Art of Clean rug cleaning Cambridgeshire UK

3,000 year old sarcophagus found in house clearance sold for £12,000 at Willingham Auctions

Cash in your attic?

Stephen Drake, Auctioneer at Willingham Auction House, had an "Indiana Jones moment" recently when he was called to value items at a house clearance in Bradwell-on-sea in Essex.  At first it seemed like another normal clearance.  However the previous owner of the house, Captain 'Tiger Sarll, had left behind a great surprise.  Climbing through a hole in the wall to access this far flung room, Stephen found propped against a wall and covers in cobwebs a genuine sarcophagus.  He contacted the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge who confirmed its origins and dated it at over 3,000 years old! There was a media frenzy at Willingham Auctions last sale when the item was sold for £12,000 to a private buyer.  Fitzwilliam Museum spoke with the new owner "advising her on the possibilities of conserving the piece".

Art of Clean aren't so good with ancient artifact restoration, but for restoration and maintenance of  your Carpets, Rugs, Stone Floors, Wood Floors, Upholstery, Leather or Patios contact us on 01223 863632 or www.artofclean.co.uk to find out about our services.

Rugs affected by flooding?

The recent floods to hit East Anglia are reportedly the worst in 20 years, according to the Mail Online.  Many people’s homes have been flooded with much damage to the homes and furnishings.  If your rugs have been contaminated with dirty flood water, immediate action will need to be taken to save your rug from colour damage, and mould and rot setting in.

See the pictures below of a rug that was flooded and came to our office yesterday

Contacting a rug cleaning specialist in important at this time as opposed to renting a rug doctor, this process needs to be completed thoroughly as flood water often carries sewage, oils and other harmful pollutants that need to be removed, and a quick drying is needed to prevent dye movement and mold.

The best way to clean a rug:

The debris and waste water that will have worked its way into the wave will need to be removed by soaking the rug in a cleaning bath, with a special solution that will safely sanitize the rug to thoroughly remove the bacteria that dirty flood water carries. Drying the rug thoroughly and quickly is important to prevent dye movement.  Many carpet cleaning companies will clean the rugs on the floor and this can lead to excessive long drying times. Longer drying times can cause browning of the fringes on the rugs or dye movement.  A damp rug is the perfect place for mold and rot to grow, a quick professional drying process is important to stop this and to ensure the rug doesn't lose its shape and form, the use of rug drying centrifuge and a specialist drying room is important.

What questions to ask a rug cleaning company before you hand them your rugs for cleaning.

• Are you insured for transporting my rugs?
• Do you have specialist training in the cleaning and treatment of rugs?
• If yes how many classes did you attend?
• Who will be cleaning my rugs?
• Do you have the necessary equipment - cleaning fine rugs is not the same as cleaning carpets!
• Do you have a dedicated rug drying room?
• Have you cleaned and restored flooded rugs before (if your rugs are flooded and requires restoration) - act fast as this will increase the chances of saving the rugs!

Here at Art of Clean we have all the equipment and expertise to clean and dry your fine rug in no time. If your rug got flooded and it might be a while before it will get cleaned - Get it in a bath of clean cold water and keep it in there until the cleaning company come and pick it up. Phone us for advice on 01223 863632 - www.artofclean.co.uk

Moth eating your rugs?

How to treat moth infested oriental rugs?... We use a safe method of carefully freezing the rugs to -15 at our Cambridge rug cleaning plant.

Rug repair - How to sew a blanket stitch to secure your rug fringes!

During Christmas break, I wanted to do something not really related to rug cleaning... so how about rug repair? We went for training few months ago and I always wanted to try. I started to remove all the broken wefts. After few hours, I could start to sew a black blanket stitch as the black is the dominant colour on the rug.

Before picture:

 

 After Picture: 

What you can see from the back of the rug if you look closely:

It was quite a lot of work. It took me 4 hours for a 4x6 rug but it was really fun!