The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Carpets And Rugs
In a figured carpet the lay of the pile should point toward the strongest light, as in this way the pattern and colors are brought out in sharp distinction.
Single-tone carpets with the lay pointing toward the light will show spots where the lay is not exactly in the same direction and at the same angle as the rest of the pile. Spottiness or shading can be avoided by keeping the lay all in one direction, and it is made very much less noticeable by having it point away from the strongest light. All carpets look lighter in color and show less contrast between colors when the lay points away from the light.
Care And Cleaning Of Carpets And Bugs
The life of a rug is determined almost entirely by the care it receives. Of course, certain weaves will withstand hard usage very much better than others, and yet high price does not necessarily mean long life. In fact, some of the finest rugs are the ones that require the most careful handling.
Oriental rugs made hundreds of years ago are still in existence because they have received extraordinary care, and not on account of superior wearing qualities. An Oriental removes his shoos before walking on a line rug. He knows just how the rug is made and takes care of it intelligently. He doesn't hang it over a line and beat it, or brush the pile the wrong way. If we were to subject rugs of this kind to the conditions encountered in many houses where there is a great deal of walking with heavy shoes that are many times none too clean, they would be found less satisfactory from a wearing standpoint than some of the machine-made carpets.
Grit
Grit is the greatest enemy of a carpet, because under the action of shoe heels or soles and moving furniture it cuts the pile at its base, leaving the warp and weft bare. If it were not for grit, the pile or nap of floor covering would wear almost indefinitely. We cannot, however, prevent grit from getting into carpets. If it is not tracked in on shoes, it comes in through the windows. The important thing is to remove it before it has time to do any damage. Therefore rugs that must withstand heavy traffic should be cleaned as frequently as possible.
Lay of Pile
The pile of Oriental carpets always inclines in one general direction, called the "lay of the pile". of the machine-made carpets certain types of Axminster have a distinct lay (see Figure 92). All other machine-made carpets are woven straight up, but where the pile is long or not very dense, it is sure to crush down as shown in Figure 82. Where pile is long and must develop a lay in use, it is important to encourage a lay in one general direction.
