Cleaning your Carpets after a Rangon Vaali Holi

The season of spring is here and with it, Holi, the festival of colors, awaits to bring the essence of the season to life. The air is beaming with the scent of colors and the preparations to welcome the festival with much pomp are underway. The warmth of coming together with your loved ones as you relish some delectable sweets and dishes, the dishing out of a subtle, plain white outfit to act as the perfect canvas for the main festival, the hubbub of children assembling their water-guns and other arsenal to enjoy the day to its fullest are some scenes that are associated with the festival of Holi. There is festivity everywhere, and the spirits are high. We are mirroring the merriment at Obeetee. Read till the very end to discover what’s new in store.

However, to ensure that the day is filled with the joyous stir and cheerfulness, one should be equipped to deal with the aftermath of playing a carefree and lively Holi. Cleaning up the house and the interiors of your space after celebrating the festival of colours can be quite strenuous. If you find yourself in a similar situation and are unsure about the measures to take for the cleaning of the splashes of colours on your beautiful floor furnishings, we have come up with some ideas for you when dealing with this quest after a day of fun and frolic festivity.

For starters, make sure to use light, organic colors over high-pigmented, synthetic colors, as they are both good for the environment and your rugs.

1) Washing: Washing a carpet using warm water and detergent is the preferred method to clean strong, wet colors from a rug. The first step in doing so is to choose a wide space like a courtyard and then apply a solution of shampoo, warm water and detergent to rinse the carpet thoroughly. Additionally, you can use a soft, long-haired brush to clean the surface of the carpet in the direction of the piles of the carpet, uniformly.

If you have a very fine quality silk carpet then it is also good to consider getting your carpet professionally cleaned rather than at home.

2) Vacuuming: The easiest and the most convenient way to clean up dry holi colors from a carpet is by vacuuming, without damaging the carpet fibres and preventing the yarn from shedding. Vacuuming a carpet that is placed in heavy-traffic areas is important and should be done once every couple of months.

3) Acetone for wet color stains: As a last resort, to get rid of wet color stains on your rug, the option of cleaning it with a cotton pad dipped in some acetone in minimal quantities is something you can go ahead with and then later brush them with a nylon brush. Acetone is a chemical, which is highly concentrated and if you plan to go ahead with using some for your rug, make sure you only use enough to not damage the yarn or the fibre of the carpet permanently. You can also use vinegar or lemon juice for some time and then wash it with clean water to remove the stubborn, wet color stains from your carpet. Lastly, let the rug dry out in the spring sunlight to see the results.

The basic advice would be to put away your carpets and rugs before Holi, as washing rigid stains can permanently damage the fibre of your carpet and change the entire form of the accent.

Now for the big reveal. We at Obeetee, are all set to unveil our new collection, the ‘Colors Of Craft’, a collection with completely hand-woven, contemporary striped designs of dhurries customizable in 12 color variations within 12 days of purchase of the rug. Completely sustainable, made with BCI cotton, RWS certified wool, vegetable dyes, and an absence of latex backing, this collection takes us one step closer in our endeavour at saving the planet, with one sustainable practice at a time.