This old rug has been stored in a musty damp place. It's beautiful, and I want to try to clean it and keep it. When I started to vacuum it, I found the backing in places was turning to sand and the threads connected to it were separating. The suction was too much. So, before I can clean it, I need to treat the back somehow in order to keep the rug intact. Does anyone know how I can do that? Taking it to someone who can restore it is out of the question.
Then it's not a real oriental rug. A true oriental carpet will be something that could be turned over and the weave would be visible on the back side; it is not held together by a rubber backing. If your carpet had rubberized backing on it, this means it was a commercial carpet with an oriental design. Those backings are not meant to last forever, and they simply deteriorate with exposure to air and the elements. There is nothing you can do to restore it, to my knowledge. The rubberized backing has broken down, and that's irreversible - part and parcel of the product that you purchased. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Just this summer I had to toss two such carpets at church. One of them had backing that was dry and powdery; the other, much cheaper, had to be peeled off the hallway, and we had to spray with orange oil and go at the backing with a putty knife to remove the backing from the floor...a messy and nasty job. Be glad you never put that on the floor. You'd be cussing if you had to remove it.
