We see all types of rugs at River Valley Rug Cleaning in York, PA and one thing that separates us from other cleaners is that we know the impact these characteristics have on the care of your rug. One of the common rug constructions we see on a daily basis are tufted rugs. Often times these rugs are made with a wool pile and labeled as “hand made”. These rugs usually have the same concerns from the owner; namely latex odor, white powder, and shedding. While I personally would not purchase a tufted rug, I can understand why so many do. (more below)
First of all, almost every store in the Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Lancaster, York, and Honover area sell tufted area rugs. This is because they have an attractive price that is comparable to other area rugs that may be made out of synthetic fibers such as nylon or polypropylene. However, they are still not cheap and often consumers are expecting more when they spend a few hundred dollars on a small area rug.
Tufted wool area rugs are often considered an economical solution to a hand woven rug. Now notice I said hand woven. Tufted rugs are in fact made by hand, however, it is more of a paint by numbers approach by following a pattern punching a yarn through the backing with a hand held tufting gun. Don’t get me wrong there is still skill involved as tufted rug makers move amazingly fast, but it is certainly different than traditional hand knotted and hand woven rugs.
As a rug cleaning expert, I would rather spend a little more on a quality hand made rug and I would encourage others to do the same. However, if you find yourself considering purchasing a tufted rug or own a tufted rug, understand that this rug will typically have a life span of about 10 years or less. The latex simply wears out and the cost to restore your rug may be equal or more than the replacement cost. However, most big box store area rugs will wear out in the same time frame, so they are not necessarily a bad purchase, just one that should have reasonable expectations.