Thursday, October 29, 2015

Our Latest 5-Star Review We Received on Yelp

5.0 star rating
10/28/2015

 I was pretty blown away by the work they did on my wool rug here.

I have a foster dog that got sick in the middle of the night and quietly sneaked out of my room to turned my house into a crime scene.  I was pretty sure my beautiful living room rug was trash.  I found this place on yelp and took my rug in within a few days.

They completely restored my rug.  They had to wash, deodorize, and color correct it.  It looks almost as good as new, and the odor is totally gone.  The results are better than I could have ever imagined.

**I previously used another rug cleaning service I found highly rated on yelp to come to my home and spot treat the same rug a few weeks prior to bringing it to LA Rug Cleaning.  That service left my rug with large discolored spots that were lighter than the rest of the rug.  LA Rug Cleaning was able to fix that damage as well.

I highly recommend bringing your rugs here.  I won't try anyone else again.
This is the latest review we received from a client.
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
Tel. 310-770-9085


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Hand Knotted Indian Rug 9' x 12' 7" For Immediate Sale by the Owner

Hand Knotted Indian Rug for sale by the owner
Approx. Size: 9’ x 12’7”
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Lamb’s Wool
Design: Corner Central Medallion w/Paisley
Knots per square inch: 225
Item: 5226-2
Price: $2,200
This very pretty hand knotted Indian Rug utilizes a traditional Corner Central Medallion design along with paisley.  It would be a fantastic addition to your home and is made to last for decades to come.
It is roughly thirty years old and is in very good condition.  It has recently been professionally cleaned and sanitized by Rug Ideas of Los Angeles and is ready for immediate use on your floor.
Free Shipping is included to anywhere in the Continental US!
Please email us or call 310.860.0460 for more information.







Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Hand Knotted Large Pakistani Rug For Immediate Sale by the Owner

Hand Knotted Pakistani Rug for immediate sale
Approx. Size: 13’2” x 20’
Foundation: Cotton
Pile: Very good quality lamb’s wool
Design: Four Corners with a Central Medallion
Knots per square inch: 300
Item: 5226-1
Price: $5,699.00
This beautiful large handmade Pakistani rug would add great warmth and character to your large dining or living room. This piece is a true work of art and a labor of love that took more than three years to make. It is roughly thirty years old and is in excellent condition. It has recently been professionally cleaned and sanitized by Rug Ideas of Los Angeles and is ready for immediate use on your floor.
Free Shipping is included to anywhere in the Continental US!
Please email us at info@rugideas.com or call 310.860.0460 for more info or to make a reasonable offer.






Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Sunday, September 27, 2015

How To Sell Your Rug

How To Sell Your Rug

You have a rug and you want to sell it. Selling it to a rug dealer and carrying it in your car trunk is not a good idea. Why? Because rug dealer wants to re-sell the rug, therefore he is not going to offer you a high price. Besides, he has many rugs himself. What is the chance that he can sell your rug faster than his own rugs? Your rug has to sit in his shop for a long time and this will cost him money. He can also buy rugs on credit, but he has to pay you cash since you need the money.   

Try to find a private customer, and an end user. Someone who wants to use the rug on his/her floor. Someone who does not want to resell it. Where can you find such a prospect? This guy could be your friend, a neighbor, a relative, or a coworker.  Don't be shy. Just ask them if they need a rug. Talk to them to see if you can find someone who is interested in buying your rug.

If this does not work, go online. There are many websites on which you can post the pictures and descriptions of your rug. Of course you should know what you have. That is the first step. Otherwise, you cannot sell it because you do not know what that is and what the market price might be. You don't want to put a high price on your rug to make the potential buyers walk away from you. Find an honest rug dealer and preferably a Certified Rug Appraiser. Usually, they have two types of rug appraisals, verbal and written. If it is just for your own information, you do not need a written formal appraisal and the certificate. The appraiser should be able to tell you the origin, age, construction, design, knot per square inch, and the fair market value of your rug.

After you have all the necessary information on your rug, then post them along with a few good pictures (overall, and details) of your rug. If there are damages, be honest and mention them. Try Craig's list which is local and free. You can also try ebay. Besides your asking price, mention that you may consider any reasonable and fair offer. If you post your rug on ebay, include free shipping  in the U.S. continent and in 48 states by UPS ground which is safe and cheap. This eliminates Hawaii and Alaska as the shipping cost to these two states is expensive.  Of course buying insurance which is not that expensive is highly recommended. People love free shipping when they buy something online. After you sell you rug, roll it and wrap it in thick plastic and take it to a UPS store for shipping. The cost of shipping is calculated based on the size and weight of your package. If you rug is big, then fold it in half  or tri-fold it as you do with the letter to put it in an envelope and roll it to become a smaller package. Take a look at this short video to see how you can do this.


For questions or concerns, give me a call to chat. You can reach me at 310-770-9085 or info@rugideas.com


Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Los Angeles Rug Cleaning: A 5-Star Yelp review from an actress and singer.


A 5-Star Yelp review from an actress and singer. Click on the review for a bigger image.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Another 5-Star Yelp Review for Los Angeles Rug Cleaning!

Yvonne O.
  • 2 friends
  • 8 reviews
5.0 star rating
9/6/2015
They mop the floor wit other carpet cleaners.
Then they cover that floor with a beautiful rug.
'Cause that's how they do.
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
Tel. 310-770-9085


Saturday, September 19, 2015

Tufted Rugs, Hand Tufted Rugs


Tufted Rugs, Hand-Tufted Rugs

Unlike a hand-knotted rug, a tufted rug is made without tying knots on vertical foundation threads called warps. Making a tufted rug takes a fraction of the time to make, and this reduces the cost and time of production. Therefore tufted rugs are cheaper than hand knotted rugs.


Some producers, importers, or dealers use the term "Hand Tufted" rugs to make it sound and look fancier and closer to handmade rugs. Clients who do not know the difference between hand made, and tufted rugs, really think hand tufted rugs are hand made or hand woven. While they are not.



The pile of tufted rugs are usually wool. These rugs are made with a tool called a "tufting gun." These guns can be hand mechanical or electrical guns. Loops of wool are pushed through a backing (also called primary backing) that has been imprinted with the overall design. When the rug maker is through with this process, another foundation, called a scrim is applied with latex glue. The quality of latex glues may be good or bad and this will affect the care and maintenance and durability of the tufted rugs. When this latex glue dries, the final protective cloth backing (also called secondary backing) is applied.



The last step is to shear the rug down so that all of the loops on the top of the rug are cut, and this will create the pile.


Depicting design on canvas, the primary backing

Weaving a hand-knotted rug requires skill and often a lot of time and craftsmanship to produce. The quality and value of a hand-knotted carpet is determined by the number of knots per square inch, material used, country of origin, size, age, provenance (who has owned the rug!), condition, etc.


Electric Tufting gun


An Indian weaver using a simple hand tufting gun


A Chinese weaver using an electric tufting gun

A good quality hand-knotted rug, can become a collector's item, and antique by the passage of time; of course this cannot be true for all types of hand knotted rugs, because there is a whole range from poorly made to high end ones. Hand-tufted rugs never quite achieve the heirloom status and they cannot become collectibles or antique.

When it comes to care and maintenance of rugs, it is possible to remove the pet urine stain and smell from a hand knotted or even area rug (machine made). However, due to the fabric backing and latex glue on the back of tufted rugs, it is almost impossible to remove the pet odor smell and stain 100% from such rugs.


Tufted rugs when new, look nice and beautiful, but by passage of time, vacuuming, and foot traffic, the latex glue disintegrates and powdered glue comes out of the rug. Cleaning of any kind, will not stop the white powder and disintegrating latex glue coming off the back of tufted rugs. Almost all types of hand knotted and machine made rugs can be wet washed and submerged. Due to the fabric and latex glue in the back, tufted rugs cannot be fully wet washed and cannot be submerged. And this eliminates the chance of complete pet odor removal as the smell bonds with the latex glue specially if cleaning is not done right after the pet accident happens. 


Buying a tufted rug is not bad, but at least we should know what we're buying and be aware of the care and maintenance limitations! It is cheaper than hand knotted rugs, but not easier to maintain and care for.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Friday, September 11, 2015

Pakistani Hand Knotted Rug For Immediate Sale in Los Angeles

We recently hand washed a beautiful hand knotted Pakistani rug for a client. He wants to sell this rug as soon as possible. I am posting few of the pictures here.





This rug is in great condition with no wear and tear. The foundation is cotton (plant based material) and the pile is Lamb's wool (animal material), so the construction is natural with no nylon, polyester, or petrochemicals. The design is floral or overall which is an old classic Oriental/Persian design which is never out of style or out of market. This is a labor of love and it takes few months up to a year to make a rug like this on a loom. Our client Mark will pay for the shipping in the U.S. continent (48 states) with UPS ground which is very fast and safe. We have not had any problem or issue with UPS ground in the past 10 years. His asking price which is really a fair market value for such a nice art work is $2,900. You would have to pay way more if you want to buy a rug like this from a dealer. This rug will add warmth and character to any room in which this is going to be used. This is going to be a wise investment financially as well.

Please contact Mark directly at:

Mark 310-210-3697
mtomlinson@ca.rr.com

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Monday, September 7, 2015

This is why I love my job!

This was really cool. A 90-year old repeat client brought in a rug she had woven 15 years ago for cleaning! WOW.



Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdeas.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Pet Urine and Rugs

Even well trained and well-behaved pets make accidents on rugs. You maybe surprised to know that in many cases, pets select the higher quality rugs to go on! You may notice the accident right away, or long after it happens. The sooner you act, the better.

There is no doubt that pet urine damages the fiber of our rugs. The stain and smell is not also pleasant at all. The extent of damage varies based on the content of the urine and type of our rugs. The urine content of our pets changes over time due to pet's age, medications, diet, health condition, sex, etc. The construction of our rug (fiber, dye, backing with latex glue in tufted rugs) also plays an important role when it comes to stain and odor removal.

If pet accident happens on my rug, what should I do?

First, do not panic, and do not use over-the-counter products with fancy names. There is  no one-size-fits-all when it comes to pet stain/odor removal. There is no spray or solution to take care of the pet accident as it never happened. In some cases, actually these products that have bleaching agents could damage the fiber of your carpet and rug permanently. When it comes to pet odor removal, these products do not remove the cause and source; they just mask it.

Act fast, and blot the urine as soon and as much as you can with plain paper or cloth towel. Use a mix of 1/4 tea spoon of non-bleach dish-washing detergent with one cup of warm water by saturating towel and blotting. Do not use laundry or automatic dish-washing detergent. Absorb the moisture with the towel, rinse the towel, and repeat the process until there is no transfer to the towel. Dry the area and make sure you do not leave the rug wet on the floor.

Of course this a kind of first-aid and temporary solution. This may not take care of the stain and odor permanently. Consult with a professional rug (not carpet) cleaner in your area to see how he or she can take care of your rug.

 
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Moroccan Rugs and Los Angeles Rug Cleaning

Morocco is located in north west Africa and has a population of around 34 million and an area of 446,550 km2 or 172,410 sq. miles. The country has a constitutional monarchy with elected parliament. It's capital is Rabat, and one of it's biggest cities and the most famous one is Casablanca. The country is consisted of Arabs, and indigenous Berbers. The official languages are Arabic, and Berber. French is widely spoken.


Now that we know a little about the country, let's talk about rugs!


Moroccan rugs are simply beautiful, popular, and desirable objects of tribal art and unlike many other rugs of different origins, they cannot be programmed. This is due to the culture of the weavers, nature of their life, geographic locations, lack of central workshops/factories, and many other variables.  And this adds to their uniqueness and exclusivity.

The design of Moroccan rugs are simple, modern, primitive, geometric, abstract, and in short, they are like kids paintings. In Morocco, these rugs are made by Berber tribesmen and women, Berbers are scattered in several  north African countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco. However, there are many sub-tribes in the Berber tribes among which Beni Ourain is a famous one for making open field deep/thick pile, shaggy rugs with brown, black and white diamond patterned soft wool knotted rugs.

Berber Moroccan rugs are usually made on cotton foundation with local Atlas Mountains lamb's wool pile. In rare and old pieces, we may see some camel hair. The wool is sheared and combed before it is spun. Both natural and synthetic dyes are used to prepare the yarn for weaving. Neonic yellow, orange, pink, purple and other vibrant and strong colors are mostly synthetics. Un-dyed natural yarn of cream, Ivory, brown, and black are also widely used. We see these in Beni Ourain deep pile shag rugs.



More in the past and to some extent even today, Moroccan rugs have had utilitarian and domestic usage for bedding (as mattresses), blankets, protection against cold and insulation in the Atlas Mountains. The smaller sizes could be used as prayer mats.

In most of the cases, high pile thick shag rugs with low knot densities are made in the high Atlas Mountains, and the finer shags, flat weaves or combinations of  pile and flat weaves are made by the southern Berber tribes in the desert, south of the Atlas Mountains.

There are many imitations of Moroccan rugs in the market, however, the feel, and handle is not the same. It is like the feel and handle of authentic Hereke silk carpets compared with the fake Chinese copies.

Some Berber weavers are superstitious and weave abstract symbols and motifs into the rugs to protect the rugs and their lives from evil and bad eyes and spirits. Some of these designs can be seen in rock and cave paintings.




We receive many Moroccan rugs for cleaning. Some are brand new, but have bad smell and odor. Many of the kilims and flat weaves we receive for cleaning bleed and this is due to their wefts and their fugitive dyes. And we know how to test and take care of these.



Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Persian Tabriz Rugs, Persian Tabriz Carpets For Sale


Tabriz, has been one of the historical capitals of Iran with a turbulent history with its oldest civilization sites which dates back to 1500 B.C. This ancient city is the capital of East Azarbaijan province in north west Iran. Tabriz has been and is the land gateway of Iran to Europe.

Tabriz rug usually have high quality of wool, weave and craftsmanship. One of our good clients has two Persian Tabriz rugs she wants to sell. Both these Tabriz carpets have been hand washed by us recently and look and feel beautiful and fresh. By clicking on each picture, it will open in a new big window.





The size of this Tabriz rug is 6' 6" x 9' 8" with cotton foundation, and baby lamb's wool pile and pure natural silk. Because of the high quality and our recent deep cleaning, all the silk accents and flowers are highlighted and look shiny and soft. The design has four corners with a beautiful medallion in the center. This is a real art work which adds warmth and character to the room in which is used. The knots density of this rug is high and is around 300 per square inch. This type of rug is also investment and its price appreciate by the passage of time. Her asking price for this piece is $6,300. To make it easier for out of Los Angeles buyers, the shipping cost by UPS ground to all 48 states in the U.S. continent (except Alaska, and Hawaii) will be paid by the seller.





The size of her second Tabriz rug is 6' 6" x 10' 3" with baby lamb's wool pile and pure natural silk. The foundation is cotton. Due to high quality of this carpet and our recent deep cleaning, all the silk accents and flowers are highlighted and look soft and shiny. The design has four corners with a beautiful medallion in the center. This rug is a real work of art and adds class and character to the room in which is used. The knots density of this rug (KPSI) is high and is around 300 per square inch. This type of rug is also investment and its price appreciate by the passage of time. Her asking price for this piece is $5,800. To make it easier for out of Los Angeles buyers, the shipping cost by UPS ground to all 48 states in the U.S. continent (except Alaska, and Hawaii) will be paid by our client. Therefore, buyer will not pay for shipping, and there will be NO commission, wrapping, handling or other fees to pay.

Please contact us for other details and payment/shipping arrangements.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085