Rug Cleaning At Its Best

We recently visited one of our clients Red Dragon Rug Spa who specialise in rug cleaning.

We were so impressed we wanted to share our experience with other industry professionals. Troy was very accommodating and took us through the whole process from start to finish.

Firstly we were impressed at the shear investment Red Dragon Rug Spa have put in to building a state of the art facility which can cope with the largest of rugs. We now fully understand why so many of our clients are sub-contracting Troy to undertake their specialist rug cleaning.

Red Dragon Rug Spa wash almost all of their rugs using their immersive cleaning methods. Then can also clean using various other methods right the way from full immersion washing to completely dry cleaning. They test all rugs for colour bleed and shrinkage prior to placing them into their wash pits and it is this test that will determine the best method of cleaning.

Troy calls it his 7 step signature treatment and he showed us the whole rug cleaning process from start to finish.

1. Identifying

We took a very large rug with us that Troy firstly measured, and tested for colour fastness. Then he inspected it for any pre-existing issues such as pile reversal, pet urine issues, and general damage. Once he completed this inspection, a report was made and photographs taken.

2. Dry soil and grit removal

This process starts firstly by using a Pile Lifter, a machine that will lift and open the pile of the rug while vacuuming up all loose soil, pet hair etc. from deep within the pile. Troy then used a “Rug Badger”, this machine gently beats and vibrates the rug, this will remove all the dry soil and abrasive grit which unless removed could damage the fibres and prematurely age the rug. He then finally used the pile lifter one more time to finish this step of the process.

3. Immersive cleaning

The deep cleaning washing process can now begin by placing the rug in to the wash pit. The pit will was filled with water and a “rug roller” was used to squeegee the water through the rug. The rug was then thoroughly washed on both sides with a specialist Oriental rug shampoo and once again the “rug roller” was used to ensure that the shampoo passed right the way through the rug. Troy then cleaned and detailed the fringes by hand.

4. Rapid moisture removal

The rug was then rinsed and placed in to Troy’s impressive “Rug Revolution machine ” which is a large centrifugal spinning machine that spin dries the rug, this ensured that all the excess water was pulled out leaving it as dry as possible (similar to a spin cycle on a washing machine). Rapid moisture removal is essential to eliminate the risk of colours bleeding into each other

5. Rug Grooming

Once removed from the centrifuge the pile is then set to its original position, (which is always running down to the bottom of the rug) and placed in Troy’s specially designed drying room. Rugs would normally be left in there over night to dry, sometimes longer for very thick or shag pile rugs.

6. Moisture test

Troy explained that they test all rugs with a Protimeter before removing them from the drying room, this ensures they are completely dry and safe to be stored if needed.

7. Detailing

The final step, Red Dragon Rug Spa then closely inspect the rug for any spots/stains that may need further specialist treatments including any extra fringe detailing. Any additional treatments eg protection will usually be applied at this point, then the rug will once again be returned to the drying room for the final time.

In conclusion we'd thoroughly recommend Red Dragon Rug Spa to any industry professional looking for a rug cleaning partner.

Please call Troy or Barry on 01269 843491 or visit www.reddragonrugspa.co.uk Troy can also be contacted via e-mail on troy@reddragonrugspa.co.uk