I have been given an oriental rug that’s 6x9, and is in very good shape. I have no idea what it’s made of, and there is no label on it. It does appear to be hand done around the edges, but I don’t know if that means anything. Unfortunately, it has a very slight smell, and we don’t want to bring it in the house until we can get rid of the smell. Any ideas? I have no idea how much it’s worth, or if it’s worth taking to a specialist to get cleaned. It was in a house that smelled funny, and the person who lived there was a smoker. But, the rug sat rolled up in the basement the entire time it was there.
I brought home some sheets from the same house, and after washing them twice with lots of bleach, and washing them on regular multiple times, I tossed them, because I simply couldn’t get rid of the smell. (I can’t tell if this is the same or a different smell). Thanks in advance
Is it a real oriental rug? If so, it should probably be made of wool, and thus washable. (Some are silk, but it is less likely.) It could be worth anything from a few hundred dollars if it is a low-end fake Persian made in India to many thousands if it is a well-made older Persian or tribal rug. Or is it Chinese?
I would take it to a good rug dealer in your area, if there are any, and ask their advice. They should be able to identify it for you, also. If you were in my area, I would advise taking it to this place, which also does repairs and washing:
http://www.rungerugs.com/home-new.htm
I have a Persian rug that acquired a really stinky spot thanks to my former cat. I finally got rid of it by repeatedly saturating the area with Nature’s Miracle, blotting it out with towels, and letting the rug air dry in the sun, hung over the back porch.
Mildew? If it was in a basement that could be the culprit. See how much it would cost to have it professionally cleaned.
Yeah, I’m betting on mustiness from being stored in the basement. If you like the rug, paying to have it professionally washed and dried is well worth it.
We just took an 8 X10 wool dhurri to be cleaned, and it is supposed to cost $75. I am fairly certain that it would be more expensive for a rug with pile. In addition, I live in Maine, and some things are cheaper here.
We have Persian rugs. Please don’t diy this until you know what you have. One of our rugs is silk, the others wool. Depending on where you live rug dealers will come to you and remove the rug to clean and fix it. See how many stitches you have per inch. If you like the rug now you will LOVE it after has been cleaned
Most oriental rugs are wool on a cotton warp with some being silk on cotton. The difference between the weave and warp is why you need to be careful; a rug washing company dries them slowly and flat - and stretches them if necessary - so the warp doesn’t bind up.
The rug came from a home with many valuables with it, but has been rolled up in the basement of another house for many years. In the house there were paintings worth 10K, and stuff that is junk by anyone’s definition. It is now sitting outside on our deck railing, and I have vacuumed (sp?) it several times. The smell does seem to be going away. We are going to move it to our garage for a couple of days, and see what happens. I will call a rug company within the next couple of days. Thanks everyone.
What about covering it with baking soda…which can absorb smells…brush in, and vacuum out.
That sounds like a good idea. I’ve used baking soda for mattress mishaps. Anyone else have any experience using baking soda?
Since u received this rug second hand from the basement of a smoker, I’d be more concerned w removing whatever yuckiness in the rug is causing the smell, then just removing the smell.
^^^ we bought a house from an 80+ yr old lady who was a chain smoker. The ceiling & walls were brown w decades of tar/soot accumulation from her smoking. When we scrubbed the walls before painting them, the decades of lung effluents made a nasty orange-brown, putrid smear.
Get the rug washed.
Thanks for the advice. I am going to check on cleaning prices tomorrow, but I will likely need to take it somewhere before they can give me an estimate, since I have no idea what I’m dealing with.
Actually, what I’m worried about is spending money to clean it,and having it still smell.
Generally the cleaners come to you to give you an estimate and to transport the rug to their cleaning facility. Another note…do not leave the rug outside and/or in direct sunlight. sunlight bleaches the color.
Just rent a steam cleaner and go over it a couple times. With some of them you can add detergent so that should help as well with the odor.
IMNSHO, don’t take HarvestMoon1’s advice. 
You will pay a premium to have them come to you. I’d take it to them, but I’m cheap. With the dhurri I mentioned above, although it is a nice one, I seriously questioned whether it was worth having it cleaned. I’ll probably end up giving to S for his apartment.
I really think that the likelihood is that the smell will come out, and the rug may look better also.
The rug is 6x9. Roll it up, toss it in the back of your car or van, and take it to be cleaned.
Thanks. We did have it sitting outside for a couple of hours, “face down,” but now it’s in the garage. I will take it someplace to at least get an estimate and see what it’s made of.
It would have to be in the sun for quite a long while to fade, not a couple of days.
I have found a place reasonably close by that seems reputable, and will charge about $150 to clean it. We will have a date to the cleaner sometime soon. The person will also be able to tell me wht the rug is made of, etc., so it’s good all around. Thanks to all for the advice.
Sounds like a good deal to me, since the rug was free. $150 nowadays buys a crappy synthetic rug from HD or IKEA, so if this is a natural fiber rug that looks nice to you, you are ahead even with the cleaning.