Since the olden days, people have always believed that since kilims or other Oriental rugs are very dear, they should be handled like your best bone china. But they are more rugged than you might think. People in the Middle East actually throw their rugs onto the streets to get walked on by camels or run over by vehicles after which the rug gets an improved appearance.

When your Oriental rugs get dirty, they can be laundered which is not possible with your wall to wall carpeting which has to be merely surface cleaned. Besides when they are damaged, they can be restored in most cases. The dyes used are normally fast and don't run or fade and the wool used which contains natural oils resists stains from getting in.

Oriental rugs tend to wear out more where they are walked on. This cannot be helped but you can change the placement of the rugs so that they get work uniformly all over instead of a certain place. If you walk on a dirty rug, you are reducing its life. Sand and dirt work like sandpaper and grind into the surface of the rug; that is why it is important that you clean your kilim when it needs to be.

It is extremely important to have your kilim cleaned so as to retain its quality, aesthetics and worth; you can do it yourself or employ the services of a professional cleaner. How frequently you should wash your Oriental rug will depend on how dirty it has become. To check this out, use your hand to forcefully rub the rug for a few seconds. If your hand has dirt on it, it is time to clean your rug.

What you will require:

?Hose pipe connected to water supply

?A mild rug shampoo

?Rug beater

?A soft brush with long bristles

?Rubber squeegee normally used for windows

?Vacuum cleaner

What you need to do :

1.Vacuum your Oriental rug on either side. Next, hang it up and beat out any dust and dirt that might still be left in.

2.Take your Persian rug or kilim to a flat place which is clean and suitable for washing. It could be your deck, garage floor or even your driveway.

3.Wet the rug with cool water and test a small portion of it with a very mild rug shampoo to check whether the color is running. If the color does not run, you may shampoo the whole rug, on either side with the help of a soft brush having long bristles.

4.Brush the shampoo gently into the grain of your kilim. Make sure you make it completely wet with the shampoo and water mixture.

5.Next clean out the fringes of your rug. With a soft brush and the shampoo and water mixture, gently brush the fringe away from your rug. Do it again and again till it is clean.

6.Finally, rinse out your rug with running water from the hose pipe. Make sure all the shampoo is rinsed out from your rug; both sides and the fringes.

7.Get rid of the standing water from your rug by running a clean rubber squeegee along the grain of your rug.

8.Put it down flat to dry out and then turn it the other side later.

Other things to bear in mind:

?While vacuuming your rug, remember to use the suction attachment and not the beater brush if it is an upright vacuum as it damages the rugs.

?Get a rug shampoo that is recommended by the Oriental rug dealer in your neighborhood. Do not use strong cleaning agents or those that contain ammonia as they can permanently damage your rug's dyes.

?Ensure that your kilim is extremely dry before using it all over again. Before using it you can just vacuum it a little to smoothen it out.