The most important factors to preserve rugs and carpets for a lifetime and future generations is to keep them clean, to take good care, and restore them immediately when damaged or rotted.

Normally a rug should be washed every two or three years. When touched by hand, if the pile and the fiber of the rug are rough and sticky or dirty, depending on where the rug has been spread and the frequency of its wear and tear, then the time has come for it to be washed. One can also ascertain when to clean a rug by folding a corner and tapping the back by hand.

If any particles of grit, dust, or pieces of wool fall off, then the rug should be washed. A rug can also be washed at home with particular attention. To test and see If a rug is color fast or not, it's enough to wipe a full-designed part of the rug with a damp white cloth. If the color stains the cloth, then the rug should be not cleaned at home.

Never wash antique, silk, and rugs that are not color fast at home. These should be taken to a professional rug-cleaning establishment. They are equipped to shake; wash and dry rugs with specially adapted modern and mechanical facilities.

The process of hand cleaning rugs in the home takes experience and patience but can be accomplished. The materials and products used to wash rugs are very simple and elementary and most of them are in every household; a pail, a brush with soft bristles, the length of which should not exceed one inch (made of natural fibers), soap, or special rug shampoo without any acid elements.

In the process of hand washing, the first step is to mix one cup of shampoo to ten cups of warm or lukewarm water. It's better to add two spoonful of natural white natural vinegar to prevent the colors from running. After preparing the solution, laid the rug flat on a hard, smooth, and dry surface. i.e. on a terrace, balcony, with the pile of the rug facing upwards. Plunge the brush in the shampoo solution. Start from one corner moving gradually upward and downward into the pile until the entire rug is thoroughly cleaned.

Try not to brush hard as this action seriously damages the rug. Never soak or plunge the rug in the solution because too much wetting may hurt and rot the foundation. It's not necessary to wet and clean the back, warp, and weft of the rug, as this part is not exposed to dirt, as the pile.

After the washing process, a brush should be used to carefully remove the leftover shampoo powder and dirt; the rug is thoroughly cleaned with lukewarm water and gently brushed in the direction of the pile. Then, if the weather permits, the rug can be taken out to the open-air with utmost care. Sunlight is the best means to dry a rug provided it is not strong otherwise it causes the color to fade.

In rainy and wet weather it is advisable to dry the rug at home on a special wooden frame where the current of air penetrates facilitating the drying operation thus leaving no humidity. Avoid drying a rug on the lawn as the moisture that the grass contains may seriously harm and damage the foundation, the warp, and weft. On no occasion place rugs near direct heat-fireplaces open fire, stoves, radiators, and floors where warm water pipes pass underneath. Intense heat damages and dries the fibers and the oils of the wool causing it to lose its luster and making it brittle.

After both sides of the rug have dried completely and when touched by hand the warps and wefts feel soft, it can then be laid back gently to its former place. When a rug is still damp it should never be folded as humidity gradually penetrated and rots the foundation. Before washing a rug, all the dirt, grit, loose fibers, and fluffy wool should be removed by beating the back gently with a cane beater. Companies specialized in cleaning Persian rugs have mechanized beaters. During the hand cleaning process, if not completely removed, the remaining dirt transforms into a thick substance, like mud or sticky cement. Subsequently, while removing this dirt the rug gets hard and rough and it may also shorten its life.