Rugs, not carpets
Greenville Rug Cleaning & Restoration handles hand-knotted and flatwoven rugs for households across the Greenville area. Cleaning, repair, restoration, and free pick-up and delivery.
Why a rug is different
Wall-to-wall carpet is cleaned where it lies, and it has to be. A rug can be taken away, submerged, flushed through the back and dried under control — which is the only way to get soil out of a foundation rather than push it further in. Anyone who cleans your rug in your living room is cleaning the top of it.
Hand-knotted rugs also behave unlike anything else in a home. Natural dyes can bleed. Wool holds lanolin that alkaline detergents strip. Silk scorches. Cotton foundations rot if a rug is left damp. The right treatment depends entirely on how the rug was made, which is why we look at every one before quoting.
What happens to your rug
We collect it, inspect and photograph its condition, and test dye stability before any water touches it. Dry soil comes out first — often several pounds of it. Then a full-immersion wash with fibre-appropriate agents, controlled drying, grooming, and a final inspection. Repairs, if you've asked for them, happen after the wash. You get it back cleaned, dry and flat.
The process page covers each stage in detail.
Pricing
Estimates are free and based on size, construction and condition. The final price is set only after we've seen the rug in person — a quote given sight unseen on a hand-knotted rug is a guess, and usually a self-serving one. There's no charge for the assessment and no obligation to proceed.
Where we work
Across the Greenville area — Alta Vista, Augusta Road, Chanticleer, Cleveland Forest, North Main, Downtown & West End and the surrounding counties. Full list of areas.
Common questions
Usually five to seven business days for cleaning. A rug can't be rushed — controlled drying is the slowest stage and the one most worth not hurrying, because a rug put away damp grows mildew in the foundation where you won't see it until it smells. Repairs add time depending on the work.
No. We'll arrange a window that suits you, and if you'd rather leave the rug somewhere accessible that's fine too. You'll get the assessment and the price before any work starts.
It depends on size, construction and condition, and we won't quote a firm number before seeing the rug — a price given sight unseen on a hand-knotted piece is a guess. The assessment is free and there's no obligation to go ahead.
Usually, but it depends how long it sat and how deep it went. Urine salts crystallise in the foundation, which is why the smell returns after surface cleaning — they have to be flushed out, not masked. Severe or repeated saturation can permanently affect dyes, and we'll tell you that up front rather than after.
That's exactly what we test for before any water touches the rug. Some older pieces and some synthetic reds are unstable, and those get a different method — lower temperature, shorter immersion, sometimes no immersion at all.
Often yes, and often it needs it most. Age isn't the problem — a weak foundation is. We assess the structure first, and if a rug needs stabilising before washing we'll say so rather than risk it coming apart in the wash.
No, and nobody should. A rug cleaned where it lies is a rug cleaned on one side only. Soil sits at the base of the pile and comes out through the back, which means the rug has to be lifted, flushed and dried under control.