wool rug browning

[kick2011]

I will be cleaning a wool area rug, off white. the owner told me that the last two times she had it cleaned in the home, it browned and had to be corrected. She later had it cleaned in a factor setting with no issues. I will be using a wool safe, low ph pre spray and Matrix all fiber rinse with air movers to speed drying. Am i on the right track??



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[John Bolton]

Kick,

Cellulostic browning of a wool rug is the result of natural lignin up-wicking from vegetable fibres (most commonly jute) in the foundation of the rug. The two things you need to do to avoid this is to avoid a prolonged drying time and to keep the chemistry on the acid side. A Woolsafe cleaning agent followed by an acid rinse should take care of the latter and if you are to employ an extraction clean, avoiding over-wetting and use of an air-mover should reduce drying times.

[Bud B]

 Johns right.  Use a low ph for cleaning, I use a 5ph or a 6ph with the Matrix all fiber rinse.  I do not use much heat or none on orientals or bleeders.   Speed dry them.
              I usually do fringes separate, after the rug is dry.   I use a high ph on them with the acid rinse using a upholstery tool and a hair drier and soft brush to dry them.  Fringes come out snow white when I'm done. I do this while the rug is hanging.
                  Check for colorfast of the rugs. Some of the dies can bleed real bad.  Take a wet white wash clothe or rag with hot water on it and hold it on different colors to see if the color migrates.   I have seen a few that transfered so much die that I would not touch them.
      I  do wools and orientals in shop so if there is a problem I can correct it before it goes to delivery.

[CACBServices]

Might want to delay this job until you can get some browning treatment solution just in case you can't avoid the browning. As I understand it, such a solution just adjusts the ph back to acid and reduces or eliminates the browning.