Most serious rug cleaners concur that rugs contain embedded dry soil particulates that can be difficult to remove.
The need for an additional process to effectively remove this before water is introduced is essential for better cleaning results.

Typical washing techniques without “dusting” may not always remedy the complete removal of particulates.

Standards address the issue
Toward the end of the 20th century, the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) produced industry standards for carpet cleaning, which included directives for the cleaning technician.

These included the step of pre-vacuuming the carpet to remove dry soil, before proceeding with any selected cleaning method, which usually involves a measure of moisture.

Long before these standards came out, serious rug cleaning service providers had large, innovative machines to separate dry soil from the rugs.

Arguably, they knew the reason for performing this first step in rug care, which is why they made an investment in production beaters/dusters.

Handmade rug construction
In the world of hand-knotted and woven area rugs, there is construction in the textile that is not the same as the primary and secondary backing found in widely installed wall-to-wall carpet.

The hand-knotted rug is comprised of warp and weft yarns at perpendicular runs, creating the foundation.

Pile yarns are generally knotted on the warp yarns and then locked in by strand(s) of foundation yarns running left to right on a loom, the weft.

Woven rugs that are Kilims have no knots. The wefts and warps create the visual design.
 

Dirty or just dusty?
Behrooz Hakimian is an importer and renowned rug appraiser, and has made more than 100 trips to India.

He reports during interviews that India has more than 60,000 looms in its carpet belt.

Even after washing, and final rinsing, which may require up to three cleanings, rugs are often dried in the open air and, for the most part, laid flat on the ground where dust can lodge in the rug.

Hakimian finds it necessary to dust newly constructed rugs before showing his product at shows, giving his customers the best presentation possible.

If he fails to do so, a film of dry particulates, like fine dust, would be found on the floor after the rug was laid out for display.

He considers this film of dust a negative impression that hampers sales.

This shows that rug dusting is important, even for some new rugs!

Portable rug dusters
Inventions have emerged to fill the need for rug cleaners who operate a sort of “cottage business” out of their home or small industrial building.

These for the most part mimic the big beater or dusting machines used in full-scale rug plants, yet are small enough in size and justifiable in cost to acquire and use in a small operation.

They resemble a large vacuum cleaner or small push lawnmower.

For best results, it was found that the rug needed to be laid face down over a grated surface.

The beater or duster is passed over the back of the rug’s surface, setting up vibrations by means of beating straps, which would “knock out” the debris from the yarns.

The cells in the grate capture the falling debris, away from the rug pile. This makes it easier for the debris to be swept up and disposed of after the dusting is complete.

This proves to be a very effective alternative to the large dusters, which were really designed for volume production rug plant operators.

It is not uncommon to witness large amounts of dust and dry soil removed from rugs that “looked clean” from the start.
Those who use these machines are amazed with the results from rugs that had just been processed by rug cleaners that had not dusted the rugs before submitting them to their cleaning procedures.    

This is true even when procedures for cleaning included blasting rugs with high-pressure water wands or automated washing machines, or top cleaning with powerful truckmount units.

Past history
Some of these past well-known “mini-dusters” included ones built and sold by the Hild Floor Machine Co. in Chicago.

Many were built and sold during the mid-1900s.

The mid-1990s saw a small company, Tri-State Carpet Cleaners, making a portable rug duster of similar design. Their version came out of Shreveport, LA.  

Tri-State comprehended the grid concept for better efficiency while dusting and demonstrated the concept in their magazine advertisements.  

Both companies, for whatever reason, no longer manufacture these machines. Some of these units have stood the test of time and are still in use, due to being so well-made and maintained.

Circumstances create opportunities
In recent times, there has been a renewed interest in manufacturing such devices.

The resurgence of area rug production and sales, and the continued trend for home decorating to cover hard surfaces with accenting area rugs, is creating a bigger market to dust and clean area rugs.

There are many ways a professional cleaner can remove dry soil from rugs.

The upright vacuum
Many have been pleased enough with the results from using an upright vacuum cleaner that is equipped with a rotating beater bar.

It is more effective, however, if beating is done on the backside of a rug.

Air dusting

It became popular when high volume compressed air equipment became available for use.

Similar modernized machines are on the market today.

The technique uses high volume air. Typically, the operation calls for around 80 cubic feet per minute and 80 pounds per square inch.

When used with a special wand that has a thin slit to force the air to be directed to a specific area, a special venturi effect is created at the point of contact as the operator passes the wand over the rug. This dislodges the embedded debris away from the rug.

Portable dusters
These machines mimic their big predecessors in functional design. Typically, these smaller push/pull machines come in several styles and design.

Inherent in the design of current machines, like their older predecessors, is a rotating shaft with straps that beat the rug as it is rolled over the rug. (The big automated machines had a moving conveyor for the rug to travel past the beating devices configured out of straps, tongs or bars).

The advent of the smaller duster required the operator to physically move it over the surface of the rug.

The operator determines the time spent on the process by their subjective visual analysis.

The need for clean
The story of the rug beater/duster and its various sizes and shapes is another survival of the fittest story.

However, fitness seems to be directly related to rug production and ownership, the rug owner’s awareness of the need for cleaning, rug count in the marketplace for the professional cleaner to service, the economic climate and spending culture of the service area, and innovative equipment at affordable price points for the cleaning company to acquire.

Until rugs are manufactured in absolutely clean environments, there will be a need for dusting. As long as rugs get soiled, there will be a need for dusting.


Tom Monahan is an IICRC Master Textile Cleaner and Certified Master Rug Cleaner  of the Oriental Rug Cleaning program.