Tips About Area Rugs Tips
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The Best Materials for Area Rugs
When it comes to your choices of material in area rugs there are some tips about area rugs and the various materials they're made from that you should know.
First, natural materials, like cotton, wool, or silk will last much longer than area rugs made from synthetic fibers. In addition to their durability, natural fibers will never release chemical gases, which is a typical side effect of synthetic fibers. Natural fibers are also far less benign when it comes to health concerns such as allergies.
From an environmental perspective, there is a new concern that discarded area rugs and wall to wall carpeting made from synthetic fibers are filling out dumps to no end. Many area rugs of the Persian or Oriental type are passed on from one generation to another. For these reasons, you should look into a natural fiber area rug that will last your family for years to come.
Keys to Buying Oriental Rugs
Of all of the factors to take into account when buying oriental rugs, there are two main concerns to address before making your purchase. First, you should determine if the rug was made by hand or by machine. A hand made oriental rug is what you should choose because this means that it was hand woven. In other words, each individual strand of yarn has been tied to the base by hand, with the care only a human can take.
This is not to say that machine made oriental rugs cannot be a great value for the cost and sometime even last longer than a handmade oriental rug. However, traditional oriental rugs that sustain their value are hand woven.
The other main factor to take into consideration when buying oriental rugs is the quality of the weave. The higher the count of knots per square inch means the better the weave and the more intricate the design. This count should not be your only factor in determining the weave quality because it can be greatly influenced by the thickness of the fabric used. One thing to be sure of, the higher the count, the higher the price.
Be careful when buying oriental rugs that you are not buying a lemon. They are out there and chances are you will know when you are buying your oriental rugs from someone who knows what they are dealing with.
Area Rugs - Get a Tight Knit
Looking for tips about area rugs? If you are using area rugs to manage high traffic areas of your home or for your living or dining space, you should look for the best quality rugs available. When using an area rug in these types of places, the high traffic can often translate into snags or pulls if the knit is too loose and the quality is off. These pulls and snags will inevitably lead to your needing to buy a new area rug to replace the damaged one.
The better the quality, the tighter the knit; the tighter the knit, the fewer pulls you will get. Now you have had to buy two area rugs when you could have spent less in the first place for a better quality. Don't make this mistake. If you are buying an area rug for your home, go for quality over price and you will save money down the road.
Rugs to Accent Your Flooring
No matter what type of flooring you have in your home, track rugs and area rungs can enhance the look of your floors while preserving their beauty. In highly trafficked areas, using area rugs will keep the impact on your floors to a minimum. These areas would typically end up as the cause for replacing your floors, but with strategically placed rugs, you can save yourself the future trouble.
Rugs can be more than just a practical addition. They can also serve to enhance your existing floors by adding a good contrast. Depending on your type of flooring, you will want to choose a rug that compliments what is already there and also looks great on its own. Using an area rug for places such as under a dining room table will both enhance the area and save the floors from the constant moving of chairs.
Using rugs on your existing floors is a great way to add beauty to your home and to save yourself from early repairs to your existing flooring.
Cleaning Your Valuable Rugs
If you have had an accident on a particularly valuable rug in your home, do not waste any time in taking care of it. Here are some tips about area rugs and cleaning:
Immediately grab paper towels and soak up as much as possible from the spill. Do not apply too much pressure as the point of acting swiftly is to prevent absorption – which pressure would enhance. Make sure to dry from the back as well to get any moisture that has soaked through already.
After you have soaked up as much as possible – you should continue until the spill is barely visible – you will want to use a mild detergent to clean the remaining area. Rub the detergent with warm water gently in a single stroke rather than circles. Go ‘with the grain' of the rug when cleaning.
Allow to dry by air after soaking up and rinsing any remaining detergent. Make sure you use a mild soap to prevent further damage to the rugs. If your stain is still there after this process, consult with a professional cleaner as to your next step.
Making Your Own Braided Rug
Making your own braided rug is easy and a fun crafts project. Buying one can be rather expensive, so here is a simple process that will allow you to make your own braided rugs and have fun doing it.
First, you will need materials. Get yourself several strips of fabric and a fairly thick section of rope. The diameter of the rope you choose will determine the thickness and depth of the final rug. The longer your rope, the larger the finished rug; so measure your rope in an oval to determine the size of your finished product.
To begin, wrap your strip of fabric your length of rope. For the cleanest look in the end, don't be afraid to overlap your fabric as you go to conceal the rope underneath. Once you have wrapped the entire length of rope, start from the center and begin wrapping the rope into the shape that you desire. For a circle, make concentric circles and use a little thread and a needle to connect each circle. For a more oval shape, begin with an oval center and stitch the shape into place.
Repeat this process of twisting and stitching until you are out of rope and have your finished shape. The final step in making your own braided rugs is to stitch the end of the rope to the edge and set it in place.
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| Phyllis Serbes |
