Maintenance
Regular Cleaning
Do not steam or dry clean a wool handmade rug. The natural wool used to weave rugs has natural oils in them that help keep it clean., like a bird's feathers. Steam takes that oil out of the wool and converts it into dry and dead wool that breaks real easy. You may keep your rug clean by vaccuming as necessary. Avoid vaccuming the fringe, since in majority of hand woven rugs, the fringe is made of cotton and is much more fragile than wool and vaccuming will break and tear it. Depending on the amount of traffic, handmade rugs should be washed regularly every two to four years. They may look clean with naked eyes, but dust and dirt will gather into the foundation of the rug overtime and act like abrasive, and unless it is cleaned properly and professionally, they can cause major damage and create unnecessary expensive repairs.
Padding
Proper padding will not only keep your rug from slipping or wrinkling on carpet and any hard surface like tile, stone, concrete or wood, but it also adds to the life of your rug by preventing wrinkles and breakage of the pile. Make sure the padding you use is made of rubber for hard surfaces and specific industry standard padding to lay between the rug and carpet.
Moisture and Rugs
Dampness can cause mildew and dryrot in Oriental rugs. Water can be your rug's best friend, or its worst enemy. Make sure to let the rug dry when it gets wet because even the most colorfast* oriental rugs may bleed colors if left wet. * Colorfast: permanant color that does not run when moist or wet.
Storage
Storing rugs for long periods of time can be done, provided important guidelines are followed. Do not fold the rug for storage as the wool gets crushed in the folding areas and would be hard and sometimes, depending on the properties of individual rugs, it is impossible to reverse the situation. Roll the rug aginst the nap (this insures tight roll), insert some mothballs or moth crystal every few rolls, tighten the roll with rope or low performance tape ( do not use duct tape or similar as they will leave permenant markings), wrap the rug in a heavy paper and seal the wrapping. Do not store the roll in hot and/ or humid areas like attics.
Stain Removal
Take action immediately. First blot as much of the spill as possible using a clean towel. Next, try to remove the stain by mixture of cold water and liquid soap. Most stains can be removed by applying soap and water applied by a soft brush. Blot the area until all of the moisture is gone. If the stain remains, repeat this procedure until it is gone. Now let the wet area air dry by allowing air to flow on both sides of the treated area. Use the following chart for general information of how to remove stains:
| Alcoholic Drink | A | Lipstick | A |
| Ammonia/Alkali | A | Machine Oil | B |
| Beer | E | Mayonnaise | B |
| Bleach | A | Milk | A |
| Blood | C | Mixed Drinks | E |
| Butter | B | Mud | A |
| Candy/Sugar | A | Mustard | E |
| Carbon Black | B | Paint | B |
| Catsup | B | Perfume | A |
| Charcoal | A | Rust | A |
| Chocolate/Cocoa | A | Salad Dressing | B |
| Coffee | D | Sauce | A |
| Cooking Oil | B | Shortenning | B |
| Cosmetics | B | Soft Drink | E |
| Crayon | B | Soy Sauce | B |
| Dye (Blue, Black) | C | Starch | B |
| Dye (Red) | E | Tar | B |
| Egg | B | Tea | D |
| Excerment | C | Toothpaste | A |
| Fruit Juice | E | Urine (Old) | B |
| Furniture polish | B | Urine (Fresh) | E |
| Gravy | A | Varnish | B |
| Hair oil | B | Vaseline | B |
| Hair Spray | B | Vomit | B |
| Hand Lotion | B | Washable Ink | A |
| Ice Cream | B | Wine | G |
| Lard | D |
Cleaning Method Keys
Method A: Detergent-White Vinegar-Detergent-Water
Method B: Cleaning Fluids-Detergent-Water-Ammonia-Detergent-Water
Method C: Detegent-White Vinegar-Ammonia-Detergent-Water
Method D: Detergent-Ammonia-Detergent-Water
Method E: Detergent-Water
Method F: Detergent-Ammonia-White Vinegar-Detergent
Method G: Salt-Water-Detergent-Water
Detergent solution: 1 tsp dishwashing liquid + 1 cup water
Ammonia solution: 1oz ammonia + 1 cup water
Vinegar Solution: 1 part vinegar + 2 parts water
DISCLAIMER: FOR DIFFICULT OR UNLISTED STAINS, PLEASE CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL RUG CLEANER. THESE STAIN REMOVAL TIPS ARE TO BE USED ONLY AS A GUIDE. LAKESIDE RUG GALLERY ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE RESULTING THE USE OF THSES GUIDELINES AND SOLUTIONS.