The first step in cleaning an Oriental or Area rug is pre-inspection. You should identify the type of material it is made out of. Some rugs are hand made and some are machine made. Most hand made rugs do not contain any glue and many are made out of wool. Do not hand wash a rug that contains glue as hand washing will break down the glue. I also do not suggest hand washing a rug that has a cotton backing or rugs that have a similar backing like carpet because these rugs contain glue.
1.Identify the material the rug is made out of. Most wool, nylon, and polypropolene rugs are cleanable if they do not contain glue. I would consult a professional if the one is made of cotton, silk, or Rayon.
2. Vacuum it thoroughly, then test the rug for dye stability with a white cloth and a neutral oriental rug cleaner. Hold for at least 1 minute with the concentrated cleaner. If little to no dye has bled onto the cloth, especially on any pet urine areas as these are likely to be highly alkaline, then you should be safe to proceed. I say "should be safe to proceed" because there is no guarantee that you will not cause damage to the rug by cleaning. There is always a chance of damaging the rug when cleaning. I believe dye migration during the drying period is the leading cause of rug damage from cleaning.
3. Dusting is recommended, but not a requirement. Dusting the rug can be achieved by vacuuming the rug upside down.
preferably on top of a drag mat used for grooming baseball fields as this will help more dirt to fall out of the rug.
4. Wet the rug till soaked with water. You can use a garden hose with the rug on a sloped concrete driveway. Note: the best way to clean would be inside a rug pit made of 3" PVC with a pond liner.
5. Dilute the rug cleaning solution as recommended by the manufacturer and pour onto the rug being sure to have good coverage.
6. Groom solution into the rug and agitate with a large broom or carpet groomer.
7. Allow for dwell time, usually 30 minutes to an hour is good.
8. Rinse. This is where a rug pit is very helpful because you can fill the pit and flush the rug cleaning solution out of the rug easier, and drain with a sump pump. A driveway with a slope works too, it just takes a lot more effort to rinse the rug.
9. Using an acidic carpet and fabric rinsing solution is recommended as a final rinse. It can be added to the rug pit when full or diluted with a 5 gallon bucket of water and poured onto the rug if cleaning in a driveway.
Flushing the rug with water as much as possible is best with either method. I recommend using a carpet wand to assist with flushing the rug along with the water by lightly pushing and dragging it along the rug.
10. Vacuum as much water out of the rug as possible with a portable carpet extractor or truck-mounted carpet extractor and a carpet wand. Hint: Getting the rug as dry as possible at this time is very important.
11. Hang to dry. I recommend building a drying rack with 3" PVC to drape the rug over. Place an air mover at the bottom of the rug to dry as the moisture will fall with gravity to the base of the rug.
12. Wait for drying to complete. This is usually 3-4 days depending on the weather. I recommend drying indoors in a climate controlled environment when possible.
13. Remove rug and inspect.
14. If the rug has fringes, I suggest cleaning them with a browning solution purchased from a professional carpet cleaning supply. Rinse fringes with a portable or truck-mounted carpet cleaning machine with heat. If fringes need more brightening, I suggest carefully applying an oxidizer.
such as stain magic purchased at a carpet cleaning supply store. Allow to dwell. Rinse.
15. if the rug has stretched from hanging to dry then clean the back of the rug with a heated carpet cleaning machine and dry with the rug laying flat upside down with an air mover placed on it.
16. Final inspection. Repeat any step if necessary.
