What are those White Dots that have Recently Appeared On My Oriental Rug?
You fall in love with a beautiful hand knotted Oriental rug on a trip or shopping excursion and bring it home and fall in love with it even more. After several weeks, months, or years, you start noticing little white dots that you could swear were not there before. Or perhaps you send a beloved wool rug to be professionally cleaned and when it is returned, you notice its pile is beautiful and lustrous once again but there are small white dots that you think were not there before. In both instances, you question if somehow you didn't notice these white dots before but that they must have been there. Sometimes you even panic slightly worried that the white dots are some kind of bug or insect that has infested your rug. You reassure yourself when you stare at the dots and confirm to yourself that they are not moving. You think. (Don't worry - they're not moving.). So what are these white dots that mysteriously appear after some time living with a hand knotted Persian or Oriental rug? Are they anything to worry about? The white dots are merely places where the warp strings have been tied when the rug was made. Sometimes the yarns used to create the warp are not long enough and so therefore the weaver ties yarns or strings together to extend the warp. Or sometimes a piece of yarn or string breaks during the construction of the warp and weft, and the weaver is forced to tie another piece to extend the newly shortened yarn. These white dots are nothing more than the place where that knotting and tying has occurred.
So if the white dots were created when the rug was originally made, why do the white dots seem to appear out of nowhere? The answer is a bit complicated. Sometimes what happens if that after a period of wear, the knotted pile begins to separate a bit to show the hidden warp and weft (with its white dots). Alternatively, sometimes weavers "color" in the white dots so that they can blend into the hand knotted pile. After a professional cleaning, the inks used to color in the white dots can fade away, and therefore the white dots can appear to come out of nowhere. If this happens with your rug, do not worry. The white dots are nothing to be afraid of - they indeed are not moving - and they do not indicate that there is anything wrong with the structure of your rug. If the white dots on your Oriental rug really bother you, contact a restorer who may be able to assist you in disguising them once again. --www.traditionalrugrepair.com
353 W 48th street, fl 4 New York, NY 10036