Persian rugs are robust works of art that. Even when worn, they can be restored to their former glory. The old adage that a stitch in time saves nine can be no more accurate than when speaking of handmade rugs. A minor repair can save a rug from a magnitude of work months or years down the line. Frayed edges or worn fringes are often the first signs of wear on a rug and taking preventative steps can considerably add to the lifespan of your investment.

Reza Cheshmehdoost, a Persian rug specialist reveals:

“A little bit of damage to a rug might not be noticeable but given time the wear and tear can spread. This can cause expensive or even irreparable damage to occur.” For instance if the sides of a rug starts to wear or unravel the repair is fairly straight forward, however, if left long enough the rug’s pile or foundation can start to lose integrity meaning the cost of repair can extrapolate.

Given enough time, damage to a rug can become irreparable, if parts of a rug have to be completely re-woven the best answer is to send it back to its origin but this is expensive and time-consuming, it’s not always a valid option if the rug wasn’t extremely valuable to begin with.

When it is an option worth considering is when the rug is particularly valuable or holds great sentimental worth, but even then an exact repair cannot be guaranteed. Reza has recently sent a Nain rug to Iran to be repaired, an 8 month long process but a wait that he hopes will be worthwhile.

The owners of the rug had rolled and stored it but water managed to get to the bottom of the roll, affecting the border on one side. The rug (a 6.5m long Nain) was of very high quality as well as holding sentimental value to the owners, although expensive they chose to have the rug repaired professionally back at source. The border was so heavily water damaged the foundation and pile was simply crumbling away. We sent it back to Nain where it will be unwoven and re-knotted in the affected areas.

Here are several pieces of advice which should help to keep your handmade rug in top condition:

• Use a suction vacuum rather than a brush-head
• Keep the rug dry at all times
• Do not use abrasive chemicals when cleaning your rug
• Always use a professional to clean silk rugs
• Perform a spot-check or color run test before attempting to clean your rug
• Have the rug professionally cleaned every few years
• If keeping rugs in storage for extended periods roll rather than fold and KEEP DRY
• Try to air your rug every now and again, this helps to remove moisture and wards off any pesky moths or insects.