These rugs have a knotted pile, a fringe made of the backing threads and, possibly, natural dyes that can bleed. The price is from €15/m², and the final price is given from a photo.
A hand-made rug is not the same as a tufted one
In a hand-knotted rug, every pile knot is tied to the backing threads, and there is no glued layer. The fringe is the ends of these backing threads, not a sewn-on trim. In a tufted rug, the yarn is pulled into a fabric backing and fixed with latex glue, and there is another fabric underneath. So the risks differ too: for a tufted rug the weak point is the glue, for a knotted rug the dyes and the fringe.
Look at the underside. If there is no glued fabric and the fringe comes out of the backing of the rug, it is usually a knotted rug. If there is a smooth fabric or a mesh underneath, see tufted rug cleaning.
Natural dyes and antique rugs
Hand-made, antique and Persian rugs can have natural dyes that bleed from moisture. The Canadian Conservation Institute writes that high humidity can damage the fibres and make the colours bleed, while heat strips wool of its natural oils and weakens the threads. So for a wool or hand-made rug, colourfastness should be tested on a hidden spot before the rug is dampened.
Conservators also advise against shop-bought carpet shampoos for important rugs, because afterwards dirt sticks to the fibres more easily. Do not carry the rug by one edge, and do not drag furniture across it.
Source: Canadian Conservation Institute, “Basic care: carpets and rugs”; University of Georgia Extension on testing colourfastness. Checked 10.11.2026.
Fringe, moths and wear
We do not do repairs or fringe restoration. If the fringe is loose, the edges are frayed or the pile is worn down to the backing, photograph these places before cleaning and add the photos to the request. Cleaning removes dirt, but it does not restore worn wool or missing knots.
If the pile is wool, keep moths in mind: clothes moth larvae feed on wool. They avoid light, so look under furniture and on the underside of the rug. If there are live moth larvae in the rug, it is a pest control job. About wool rugs in general: wool rug cleaning.
What to write in the request
- The size in metres, measured without the fringe.
- Photos of the top, the underside and a close-up of the fringe.
- The origin or age, if you know it (Persian, Caucasian, Turkmen, antique, vintage).
- Stains, smell, pets, moths.
- Whether the rug has already been cleaned and how.
About care between cleanings: silk and Persian rug care at home.
How much Persian rug cleaning costs
Silk, viscose, hide, hand-made and Persian rugs (with pick-up): from €15/m². For silk, hand-made and antique rugs, the price is given from a photo, because the dyes, the pile, the condition and the stains differ a lot between rugs.
Example: a 2 × 3 m Persian rug is 6 m² × €15 = from €90 and pick-up and return €10, the final price from a photo. 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 a small rug the minimum order is €45: if the total is lower, you pay €45. All prices: carpet and rug cleaning prices.
What to expect from Persian rug cleaning
Usually comes out
- dust and sand in the pile and the backing;
- everyday greyness and fresh stains;
- dirty fringe, if it is intact.
May stay
- dye that already bled in an earlier wash;
- fading from the sun, and wear;
- patches eaten by moths;
- loose or broken fringe;
- smell, if urine has reached the backing.
Before the job, a specialist tells you what to expect from your rug.
Sources
- A knotted rug has no glued layer, the fringe is the ends of the backing threads; a tufted one has latex glue checked 10 November 2026
- Moisture makes dyes bleed, heat strips wool of its oils; no carpet shampoos; do not carry by one edge checked 10 November 2026
- Test colourfastness on a hidden spot checked 7 November 2026
- Moth larvae eat wool and avoid light checked 10 November 2026
