The Difference Between Hand-Knotted and Tufted Oriental Area Rugs

Daily we receive dozens of telephone calls from clients, insurance, and restoration companies as well as contractors and vendors asking about cleaning or repair services for their “hand-made” rug.  Oftentimes people identify “hand-knotted” area rugs when speaking of “tufted rugs” and vice versa.

A Hand-tufted rug is not fully hand made. Instead, a person wields a mechanized tool that is used to shoot pieces of wool through a canvas backing where the wool strands are then glued. This canvas backing most often has an outline drawn upon it that the wielder fills in. While hand-tufted rugs have a handmade look, they do not retain the pedigree of a hand-knotted one.

For example, area rugs that are hand knotted may take 6-12 months or longer to make while a hand-tufted area rug may take only a day. The shorter amount of time keeps the price low at the expense of quality. Because of this difference, it is important to pay careful attention to the differences between a hand-tufted rug and a hand-knotted one.

Many Hand-tufted designer rugs use quality wool so the finished product looks and wears much like a hand-knotted rug. Unlike hand-knotted rugs, a hand-tufted one is created without tying knots. Making a hand-tufted area rug takes a fraction of the time to complete, therefore greatly reducing the cost.

Hand-tufted rugs will begin to show wear after 3 to 5 years of use especially if they are exposed to high traffic, pet urine, spills or heavy furniture placed on them.  A quality hand-knotted area rug can last for generations with proper care.

In a hand-knotted area rug, the wool fibers are weaved into a series of warps and wefts by hand whereas a tufted-rug is made by poking wool strands through a stencil or “cartoon” where they are glued into position and then a canvas backing is applied.

Advantages/Disadvantages of Hand-Tufted Rugs

Advantages

Hand-tufted area rugs are much more affordable than hand-knotted rugs.

Hand-tufted rugs can provide a nice “plush” feel due to their thickness.   Some tufted rugs also have designs “carved” into them adding an interesting textured look.

From the front, they can have the same appearance as hand-knotted rugs.

Due to their relative “inexpensiveness”, they can be discarded or given away as the decorum of room changes.

Disadvantages

Hand-tufted rugs are not considered one-of-a-kind “collector type” pieces.

Some hand-tufted rugs use low-grade latex to secure their backing and will show signs of “back slippage” if the rug experiences contact with spills, pet urine or even a gentle hand-washing.

Hand-tufted area rugs can “smell” or off-gas if a cheap latex backing was used in their construction or if a pet has an accident on them.

Oriental Rug Salon is SW Florida’s leading expert in Oriental, wool and silk area rug cleaning.

Oriental Rug Salon is a Certified Partner with the prestigious Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and the International Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI).  In addition, we are A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau and a four-year-in-a-row-winner of the coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award.

If you’re ever in need of a thoroughly exhaustive area rug cleaning, please do not hesitate to give us a call anytime.  All area rugs are washed with love, by hand, one at a time.  We do not mix clients area rugs in with others.

Every area rug has a story to tell and hand-washing allows us the opportunity to listen and to determine the best cleaning techniques to use.

For more information about our thoroughly exhaustive Oriental area rug cleaning process please visit us online at www.OrientalRugSalon.com or call us anytime at 239-424-8171 – Lee and Collier County or 941-893-1655 – Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda FL.

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