Care and Installation
CARE & INSTALLATION
Since all Navigate Living Rugs are handmade to order, you may experience some issues you would not experience when you by a machine made carpet.
Here are a few of the things you may notice soon after your carpet is installed. Most of the following situations are perfectly normal and can be dealt with simply and directly. If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact trade@navigateliving.com or call us.
SHEDDING CARPET
Those balls of fluff you may find on the surface of your carpet or in your vacuum cleaner don't mean that your carpet is going to pieces. Most carpets retain some loose fibres after they leave the factory and our showroom. These fibres make their way to the surface and may take a while to work themselves out completely. How long this takes depends on the particular fibre construction of your carpet. Before long you'll find that the problem has vanished.
SPROUTING CARPET
Your carpet may "sprout" a loose tuft that seems to grow above the surface. If this happens, simply snip the offending end even with the surface. Please do not yank out long or loose ends! That can damage the carpet permanently.
SHADING CARPET
You may notice some colour variations in different areas of your carpet or one area may appear to change colour when viewed from different angles. Your carpet is not changing colour, it's just part of the natural beauty of plush carpet where light reflects unevenly as the pile moves in different directions. Foot traffic generally causes this, and the best solution is to vacuum the pile in a uniform direction.
RIPPLING CARPET
If your carpet is rippling, the culprit is usually humidity. This situation usually resolves itself, as the carpet settles into its new home. If this happens in a dry atmosphere, it may be necessary to have the carpet professionally restretched.
STATIC ELECTRICITY
This is just one of life's little electrifying moments. When the relative humidity in your home is low, a static charge can build up in your carpet as you walk across it. Then, when you touch something made of metal, you get a shock. There are commercially available products you can apply to your carpet to reduce or eliminate static electric build up. Patience is also a good remedy, because as time goes by your carpet will hold less static charge.
CRUSHING
Unless you plan to live without furniture, your carpet will display crushing in spots where heavy objects such as sofas and shelving units are located. To raise the pile back to its former proud height, you'll have to do some vigorous brushing. If the indentations are particularly stubborn, you can try passing a hot steam iron over them - but no closer than six inches above the carpet.
MISSING TUFTS
Missing tufts? Not if Navigate Living has anything to say about it! However, if a single tuft does become snagged or worked loose, just cut it off and let the surrounding yarn fill in the space. If you're not satisfied, call us and we'll handle this problem for you.
GIVE YOUR CARPET THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
Your new carpet can be a fine friend for a long time. It will bring you compliments on your good taste, compliment your home decor and keep your feet from freezing on bare frosty winter floors.
You have to do your part to keep this relationship beautiful or you might find it fading along with the colour, quality and life of your carpet. You came to Navigate Living because you wanted quality first, so we know you'll want to make it last. Here's how.
VACUUMING ADVICE
Regular vacuuming is the key to keeping your new carpet young, fresh and beautiful. Dirt and grit can accumulate in your carpet and become embedded in the pile where they will affect your carpet's colour and cause matting of the pile.
You'll want to vacuum heavy-traffic areas daily, if possible, and less heavily used areas can be maintained with once-a-week vacuuming.
Vacuuming should be done slowly - about three passes over the area for a light cleaning and seven passes where there's more soil. And remember, when you're vacuuming, follow our recommendations based on the production of your carpet.
GIVE YOUR CARPET A BREAK
Redistributing the load your carpet bears can do it a world of good and lengthen its life, thereby helping to protect your investment. A room-sized rug can simply be turned around. A room with wall to wall carpeting should have the furniture rearranged periodically to give certain areas a rest.
DON'T LET YOUR CARPET FADE FROM MEMORY
There are two reasons your carpet may fade. One is due to the effects of direct sunlight and can be lessened with the use of curtains, drapes or shades. Second are airborne particles, dirt, soot and rust can also settle into your carpet unnoticed and cause fading over time. Regular vacuuming will help prevent fading. If you notice fading, a thorough cleaning is called for. Please do not delay, as the problem will worsen over time.
HOW TO CLEAN YOUR CARPETS
Let's face it, regardless of how often you vacuum, eventually you're going to see the need for a thorough heavy duty cleaning of your carpet. Which commercially available do-it-yourself carpet cleaning products and methods should you choose? Should you employ the services of a professional carpet cleaning service? The answer varies so we've listed a few cleaning methods for every day spills and added a few do's and don'ts.
DO
- Call Navigate Living and speak with your salesperson before you try commercially available do-it-yourself methods, we will help identify the production and materials of your carpet. And help with cleaning advise.
- Before applying any chemical product to your carpet, it is always a good idea to test the solution on a small inconspicuous area, perhaps in a closet. If the solution does stain the carpet, it will remain unnoticed.
DON'T
- Do not use alkaline soaps.
- Do not use ammonia.
- Do not use cleaning fluids meant to be used on wood, tile or hard surfaces as these will damage your carpet.
TYPE OF TREATMENT
- Cold water
- Detergent solution or carpet shampoo solution. Detergent solution - mix one teaspoon of clear dishwashing liquid or detergent powder (containing no bleaches or strong alkalines) with a cup of warm (not hot) water. This solution must be rinsed well with clear water
- Ammonia solution - mix one tablespoon of clear household ammonia (3% solution) with 1/2 cup water
- Solvent - a dry cleaning solvent (available at most grocery stores, drug and hardware stores)
- Chill with aerosol freezing agent or ice cubes in a plastic bag. Pick or scrape off gum
- Vinegar solution - mix 1/3 cup of white vinegar with 2/3 cup of water
- Warm water
- Clear nail polish remover (preferably acetone)
- Alcohol or methylated spirits mineral turpentine
- Rust remover
- Absorbent power (e.g. salt, talc or proprietary absorbent powders)
- Absorbent cleaner
Spot |
Order of treatment in steps |
Other treatments |
Alcoholic beverages |
1 & 2 |
|
Bleach |
1 & 3 |
|
Blood |
1 & 2 |
|
Butter |
4 & 2 |
|
Candle wax |
Absorbent paper and hot iron |
|
Chewing gum |
5 & 4 |
|
Chocolate |
2 & 3 & 6 |
|
Coffee |
1 & 2 & 4 |
|
Colas & soft drinks |
1 & 2 |
|
Cooking oils |
4 & 2 |
|
Cream |
2 & 4 |
|
Egg |
2 |
|
Excrement |
1 & 2 & 3 |
|
Felt tip pen |
7 & 2 & 8 |
|
Floor wax |
4 & 2 |
|
Fruit juice |
1 & 2 |
|
Furniture polish |
4 & 2 & 3 |
|
Gravy & sauces |
7 & 2 |
|
Ink (fountain pen) |
1 & 2 |
|
Ink (ball point) |
4 & 9 & 2 |
|
Ketchup |
7 & 2 |
|
Lipstick |
4 & 2 |
|
Mercurochrome |
2 & 3 & 6 |
Repeat step 2 |
Milk |
7 & 4 & 2 |
|
Mustard |
2 |
|
Nail polish |
8 & 4 |
|
Oil & grease |
4 & 2 |
|
Paint (latex) |
1 & 2 & 4 |
|
Paint (oil) |
9 & 4 & 2 |
|
Rust |
4 & 2 & 10 |
|
Salad dressing |
2 & 4 |
|
Shoe polish |
4 & 2 |
|
Soot |
4 & 2 & 3 |
|
Tar |
4 |
|
Tea |
1 & 2 & 4 |
|
Urine (fresh) |
1 & 2 |
|
Urine (old) |
2 & 3 & 6 |
|
Vomit |
2 |
|
Wine |
11 & 1 & 2 |
|
Unknown material |
4 & 12 & 2 |
Source "Wool Carpets" by The Wool Bureau Inc. Atlanta, Georgia.