You may have heard that bamboo silk rugs are hard to clean.  Bamboo silk is a lustrous fiber that is spun from the processed cellulose of the bamboo plant.  Bamboo is a fast growing grass, so it is rapidly renewable, and the yarn made from bamboo is soft and silky, yet it is significantly less expensive than real silk spun by silkworms.

Recently, a customer who had purchased a bamboo silk and wool rug from us called for a cleaning, because red wine had been spilled on the rug.  Upon bringing the rug back to the store, we observed that not only was wine splashed on the rug, but the rug was just generally soiled from the lounging of their beloved pet dog.  This rug really needed a good bath.

Of course, we were concerned.  Would this rug clean as well as an all wool rug?  We have only very recently started to sell bamboo silk rugs, and, while we were very well aware of the trend towards using this fiber for its softness, sheen, and renewability, we had heard the rumors that it could be hard to clean.  Never ones to shy away from a challenge, we got right to it.

Well, we are very pleased to write that the rug cleaned beautifully.  We would go so far as to write that the rug looked practically brand new after dusting and washing.

Seeing is believing.  Below are before and after pictures of the rug.  The darkest areas in the before pictures are where the wine spilled on the rug.  In the after pictures, all of the soil and the wine stains have been removed by our cleaning process.

Before:

After:

Based on our firsthand experience, we think it's safe to write that fear of cleanability should not deter a customer from enjoying the beauty and softness of a bamboo silk rug.  And when you purchase a hand-knotted rug like this one from Job Youshaei Rug Company, it's highly affordable, too.