A Rug Repair How-To After Pet Damage

When it comes to rug damage, people and pets are often equally at fault. The key difference is that the rug damage caused by people is usually preventable, whereas the damage caused by pets is usually unavoidable.

For instance, a person may ruin their rug by spilling something on it. This is particularly problematic if the liquid is known for causing stains, like red wine or grape juice. Or a person might drop something flammable, such as a lit cigarette or candle, that leaves a burn mark on the rug. Even if a person isn’t clumsy, just the wear and tear of walking on a rug over the course of months and years can result in rips, tears and other types of damage.

But at least you as a rug owner are aware of the potential damage you’re causing to your rug and can take steps to prevent it. Your pet, on the other hand, lacks that same awareness. It may damage your rug for any number of instinctual reasons, from marking its territory to releasing energy or frustration with its owner(s). Therefore, if your pet has stained, scratched, chewed, licked or shed on your rug, there’s no sense in losing your cool–after all, dogs, cats and other domesticated animals literally knows not what they do.

But don’t fret! The rug repair professionals at Bagdad Oriental Rugs have seen it all when it comes to the damage caused by customers and their four-legged friends. What’s more, we can help you reverse this damage with some timely intervention. For the purposes of this blog post, we’re going to focus on the common rug repair issues caused by pets.

• Pet Stains
  Cleaning up after your pet once it’s used your rug as a bathroom is never fun. In addition to dealing with its odor, a pet stain can make colors fade and run, as well as cause long-term damage to the fabric if it isn’t addressed in time. With that in mind, it’s critical that you remove as much of the pet urine or feces as possible in order to minimize the impact of the stain. From there, the stain should be spot cleaned in the short term and professionally cleaned to prevent long-term damage.

• Pet Scratches
  Many household pets are attracted to fabrics like wool because they’re warm and plush, and because they offer a distraction from boredom. That’s why you’ll find cats in particular using one spot or area of the rug as their designated scratching post until it’s practically worn out. With high pile rugs, a simple repair trick is to simply snip off the pulled ends. However, that method isn’t possible with fine silk rugs, in which case professional repair may be required.

• Pet Chewing and Licking
  Many puppies and kittens are attracted to rugs due to their innate curiosity with unusual textures, which is why rugs are especially prone to damage due to chewing and licking that wears away at it over time. If you have a young pet in the house, your best bet is to wean them from this behavior as soon as you see them exhibiting it. Failing that, there are many methods of repairing rugs that have been damaged in this fashion, including refringing, reweaving and re-dyeing. A consultation with a rug repair expert will help you determine which form of repair is appropriate to the chewing or licking damage exhibited by your rug.

• Pet Shedding
  It’s a fact of nature that pets shed, and certain breeds will definitely shed more than others. Therefore, be sure to vacuum on a semi-regular basis, particularly if you have young children in the house. Along with vacuuming, you should schedule rug cleanings about once or twice a year in order to remove the deep-set dirt and dander that can’t easily be sucked up or swept away.