Professional rug cleaning in Riga - by rug material

What cleaning by material means

Professional rug cleaning is not one method that can be used on any rug. What matters is the fibre of the rug and its dyes, not the name of the product. Wool can felt and shrink from hot water and rubbing, viscose becomes much weaker when wet, and jute can turn brown in water. So before cleaning you need to know the fibre, the backing and the pile length: they decide how much moisture the rug tolerates.

The second thing is the backing. In a tufted rug the yarn is pulled into a fabric backing and fixed with latex glue, while a hand-knotted rug has no glued layer, and the fringe is the ends of the warp threads. That is why a photo of the underside can tell you more than a photo of the top.

At home or in a workshop: what decides

At home we clean fitted carpets, because they cannot be lifted, and large synthetic rugs. With pick-up we clean wool, cotton, silk, viscose, hide, hand-made, Persian and antique rugs, and also jute and sisal rugs. The reason is simple: delicate fibres need controlled wet cleaning and full drying, which a living room floor does not give.

With pick-up, the rug is cleaned in a workshop and brought back. If you are looking for a rug cleaning workshop, this is that option, except that you do not have to bring the rug yourself. In the “Where to clean?” field of the form you can also choose “Not sure”, and a specialist will advise based on the photos. More on both options: rug cleaning with pick-up and return and rug cleaning at home.

Rugs by fibre: where they are cleaned and from what price

Every material has its own page: wool rug cleaning, silk rug cleaning, viscose rug cleaning, Persian and oriental rug cleaning, tufted rug cleaning, synthetic rug cleaning, long-pile rug cleaning, cotton and flatweave rug cleaning, jute and sisal rug cleaning and hide and sheepskin rug cleaning. For a fitted carpet: fitted carpet cleaning.

How to tell what your rug is made of

If the rug has a care label, start with it. Care symbols are set by the GINETEX system and the standard ISO 3758: a cross over a symbol means “do not”, letters in a circle denote the professional cleaning types, and bars under a symbol mean gentler treatment.

Many rugs have no label. Then photograph the rug from the top and from the underside, and a corner in close-up. The underside shows whether the backing is glued fabric, and the fringe shows whether it is sewn on or is the ends of the warp threads. If you know where and how the rug was bought, write that too.

Deep cleaning and steam cleaning of rugs

The fibre decides how deep, and with how much moisture, the cleaning may go. Steam and hot water are not suitable for all rugs.

• Wool: hot water together with rubbing can make it felt, and the rug may shrink.
• Viscose: the pile must not be rubbed or steamed, because water and pressure can crush it for good.
• Jute and sisal: makers advise cleaning them dry, not with steam.
• Tufted rug: a lot of moisture and heat can weaken the glue in the backing.

More on the methods: dry, wet or steam cleaning of rugs.

What not to do before cleaning

The Canadian Conservation Institute advises against using shop-bought carpet shampoos on important rugs, because afterwards dirt sticks to the fibres more easily. Washing a rug in the bath or a washing machine is not suitable for wool, silk or viscose. Also do not dry a rug on a radiator. Heat strips wool of its natural oils and weakens the threads.

Only blot a fresh stain with a clean cloth, without rubbing. Before using any product on a wool or hand-made rug, test colourfastness on a hidden spot, because the dyes can bleed.

How much professional rug cleaning costs

• Synthetic rug with a short pile, cleaned at home: from €6/m².
• Rug with pick-up, workshop cleaning and return (synthetics): from €10/m².
• Wool or cotton rug (with pick-up): from €10/m².
• Long-pile (shaggy) or thick rug: from €10/m².
• Silk, viscose, hide, hand-made and Persian rugs (with pick-up): from €15/m², the price is given from a photo.
• Jute, sisal and coir rugs: the price is given from a photo (the size of the rug in m², the fibre and backing, stains and water marks, pick-up or work on site).
• Urine or odour treatment, extra: from €3/m².

The price depends on the size in m², the fibre, the pile length and thickness, the dirt and stains, smell or urine, access and distance. The minimum order is €45, and it applies to the cleaning only. Pick-up and return in Riga costs €10 (both ways together); in the Riga region up to about 15 km from the Riga boundary it is also €10, and further out another €10 is added. For cleaning at home, travel is included in Riga and up to about 15 km outside the Riga boundary; further out it is from €10.

Example: a 2 × 3 m wool rug with pick-up in Riga is 6 m² × €10 = from €60 and pick-up and return €10, from €70 in total. A 2 × 3 m silk rug is from €90 and pick-up €10; the final price is given from a photo. All prices: carpet cleaning prices.

What to write in the request

• The size of the rug in metres (length × width, without the fringe) or m².
• The fibre, if you know it, or a photo of the label.
• Photos from the top and from the underside.
• Stains and smell: what it is, how long ago, whether it has been cleaned.
• Pets in the home.
• Floor, whether there is a lift, and where a car can stop.

Before cleaning, photograph any damage. We do not do repairs or fringe restoration.

What to expect from cleaning

A fresh stain usually comes out better than an old one. Before the job, a specialist tells you what to expect from your rug.

Where we work

We clean rugs across Riga and the Riga region, for example carpet cleaning in central Riga, carpet cleaning in Mežaparks and carpet cleaning in Jūrmala. Pick-up and return in Riga and up to about 15 km from the Riga boundary costs €10.