Dirty Rugs are a Moth's beach front Property

Today is my last before I go on vacation to the tropical destination of Nova Scotia Canada.

It has been a very steady day of rugs getting dropped off for cleaning and going home all nice clean and healthy.

We had more rugs come in that started to be lunch for moth larva.

It can be quite a sight when we get in rugs that have moth activity. We look at them out in the parking lot, that way there is no chance of getting moth eggs and larvae in the shop.

After we measure the rugs and do a full inspection we roll them up and put them in plastic tubing. Further guaranteeing that no other rugs are in contact with the infected rugs.

Moth's had a very good winter since it didn't get very cold here in Victoria. A moth's favorite place to nest is in the rug that is stored in an attic or basement.

You know the one that you rolled up and put away six months ago, yeah that one.

If you didn't get it professionally cleaned before storing your dirty rug is prime real estate for infestations. Rodents and bugs love to make your dirty wool rug home.

Please save yourself the headache and money by getting your area rugs cleaned and properly wrapped for storage.

Luv-A-Rug can pick up your rug, clean and wrap it and deliver back to you hassle free. Call today 250-590-6210 / 1-800-886-2802. Your rug will thank you.

Thanks for reading, Ruglovermary

Moth Prevention

'Out of sight, out of mind' isn't good when it comes to your area rugs.
An area rug is an investment, and like any other investment, it needs to be take care of.
A few days ago Thea, from seattlerugcleaner.blogspot.com, also wrote a blog concerning moth damage and a few easy steps on how you can protect your investment from it's enemy.
I can hear you saying that your area rug isn't worth much so if it gets ruined oh well it can be replaced. Yes you are correct it can be replaced, but have you thought of the bigger picture?
The big picture being the cost of replacing the rug, the environmental impact, the hassle of finding the right size and colours?
A moth infestation can be easily deterred by a few housecleaning tips:

• Have your area rug professionally cleaned. Once a year in recommended.
• Vacuum the entire rug, especially areas under furniture. One a month is best.
• Rotate the area rug, this always helps the area rug wear evenly. Twice a year if possible.
• Get your air ducts cleaned once a year. Moths love undisturbed areas.
• Before storing your area rug get it professionally cleaned and properly wrapped for storage

• Check the back of the rug for moth larva activity. They can crawl underneath the edges and eat the wool from the back without showing any damage from the front
  Clean all woolen articles before storing them

The larva, which is what eats your area rug, are small worm like and hard to see.
This one appeared after I moved the wool he was eating. After I took the picture he disappeared back into the rug, I guess he was a little camera shy.
Moth larva casings look like flattened pieces of rice usually in the colour of the rug.
If you do find that your area rug has become a moth buffet bring it in to Luv-A-Rug.
We can do our safe, non-toxic moth treatment to eliminate the moth eggs and larva.
To learn more about moths and how to prevent moth damage to your area rugs visit www.squidoo.com/mothprevention and www.luvarug.com

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary

A bit of Excitment!! Moth larva

Yesterday I was waiting for my bus and I saw two purple flowers growing in the grass. They stirred something in me so I took a couple of photos. As I looked at them I thought 'beauty in chaos' since there were no other flowers near by just some weeds and garbage. With it being an anniversary of 911 it seem appropriate to see beauty surrounded by chaos.
Today I got very excited on the inside and a little excited on the outside when I was doing my visual inspection of a British India area rug today. If you ask anyone who knows me they will tell you that I am weird and a little off the beaten path. I get excited and happy about the weirdest things. One of those things is live moth larva.
 It is spooky how I seem to zoom in on moth casings. Not only was there lots of moth casings there was a live larvae!! It seemed to be newly hatched because it was still clear and very small.
I couldn't find it again to snap a picture of it. It hid back into the rug when I pulled out some fibers. The rug was sadly sent for disposal. A little tiny worm like rug eater got my passion stirring. The pictures show some of the moth eaten damage and their excrement.
If you have an area rug that is under a piece of furniture that you cannot vacuum under, you might want to move the furniture and look for rice shaped objects. They will either be an off white or the colour of you area rug and there maybe lots of concentrated sand looking dirt. Luv-A-Rug can help you if you find moth evidence on your are rug.
I told the client to go home and inspect their other rugs and woolens for moth activity. If you would like to know more about moths visit our website www.luvarug.com.
Thank you for reading, RugloverMary

The Rug Cleaning See-Saw

Another week has disappeared from sight. I thought I had written a blog earlier this week, but no I have not. I have been either too busy or I just didn't know what to write about. With a topic as broad as area rugs it can be hard to pick something to write about.
Today my co-worker and I discussed a topic and came up with MOTHS! When was the last time you vacuumed under your furniture?
Moths love warm, dry, undisturbed areas and under the sofa or dresser is prime real estate for wool's #1 enemy. I spent 4 months researching moths and from that I have written a web page you can read at www.luvarug.com The best defenses against moths are getting your woolens cleaned before storing them, vacuuming every nook and cranny to eliminate a food source and proper storage of woolens. Those are just a few you will read about on our website.
This week has been Belgium area rug week. Yesterday alone I took in 6 for cleaning and some for fringe removal. At the beginning on April we had a run on for getting a machine fringe added. I think it was 8 rugs for re-fringing in a 7 day period, pretty good considering in the year I have been here I think we've had 7 orders for re-fringing. The cost of re-fringing is a shock to some people and they opt for a binding or surging the ends instead. I wish we had access to more colours. We have 3 colours, white, golden and light grey in 5 different fringe options. Other colours maybe available, but the cost of having them in stock for that one in million chance someone may want red or blue fringes isn't worth it. Machine wool fringes have gone out of style due to the fact that they don't last as long as cotton fringes do, although if you have read past blogs you know how I feel about fringes and there is no need to keep repeating myself.
Have a great weekend, here in Victoria we actually get to see the sun and have warmer temps for once.
Thanks for reading, RugloverMary