What You’ll Learn
- Shabahang Rug Gallery provides professional rug cleaning in Waukesha for handmade Persian, Oriental, wool, silk, tribal, contemporary, and antique rugs at our facility. We use full submersion washing, WoolSafe-certified products, and a controlled drying room.
- We also offer rug repair, restoration, appraisals, and rug pads to help protect and preserve your rug long after cleaning.
- Three Certified Rug Specialists work on staff, out of roughly 58 in the entire country, and our family has handled handmade rugs since 1885.
- Our enzyme wash treats pet urine, odor, and set-in stains that ordinary carpet cleaning leaves behind.
- Call (262) 717-1111 or bring your rug to 160 Kossow Rd in Waukesha, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Hand Washing for Handmade Persian, Oriental, and Antique Rugs
Handmade rugs behave nothing like wall-to-wall carpet. They carry natural dyes that can bleed, a cotton or silk foundation that reacts badly to over-wetting, and lanolin in the wool that keeps the pile from going dull. Run a truck-mounted steam cleaner over one, and you can lose all three at once.
At Shabahang Rug Gallery in Waukesha, our handmade rug cleaning team washes each rug by hand. We have been in the handmade rug business for four generations, and Bruce Shabahang, our owner, learned rug washing the same way he learned rug buying, which is to say from people who did it before him. Bruce still travels several times a year to buy directly from master weavers, and that firsthand knowledge of how a rug is made is part of what tells us how it should be cleaned. That experience is why we can wash a fragile 100-year-old Tabriz and a five-year-old wool Gabbeh in the same week without treating them the same way.
Why does a handmade rug need professional washing?
Because the damage happens underneath, where you cannot see it. Dry soil sinks past the pile and settles against the foundation, and every footstep grinds those particles against the wool like sandpaper. Vacuuming pulls the surface dust and leaves the grit sitting at the base, which is the one place a full submersion wash can reach. For most homes, that is worth doing every three to five years, and sooner if you have pets or heavy traffic.
Our Rug Cleaning Process
Every rug is inspected before we touch it. Our Waukesha professional rug cleaning team identifies the woven material, prior damage, stains and spots, rug shape, and any discoloration, then builds a plan for that specific piece. From there:
- We discuss the cleaning plan with you before any work starts.
- The rug is dusted to remove accumulated dry soil.
- It is prepared and submerged for the wash.
- All soap is rinsed out through washing and rewashing.
- The rug is hung to dry in a controlled environment.
- A six-point final inspection is performed before pickup or delivery.
The shampoo agent we choose depends on the rug’s fiber, age, thickness, country of origin, knot density, and what caused the staining. Natural pH stabilizers protect the dyes, and our cleaners neutralize harsh chemicals that may already be in the rug from a previous cleaning attempt.
What Sets Our Rug Washing Services In Waukesha Apart
- Full submersion rug washing services. The rug is washed all the way through rather than surface-cleaned where it sits.
- Controlled drying environment. Rugs are hung and dried under conditions we manage, which prevents mildew and dye migration.
- Three Certified Rug Specialists on staff, out of roughly 58 who hold the CRS credential nationwide.
- WoolSafe certified products. Approved for wool fibers and safe for natural dyes.
- Detailed fringe cleaning. Fringes are hand-cleaned rather than bleached.
- Rugs insured while in our care. Your piece is covered from drop-off through return.
Can pet stains and odor actually come out?
In most cases, yes. Our enzyme wash was formulated for pet accidents, and it breaks down the urine residue itself instead of covering the smell. Urine is genuinely destructive to a handmade rug because it causes color run and hardens the foundation and the pile, so timing matters. Bring the rug in as soon as you can, and please do not saturate it with a store-bought spot cleaner first. Those products often set the stain and can strip color, which makes restoration harder and more expensive.
Cleaning Persian, Antique, Silk & Delicate Handmade Rugs
Fragile, valuable, and antique rugs, along with delicate Persian, silk, and other fine handmade pieces, get our most careful hand-wash service, handled directly by our certified specialists. If a rug has weak selvages, dry rot, previous repairs, or unstable dyes, we test before we wash and adjust the process rather than forcing a standard method onto a piece that cannot take it. When a rug needs repair work in addition to professional rug cleaning, our Waukesha team will show you what we found and quote it separately so you can decide. If your rug needs more than cleaning, we also offer rug repair, restoration, appraisals, and rug pads.
Rug Cleaning FAQs
How long does professional rug cleaning take?
Turnaround depends on the size of the rug, the condition it arrives in, and how full the drying room is. Wash, rinse, controlled drying, and final inspection all take time, and handmade, antique, or heavily soiled rugs take longer than a standard wool rug in good shape. Call our Waukesha handmade rug cleaning experts with the dimensions, and we will give you a realistic window before you drop it off.
How much does rug cleaning cost?
Pricing is based on square footage, fiber type, and the condition of the rug, since a silk piece with pet damage takes considerably more labor than a wool rug that just needs a routine wash. We inspect the rug and quote you before any work begins. There are no surprises added at pickup.
Do you clean rugs you did not sell?
Yes. Our Waukesha rug washing services team washes handmade rugs regardless of where they were purchased, including pieces bought overseas, inherited, or found at estate sales. If you are not sure what you have, our team can identify the weave and origin while the rug is here.
Can you clean silk rugs?
Yes, though silk gets its own handling. It loses strength when wet, far more than wool does, so it calls for gentler agitation, different cleaning agents, and much closer control during drying. Most general carpet cleaning companies are not equipped for that.
Should I clean the rug myself between professional washes?
Vacuum regularly and blot spills right away with a clean white cloth, and beyond that, we would leave it alone. Home carpet shampooers over-wet the foundation, and most consumer spot removers are alkaline enough to strip dye out of wool. Blot what you can and give us a call.
Which areas do you serve?
Our Waukesha rug washing experts serve customers throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, Brookfield, Pewaukee, Delafield, Bayside, Fox Point, Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa, and Elm Grove.
Freshen Up Your Rug Today
Let Shabahang Rug Gallery in Waukesha provide professional rug cleaning for your handmade Persian, Oriental, wool, silk, tribal, contemporary, or antique rug. We also offer rug repair, restoration, appraisals, and rug pads to keep it protected for years to come.
Call us at (262) 717-1111 or visit us at 160 Kossow Rd, Waukesha, WI 53186, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday appointments are available on request.