Cleaning oriental rugs?

If it is wool and valuable, I would have it professionally cleaned.

Ditto that, especially if it is a Persian rug.

Or a Persian cat…

*History of Oriental, Persian and other woven or tied textiles goes back well before the advent of the vacuum or dry cleaners. Think of all the camels that may have walked on your rug (if it is an antique). I have had mine for decades and vac them lightly or sweep with a broom.

*Tidbit: “Although historians have not been able to pinpoint exactly when knotted rugs were first made, it seems probable that they have been around since human civilization began. Man first began using animal furs as clothing and flooring, but as animals became domesticated and farming increased, the use of sheared wool and silk became mediums for weaving.”

In an earlier life I worked for a horrible little Iranian man that had a business cleaning “heirloom quality” rugs. What we would do is…

1) turn the rug upside down on a hard surface and vacum the back. This would do two things; one remove stuff from the back and two make dirt fall through the fibers onto the floor below. We would then fold the rug back and vacum/sweep the hard surface. We would repeat this process 20–30 times until no more dirt or dust appeared on the floor. (no kidding, no exaggeration, I really hated this job)

2) We would use the same kind of carpet cleaner you can rent in Home Depot and run it (on the top) with plain water. We would do this until the waste water was almost clean. It probably took 6–12 times to make it right (seriously, I really needed the money)

3) Lastly, we would run the machine over it one more time but this time with a little smell good stuff in the water. It was just something we did so that customers would notice. You know something to illicit a, “Hey, that smell so fresh. Thanks”

And as for maintaining your rug it really should be fine without a whole lot of upkeep. If you have it in a room that gets alot of sunlight turn it around every once in a while but other than that it is fine just sitting there.

Hope that helps!

Is this what you mean by an oriental rug?
Probably just comb it out and keep it on some kind of mannequin head, not the floor!