There is no color richer than those found in a handcrafted carpet made with natural dyes. Unfortunately, these colors fade with time.
Sun is the enemy of rugs, it has been said. Learning how to protect your carpets and rugs is important as sun-fading aka sunlight damage is real, especially when it comes to low-quality carpets and rugs. Here is how you do it.
Do I Need to Protect My Rugs?
It is up to you to decide how much protection you want to offer your rugs.
Linen rugs are prone to fading. If you select a linen rug in a deep color, it is likely going to fade in time. Despite being a high-end fabric, discolorations from natural dyes’ exposure to ultraviolet light are unavoidable.
Wool rugs can also fade in color and dry out, eventually becoming brittle. This is often what happens when sunlight comes through a window and is shone directly onto the rug. This type of setup’s almost definitely going to result in eventual harm.
Use Coverings to Block Natural Light
The only way to fully prevent sun damage on rugs is to block the light. Some sort of window covering may be preferred. These are available in a variety of styles. Ensure fullness in your covering, to completely block out all rays.
The most effective curtains to block natural light tend to be roller shades or doubled-to-tripled blackout curtains.
Use Protective UV Filters
The sun isn’t the only light source that can cause fading on linen and wool rugs. Light from incandescent or fluorescent lights can do the same.
Bulbs produce ultraviolet waves. These will fade textiles and natural dyes over time, just like sunlight. One can choose to use a lower wattage or alternatively, install protective UV filters. Although this may seem like a little much, if you’re truly concerned about a high-expense rug, certainly it’s something to consider.
Limit Light Bulb UV Exposure
For antique rugs and the sort of centuries-old rugs set in museums, they will go so far as to limit lighting by only having the lights on for ten minutes at a time or less.
This admittedly isn’t reasonable for most homes. You don’t have the time to be running around turning lights on and off every ten minutes after the sun goes down. That said, this strategy has worked for many, many years in museums all over the world.
Rotate Your Rugs Every Three Months
Every season, lift up your furniture and rotate your carpets. Follow a 3-month schedule. This minimizes the impact of traffic and furniture wear, in addition to circulating what part of a decorative area rug gets exposed to sunlight.
This won’t protect against UV fading. If it does happen though, it will be distributed evenly and uniformly.
When buying rugs online from Artiplanto and other sources, keep the risk of sunlight exposure in mind. Many homes select rugs with already a slight fade or that are lighter in color to handle this risk. Visit Artiplanto today to select an area rug of your choosing.