Hand-woven Oriental rugs are precious works of art. They require diligent care and careful placement in your home. However, you do not have to treat them like fine China.

When you put an Oriental rug in your house, you may wonder if exposure to direct sunlight will affect its integrity. Luckily, you do not need to worry too much about foot traffic, because Oriental rugs are beautiful and also quite durable. However, sunlight is a different story.

How to Prevent Sun Damage to an Oriental Rug

Your hand-woven rug is built with care, and while it can handle furniture and foot traffic, sunlight is not recommended. A few rays of sunshine here and there are fine, but frequent exposure to excessive amounts of sunlight might result in a faded rug.

Here are some rules when placing your rug in a room:

● Avoid Direct Sunlight: Direct sunlight can fade the delicate fibres of your hand-woven rug. Therefore, put the rug down where you want it and see if sunlight streams directly onto the rug throughout the day. You want to avoid direct sunlight at all times.

● Be Cautious in Sunny Rooms: Sunny rooms can also be a threat. Some rug fibres may absorb sunlight more than others, and there is no way to predict which will fade over another accurately. Monitor your rug in a sunny room. Even without direct sunlight, if you notice any signs of fading, move it to another room.

● Consider Sheers or Curtains: To prevent sun damage, add sheers to your windows. This way you have natural sunlight in the room, but without it affecting the colour of your rug. You could also have your windows coated with Mylar, which is invisible and filters out damaging UV rays.

● Remember Skylights Too: Sun damage can happen with a skylight just as much as a window.

● Rotate the Rug: Every 6 to 12 months, rotate your rug to ensure even wear and sun exposure. This ensures that one corner of the rug is not discoloured more than the other.

● Clean Professionally: Whether you have your rug directly exposed to the sun or not, you need your carpet cleaned professionally each year.

Year-Round Maintenance Helps Too

While keeping your hand-woven rug out of the sun is important, so is frequent rug cleaning in Toronto.

Not only should you vacuum your rug frequently to reduce abrasions from soil and grit, but you also need to vacuum to lift and rearrange the pile. Take care to see that spills and spots are carefully removed immediately. If you cannot get the spill or spot up, contact a professional from Babayan’s. Our team has years of experience cleaning and repairing hand-woven rugs like the ones in your home.

For excessive sun damage, stains, or tears, bring it in for rug repair in Toronto to Babayan’s. Our team can help restore your Oriental rug to its original beauty.