Vacuuming hand made authentic Persian rugs

[cue003]

Looking for some advice from all you guys that have been around various vacuums and businesses etc. What are your suggestions for vacuuming hand knotted Persian rugs? I have 2 very expensive and very densely knotted Persian rugs. Both with silk in them and are 8x10 and a 5x7. The smaller rugs has more silk in it than the larger rug.

What are your experiences etc with dealing with Persian rugs? I heard that brush rolls/beater bars are detrimental to them but also heard that was a myth and the brush roll etc can be used but should be used at every vacuum.

Any feedback will be welcomed.

Thanks.

 

[singingrainbow]

At the vacuum store I work for we had someone with this same issue. We found that a Miele canister vacuum with their smallest, and most gentle powerhead, the electro comfort head worked very well. That powerheads gentle brushes plus the machine set on the lowest suction setting effectively cleaned the rug without damage or creating a suction seal.


Hope this helps.


Scott

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I happen to have one of those rugs.

It has only been cleaned with HOOVER Convertibles. The beater bar is fine, the bristles are fine.
Newer, stiffer bristled vacuums, I believe, could cause damage. Hope this helps.
John

 

[cue003]

Thanks for the responses.

 

[sebo_fan]

I have a persian rug and an Indian silk rug - both get cleaned using suction only floor tools.

 

[eurekaprince]

Indeed, some suction only carpet/bare floor tools have the correct design features to gently, yet effectively, clean delicate rugs when set in the "Bare Floor" mode. The nozzle needs to have wheels at the neck where your hand pressure will meet the carpet so that the bare floor bristles can freely glide over the surface of the rug. You need a row of bristles parallel to the back edge and another row across the front edge - no bristles parallel to the side edges as these will inhibit your back and forth strokes. Third, you need a suction regulator on the handle so that you can get the right amount of pressure on the carpet - strong enough to clean, yet weak enough to prevent damage.

I found that the Electrolux "Dust Magnet" Floor Tool works great on delicate area rugs:

 

[cue003]

Thanks guys. eurekaprince if I have a miele s8 vacuum which member of he head family fits the bill best that you are describing?

Thanks

 

[eurekaprince]

I am not sure if all the old Miele tools will fit onto the S8 wands, but they should.

You want to use the classic Miele Carpet/Floor tool SBD450 in the "Bare Floor" mode on your rugs. This is one of the few Miele carpet/floor tools that does NOT have any bristle rows along the side of the nozzle. It only has one row of bristles along the front edge and a rubber squeegee behind the suction channel. It has a single wide wheel at the bottom of the neck which will take all your hand pressure and allow the brush strip and squeegee to glide over the surface of the rug to flick any surface litter into the air stream and lightly brush the fibers. It may be difficult to find, as it's been discontinued. But your Miele dealer may still have them in stock.

If you can't find this tool, I agree that the least powerful Miele Power Nozzle or Air-Driven Turbo Nozzle would be very gentle and safe on your Persian rugs. The Turbo Nozzle has an extra suction relief valve to weaken the pressure on the carpet even more....so that it really is just "tickling" the carpet fibres. It gives you another place to adjust the pressure on the carpet.

The SBD 450 is the closest thing to the Electrolux Dust Magnet tool I have seen from Miele. See the link below:



http://www.mchardyvac.com/miele-sbd-450-combination-carpet-floor-brush/

 

[floor-a-matic]

I use my Electrolux (anything from XXX-Golden Jubilee) with the flip rug/floor nozzle (rug side) preferably the G (with Gleaner off)

 

[sebo_fan]

The SBD 450 is my favourite of the Miele floor tools - it was equipped originally with the S4 series when they first came out in the UK. A happy fan of the Miele S4!

 

[cb123]

You might want to ruminate over using direct suction...it's a blast!

 

[kenkart]

Well......

The Biltmore house uses Rainbow cleaners with the upholstery tool , I have been there and seen this being done, so I would say straight suction only,but don't use a tool like the Electrolux tool unless the Gleaner is turned off, that will pick a fine rug, I personally use a straight suction machine about all the time.

 

[luxlife]

I've used both the small Miele power nozzle with the suction dialed way down low and an Oreck XL21 on LOW speed. I've never had problems with either. A few of my rugs are the Kilim type. They aren't woven into a backing so any vacuum that's too strong would pull it up.

 

[ultralux88]

I won't sell any sort of brush roll vacuum to people with such delicate rugs, I always go with a good suction only canister, my favorite being a Miele with the Air-Tec nozzle, it cleans very well even on regular carpet for not having a brush roll. You definitely could use an older Hoover or other vintage upright as was mentioned (even the older all bustle brush rolls in vacuums from the 50s and earlier would technically be gentle enough for these rugs, at the time wool was the dominant type of rug and carpet fiber, so all vacuums were designed to clean it properly without damage), but personally I would tend to go with using a more powerful suction only machine, as these rugs aren't typically difficult to get the sand and grit out of. If you have a more dense rug like this, you could use something like a vintage upright as I said, or the smaller Miele PNs on the rug once/twice a year or so to make sure you get the grit out, grit is the enemy of all rugs!

 

[luxlife]

Rug type has a lot to do with it also. Rugs that have an open/loose weave could be easily frayed. Also, the silk cut pile rugs are easily damaged by grit. It stands to reason that a vintage machine is a safe bet especially if these rugs are old because it's likely that's what was used by the previous owner.