Why Only Cotton Or Viscose Cannot Be Used In A Rug?

The most exquisite accents in the history of carpet weaving, the magnificent Persian carpets of the likes of the Pazyryk and the Ardebil are made of pure silk and wool fibre. The reason for this is pretty simple and self explanatory. Not only are wool and silk fibres natural fibres, but also are extremely smooth, shiny and lustrous giving carpets their exquisite and aesthetic look and feel. However, silk and wool rugs are epitomes of luxury and can be exorbitant, making it harder for all and sundry to afford them and incorporate them in their space and settings.

It is for this reason that a lot of modern day rugs incorporate fibres like viscose or as it is more popularly known as “Art” silk in the carpet industry.

Rugs made with blends of cotton and its by-products, chemicals and viscose are highly toxic for the environment, taking them years to break down. In addition to that, the rugs made with these fibres and raw materials produce extremely weak fibres, which are neither recommended nor are durable for making carpets. However, over the years viscose rugs have continued to gain popularity due to the fact that they are extremely easy to clean and maintaining them is not too painstaking. Their entire unique selling point is emphasized by the reasoning that they are extremely friendly for people with pets and children.

Owing to their economical nature, it also proves fairly easier to take care of spills, wears and tears. Besides being highly unsustainable, weak and brittle, they are also extremely flammable, susceptible to stains and mildew pretty quickly. Furthermore, cleaning a viscose rug could result in yellowing, shedding of the fibres, bleeding of the dye and stiffening of the rug fibres or a combination of these outcomes. Viscose rugs hence are two times harder to clean than a silk or a wool rug and the entire process of washing or cleaning them ends up worsening their condition as compared to the fine quality rugs.

It becomes extremely pertinent to know the material of the rug you are going for before investing in one as that determines the maintenance and durability of your rug. Cotton rugs are made with recyclable cotton, BCI cotton and organic cotton giving cotton its dynamic nature as a fibre extensively used in the carpet manufacturing industry. Cotton rugs are extremely popular as they are affordable, and extremely plush. However, cotton rugs are highly susceptible to fading very quickly. Another con one should always keep in mind whilst investing in a rug is the fact that cotton rugs are prone to shedding, owing to their soft, smooth fibres. With that knowledge in mind, it should be noted that cotton rugs are unsuitable for heavy-traffic areas.

To present an example to help you understand why silk rugs are the finest quality rugs, is to determine the knots per square inch. Cotton rugs cannot possibly bear as many as 500 knots per square inch, which is precisely what a high quality rug is made up of. High knot density ensures the creation of extremely intricate designs which are indicative of the fact that they have been produced using pure silk.

Therefore, since the advent of carpet weaving, silk and wool fibres have been incorporated in the manufacturing of carpets. These magnificent pieces and artefacts have since adorned the residences of the Royalty and continue to adorn the walls of the most significant museums in the world till today. Although both cotton and viscose are extremely affordable and relatively immensely easy to maintain in heavy-traffic areas, they are no match for silk and wool rugs, which are extremely exquisite and superior in quality.

At Obeetee, our famed collections like the Persian Saga and Revisiting Classics, feature some of the most marvelous pieces which are made up of a silk and wool blend. Cotton and especially recyclable cotton is extensively used in our carpets, mostly in the form of 100% Panipat Cotton. Staying true to our endeavour at sustainability, we use dyes derived from natural sources and ensure high lustre washing, a process that takes care of the material of the rug from fading quickly and keeps the rugs smooth and lustrous for a long time. We also ensure that the wool used in the manufacturing process is 100% natural hand spun wool. We deem it the customer’s right to know about the kind of material used when delivering high quality carpets and thus, we are transparent with the material we use during the manufacturing process. To know more, you can head over to https://www.obeetee.in/pages/sustainability .