Wool rug Query

[Mark Betts]

Hi

cleaned a 100% wool rug last week.

usual procedure , pre vac , M Power pre spray and plain water rinse .
Client messages Saturday saying some of the line designs in the rug have gone powdery?

I went to have a look today and there is a design on the rug , 1 cm wide dark brown lines across the rug.

the “lines “ in the centre of the rug are dark brown and other lines at a grey silver .

tbh I can’t remember what colour these were before I cleaned them.
She is claiming the are “bleached” but it doesn’t make sense as the brown lines are fine.

I am thinking they should be like this but she disagrees .

I have attatched a couple of pictures in case anyone can make sense of my waffling .

Also if it went down the insurance route would the ins company inspect the rug to determine if they are in face bleached as she puts it ?

thanks

Mark

 

[Ian Hare]

Always difficult to judge things like this from photos. It would seem to be normal pattern. If they are “bleached” like is being suggested why are they confined to a localized area and why do they look as if they are supposed to be that way?

From your method description what you did wouldn’t on it’s own cause lightening. There must have been something already taken place there.
DIY? Sunlight?

Ken or Mark will perhaps shed some wisdom later.

 

[Mark Betts]

Thanks Ian

it just seems weird to me that the brown lines in the middle of the rug are still brown in whole from start to finish .
She is saying I have faded the rug ?
To me it looks like it should be like that but the tips of the fibres on the light lines/ stripes do seem lighter

thanks

 

[Jacob Ward]

Maybe the black was a fugitive dye....



Did you pre test for colour fastness mark ?

With m power you dont need a rinse agent, but with wool it is good for it to use an acid rinse.

J

 

[Mark Roberts]

Instead of bleaching it could be browning, making some of lines appear lighter where it hasn't browned. Test some acid rinse on the brown lines?

Strange indeed, insurance may send a person to test, depends who you're with. Second hand value wouldn't be huge though. @Robert Aigin would know.

 

[Ian Hare]

Knew you'd have a theory Mark.

 

[Mark Betts]

Instead of bleaching it could be browning, making some of lines appear lighter where it hasn't browned. Test some acid rinse on the brown lines?

Strange indeed, insurance may send a person to test, depends who you're with. Second hand value wouldn't be huge though. @Robert Aigin would know.

Thanks for your reply Mark.

the issue the have isn’t with the brown lines , they claim the lines that have gone lighter shouldn’t have ‍

I am with Gleaming insurance ,would they just get 2nd value ?

checked online and the rug is £1650 new .
Is it worth going back and Acid rinsing the whole rug and see what happens or would that invalidate the Ins claim?

never had to claim before .

thanks for all your help

Mark

 

[Alby Gill]

Bet your regretting not taking before pics.
I've done a few like that, and that the pile on the lines appeared darker in places, I found brushing the lines with a small soft brush in the same direction made the colour more uniform.
As Mark suggested go with an acid rinse then brush the pile of the line in the same direction. I've also used my temping brush,
Take no notice of the new price of the rug, it just puts the fear of god in you. The moment they placed one foot on the rug, it became another used rug.

 

[Robert Tarjani]

I don't know how M Power could have bleached it. I got a feeling those inserts/lines arent made of wool but viscose???

 

[Mark Roberts]

Find out the make, look for a label and then see what a new one looks like online or in store Cleaning it up may have made it look different but correct to what it should look like, who knows

I sound like a broken record but always take a quick photo or two before cleaning something, connect your phone to google photos and you have a permanent record with dates catalogued for future reference, invaluable

Martin at Gleaming will give you good advice without even opening a claim, as Alby says it's 'like for like' i.e its second hand value based on condition as it is now

 

[Mark Betts]

Find out the make, look for a label and then see what a new one looks like online or in store Cleaning it up may have made it look different but correct to what it should look like, who knows

I sound like a broken record but always take a quick photo or two before cleaning something, connect your phone to google pics and you have a permanent record with dates catalogued for future reference, invaluable

Martin at Gleaming will give you good advice without even opening a claim, as Alby says it's 'like for like' i.e its second hand value based on condition as it is now

Thanks Ian

yes I am bloody kicking myself as I always take a before pic but didn’t this time .

The lady has now sent me a picture of the rug before and the light lines are light on the original image , is just that the tips of the fibres on the light carved lines and lighter now ‍
I am guessing get in touch with gleaming in the new year and let them handle it .
As an afterthought , do I now “own” this rug as it’s would look quite nice in my house hahahah

Also do I refund them the cleaning charge if it goes as far as insurance claim ?

regards

Mark

 

[Mark Betts]

I don't know how M Power could have bleached it. I got a feeling those inserts/lines arent made of wool but viscose???

Robert
That was my thought exactly as I was driving away today

 

[Carl Sands]

Those lines are viscose, not wool. You can tell by the light refraction. How much moisture did you use, what hand tool, and was there heat?

 

[Mark Roberts]

Also do I refund them the cleaning charge if it goes as far as insurance claim ?

No, just let Martin handle it all, with Gleaming it's not the end of the world, your excess is stupidly low with them anyway

I'd still go back and have a a little play, if it is viscose Nick has new product for that as well on World of Clean.

Viscose Restore and More | World of Clean

Viscose Restorer can be used to prevent or restore the hard crusty feel often encountered when wet cleaning cellulosic fibres such as viscose, lyocell, cotton etc

www.worldofclean.co.uk

Spray & brush it in all one way, check to see if any of the fibres feel hard where they have changed colour etc. Could even just be simple light refraction where the pile has not been set and is laying different to its neighbour

 

[Mark Betts]

Those lines are viscose, not wool. You can tell by the light refraction. How much moisture did you use, what hand tool, and was there heat?

No heat ,
Normal pre spray , used normal jet hand tool treated as 100% wool.

if I had known the lines were viscose I would have walked anyway.

label said 100% wool and tested tuft and concluded wool although not on the lines in question as they looked the same as the rest of the rug

 

[Ian Hare]

If label says 100% wool, and it transpires that there is in fact viscose content.......Then you have your saving grace.

Enlarging the photos does seem to suggest the possibility.

 

[Carl Sands]

I’ve cleaned two of these rugs - it’s viscose. It also isn’t fuzzed like the wool fibres adjacent, and the light refraction and variation is a dead give away.

The viscose needs to be misted with an acid rinse and groomed. The fibre doesn’t look burst so you’re just breaking the mineralisation and grooming. You can also use the blunt side of a butter knife to scrape the fibres prone as you would a silk rug but I’d not advocate that unless you’re versed - the latter approach is done dry.

 

[Mark Betts]

Thank you everyone
Apologies just logged on after the Xmas break.
So what do suggest the best way forward ?
re visit and acid rinse etc and tell the client that their 100% wool rug isn’t 100% wool or just contact insurance company ?

thanks

Mark

 

[Robert Aigin]

Hi Mark
Carl is correct the stripes are artificial silk but react like silk. That is why the shading and light react differently to the wool. A blunt knife or a pumice stone will soften it up.

 

[Robert Aigin]

I’ve seen a lot of these rugs.
It looks to me that the rug has two different coloured lines. The customer probably has forgotten. Look on the back of the rug, if the stripes are different on the back IE: one light and one dark then you have your answer.