, and over a few years that bleaches one end. Rotating the rug every few months evens out the wear.

Pickup follows your building's rules for large items, whether that means the freight elevator or the loading dock. Collection and return are free, and most rugs come home in about a week.

Between washes, vacuum without the beater bar, never tug on the fringe, and use a pad underneath so the rug does not creep on stone or wood floors.

For machine-made rugs, see area rug cleaning Downtown, or visit the Downtown and FiDi services page. Collectors a few blocks north can use our Tribeca Oriental rug service. Arrange a free pickup at 1-800-589-4364.