When you have a fire or a water loss, one thing is inevitable. You will need your carpets cleaned and restored. Oriental rugs are normally the most expensive and therefore require special attention. Proper rug handling methods from the beginning should save you problems in the end.

Immediate extraction of the water from the rug/carpet should be the first ting you do! The longer a rug sits in water the higher the chances are that the dyes will migrate. Color correction can be difficult and maybe impossible if your rugs/carpet is older. Immediate extraction will greatly reduce this risk.

When extracting the water, move your wand WITH the grain. This will do two things. One, It is physically easier to do and puts less stress on your body and Two, It will prevent and minimize fiber distortion which on some rugs is nearly impossible to fix.

Do not stack your rugs when moving from one area to another! The dyes could run from one carpet to the other. In the end you could have just a pile of ruined carpets. To prevent this problem do one of two things. One, Roll the rugs up and place in plastic bags (Only if you are transporting and removing quickly from the plastic, long term storage will not allow the rugs to fully dry and may cause mold growth). Two (Best Option), Place a sheet or towel on the rugs and roll them up individually.

A popular and probably most damaging way to dry thick carpet/rugs is to lay them out in the sun. The sun's ray can fade your rug/carpet in a short period of time. I would even recommend not placing your rug in a place where the sun hits it for long periods of the day inside your home let alone outside. This will surely damage your wet carpet. Best method is to extract the water and put several fans directed at it to get air moving and dry it out faster. If laying them in the sun is necessary, put the top side down and lay on a flat surface.

Finally, do not drip dry your rugs. Dyes can go into your wool fibers if you do this, or run into the other dyes of your carpet. It will likely end up looking more tie-dyed than neatly designed when your done. If there are no dyes, you still should not drip dry. The thickness of the carpet/rug will prevent it from fully drying at the lower end where the water is dripping off.

In summary, remember these carpet restoration tips:

1.Extract the Water Immediately

2.Extract water WITH the grain

3.Do not stack your wet rugs

4.Never dry in direct sunlight

5.Do not drip dry