Ali Rouzati from Rouzati Rugs walks us through how he deep cleans a 1940s Sheikh Mashayekhi Tabriz rug. He hoses the rug down and applies shampoo. Then he uses a scrubber to agitate the fibers and an extractor to remove moisture and stains. He's able to deep clean the rug because it was made with vegetable dye, which does not run like chrome dye.
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For more, visit:
https://rouzatirugs.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@rouzatirugs
https://www.instagram.com/rouzatirugs/?hl=en
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 This is a rare Persian rug that's appraised at an estimated $12,500, and it's about to
00:10 get its first cleaning in more than two decades.
00:14 It's a delicate job, and not just because this antique is so valuable.
00:19 It's also a family heirloom, and the clients are trusting the team at Rosati Rugs to deep
00:24 clean it carefully.
00:25 The goal is to remove the accumulation of dirt and stains without harming the rug's
00:31 coloring.
00:32 Ali Rosati inspects the fibers carefully to determine how the rug was originally dyed.
00:37 This key detail will determine how he'll complete the job without causing any damage,
00:42 so his clients can continue to pass down this treasure for generations.
00:46 So my client's aunt had this rug for about 20 years, and she was very hesitant to have
00:51 it cleaned because she was afraid that it would get ruined.
00:53 I know this is a 1940s rug because they used vegetable dyes.
00:58 In comparison to a 1960s, like this one here, there's a specific process to cleaning vegetable
01:05 dye rugs.
01:06 I know that I can use a deep wash because the dyes won't run.
01:10 This is the pool that we have the rugs clean, and we have a drain right here.
01:18 It's built on an angle so that when we put a rug on either side, the water will just
01:22 go right through directly into the drain.
01:27 One of Ali's team members begins the cleaning process by applying browning treatment to
01:31 the stains.
01:33 This works to remove tannin-type stains like urine, fruit juice, beer, or soil, as well
01:38 as general discoloration due to age.
01:42 This 1940s Sheikh Masha'ahi rug has collected stains from various family gatherings throughout
01:48 the years, but that's not all that makes this Tabriz rug unique.
01:52 What makes it so special is not only the technique of weave and the fine weaving on the back,
01:59 but also the design and the color combinations that are used as well.
02:03 After letting the browning treatment sit for 15 minutes, he hoses down the rug and applies
02:08 shampoo.
02:11 Next, he agitates the fibers with a scrubber, which loosens up the accumulated dirt and
02:21 brings it to the surface.
02:23 So the scrubber or the buffer is used to help scrub and expand the use of the shampoo throughout
02:32 the rug, and it does it in a fast and efficient way.
02:36 So if you were to actually hand do this, not only would you get tired physically, but it
02:40 wouldn't be as effective.
02:43 Ali estimates that the original weaver made only a few hundred of these rugs decades ago.
02:49 The coloring also dates back to a time when master weavers used different techniques.
02:55 This rug is made with vegetable dyed wool, which means the coloring came from natural
03:00 materials like plants, fruits, or tree bark.
03:03 This method is more labor intensive, which adds to the rug's value.
03:08 Chrome dyes come from chemicals that are used and boiled to create certain colors.
03:14 Chrome dyes were used to decrease the cost of rug weaving.
03:20 So in terms of price point, they are less in comparison to rugs that have vegetable
03:26 dyes incorporated in them.
03:27 As you can see, this type of a red tone is so bright.
03:31 You only see that in chrome dyes, but with vegetable dyes, they're a little bit more
03:35 subtle in comparison.
03:38 The transition from vegetable dyes to chrome dyes in the mid-20th century brought about
03:42 a new era in rug making.
03:45 Chrome dyes offered a wider and more affordable range of hues, which revolutionized the industry.
03:51 But the legacy of those early Persian rug makers is still visible today in rugs like
03:56 this, which is why it's so important to preserve it.
04:00 The team member rinses the rug and pushes a squeegee across each section to remove excess
04:05 water.
04:06 He repeats this step several times throughout the cleaning process to remove as much water
04:11 as possible.
04:14 He runs the scrubber across the rug again to loosen any remaining dirt and then uses
04:19 the extractor to lift the stains and remove moisture.
04:23 The extractor actually has two purposes.
04:26 You can, one, just use it as a vacuum.
04:28 You just place it on the rug and you start pulling it towards your direction and it starts
04:33 extracting the water out so that the rug gets to dry faster.
04:37 Also it has another feature where if you press on the lever, not only will it extract water,
04:43 but it'll expel hot water at the same time.
04:45 And those are great for taking away stains because you could do that multiple times on
04:49 a certain area.
04:53 All the rugs are heated to a high temperature of, I'd say, about 90 degrees on average and
04:58 they're hung right here.
05:00 The rug must be completely dry before moving on to the next step.
05:04 If not, the excess moisture can lead to mold and mildew, two factors that can deteriorate
05:09 the fibers in the rug.
05:12 We'll go inside of the drying room and we'll examine it and touch the pile of the rug,
05:16 the fringes and the other aspects of the rug to see if it's still moist or not.
05:20 If we feel it is, we'll keep it in there.
05:23 The room is dry to a very high temperature and just having all the fans and dehumidifiers,
05:29 usually having a rug in there for about a day would completely dry it out.
05:34 The quality of weave on Tabri's rugs is based on something called raj, which counts the
05:40 number of linear knots every seven centimeters, which is roughly two and a half inches.
05:46 The higher the raj, the higher the quality, which also makes a rug more valuable.
05:50 So in today's market, I would estimate this value around $12,500.
05:56 You have these lines that are showing on the backside of the rug.
06:00 And when you look at those lines, you'll be able to actually count how many knots are
06:05 in between each line.
06:07 And so this specific rug is 50 raj.
06:11 On a lower quality Tabri's, you'll have a 20 raj.
06:14 This is actually a lower quality Tabri's.
06:16 You can see how big the knots are in comparison to this rug here.
06:22 These knots are a lot more tight.
06:24 This is around that 20 raj that I had mentioned earlier.
06:28 And then you have the 50 raj, which is a more higher quality.
06:32 60 raj would be very exceptional.
06:36 And then you'll have like 80 or 90 raj, which are extremely rare to find.
06:40 And those type of rugs take close to 10 years to make.
06:44 But this type of a caliber, I'd say in terms of rarity on a scale of one to 10, it would
06:50 be a seven.
06:51 So when you look at the different color combinations and designs that are used in this rug, it
06:56 seems like there's a lot of religious symbolism going on.
06:59 And that makes sense because Sheikh Masha'i was a religious man within his region.
07:05 And the predominant use of green is of Islamic religious significance because green was the
07:10 Prophet Muhammad's favorite color.
07:12 I've grown up with Persian rugs in my home, and there's a lot of deep cultural significance
07:18 to Persian rugs and the history behind it.
07:21 So I feel very akin to my culture being in this industry.
07:32 The rug looks magnificent.
07:33 It's much brighter than it was before.
07:35 And the majority of the stains have been removed.
07:39 There are a lot of other people in this industry that really don't put their heart into it.
07:44 They just clock in and clock out.
07:47 But each rug is a portion of a person's home.
07:54 And I take that responsibility to heart, that when they bring their rug to me, they're bringing
08:00 a part of their home into my life for me to take care of.
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