Vacuuming Silk Carpet

[Bob]

We bought a room size silk carpet in Shanghai from what I think is a reputable dealer, but when we vacuum, tiny white threads appear. Some of them seem to be cut off ends from the weaving and they vacuum away. But others seem to stay and I don't want to pull them very hard to remove them. I tried using the wood floor attachment, rather than the power carpet one, but still the same thing. Is this typical of new silk carpets? Is vacuuming going to ruin it?

[Piper]

Not sure about silk but we have a wool one that did much the same thing when it was new. I'd just snip them off at the pile. After a while, when it has been vacuumed enough, they stopped coming up.

-- Happy New Year! Piper

[Donna]

Piper----

I have had a Chinese-made silk carpet made in the Aubusson style for about

11 years. We bought it new locally in Dallas from Feizy, which was the major seller in Dallas at that time. I can't remember the purchase price, except it was well over $1000. It might have been close to $2000--I just don't remember. It has held up beautifully (but with little traffic), and I have never had the problem you describe. It is lightly vacuumed twice a month.

You might call a reputable dealer in your area and ask him/her about this shedding. Or perhaps call a local carpet cleaner who services (or even better, specializes in) cleaning silk rugs.

Also you might try googling "Chinese silk carpet care" or something similar.

I hope you find that your particular carpet is not flawed and that you enjoy it for many years. With care (light traffic, periodic light vacuuming, and little window sunshine) it should become an heirloom.

Regards,

Donna