The Rug Library

Antique or chemical washes are applied to some new rugs to make them look older; these aggressive treatments can strip the wool's outer cuticle, mute colours and make fibres more brittle.

A luster wash softens a rug's pile to give it a sheen, but it works by dissolving some of the wool's outer cuticle layers.

'Tea wash' or 'herbal wash' treatments mellow the colours of a new rug through a light over-dyeing process rather than through age.

Chemical 'antique washing' of oriental rugs is reported to have begun around 1900, as rising Western demand outstripped the supply of genuinely old rugs.

Rugs that have been heavily luster- or antique-washed tend to be more sensitive to sun fading and to colour change from some spot-cleaning solutions.

In the Indian carpet trade, a newly woven carpet is washed to remove dust and dirt, and a final wash is also relied on to bring out the pile's lustre.

Washing a newly woven rug removes excess dye and dirt and softens the pile; workshops typically wash it by hand with water and scrubbing tools before it is dried.