There are a lot of methods out there for rug cleaning. Shampoo and extract, foam, truck mount, various dry methods (powder, crystals and sponges), bonnet cleaning and a slew of machines that spray, brush and then suck solution back out in one operation. They all will remove some soil from a rug. They all work on the upper tips or pile of the rug and they all have major limitations.
Unfortunately, if your rug is permanently installed wall to wall, or otherwise attached to the floor, you are limited to one of these methods.
For fine quality area rugs there is in-plant rug washing. Even this has its different incarnations. There are totally mechanized rug wash plants where your rug goes through something that looks like a paper making machine or printing press. In one end, over rollers, past a spray bar, through some brushes, over some more rollers and out the other end, takes about three minutes, similar to a car wash.
Then there are plenty of rug cleaners that advertise in-plant cleaning, but really do little more than one of the spray-and-suck methods. If you are lucky, they might do some sort of shampooing first.
Then there is the all-time favorite buzzword - "hand washing," which has a nice sound and kind of evokes an image of an old-fashioned tradition, but the truth is that hand washing in most cases does not mean the rug is washed by hand.
Before you spend any money on one of these methods, find out what exactly it is that they propose to do to your rug. A good in-plant operation can do a far more thorough job of rug cleaning than anyone can do with the rug in place, but remember that there are differences even among in-plant rug cleaners. If they claim that they can't show you what they do because of "trade secrets" or "insurance regulations" it may be that they have embarrasingly little to show you. If they rely on buzzwords, are vague in their explanations, or are reluctant to show you their facility, look elsewhere.
A good in-plant operation will walk you through and show you step by step what they do, answer your questions with direct answers and explain anything that you are not clear about. That's the way we operate and we would be happy to show you why we believe our method of rug cleaning is the most thorough system available... ANYWHERE. We treat your rug like it was our own, and we encourage you to come and see our facilities for yourself.
