CARE & POLICIES
Creative Accents manufactures fine handmade area rugs in the United States using both high quality wool and nylon yarn. The following suggestions for keeping your area rug looking beautiful apply to both fibers, unless otherwise indicated. In addition to the specific suggestions below, we cannot over-emphasize the wisdom of a regular cleaning program. If you wait until the soiling is noticeable the dirt may have worked its way from the surface down to the base of the rug where it will be harder to remove. For light to medium traffic areas, vacuum regularly with more frequent (daily) vacuuming of high traffic areas to help reduce soiling and keep your area rugs looking like new.
VACUUMING TIPS
CUT PILE & LOOP PILE AREA RUGS
Adjust the height of the rotor so that it lightly touches the pile of the area rug without slowing the vacuum motor down. For the most effective cleaning, check the belt, bag and other components of your vacuum cleaner for excessive wear.
SHORT SHAGS – 1 3/4 INCH PILE
Use a standard vacuum cleaner set at the highest setting with the rotor off.
MEDIUM SHAGS – 2 TO 4 INCH PILE
Use a standard vacuum cleaner set at the highest setting with the rotor off. If space permits, remove everything from the area rug and turn it upside down. Giving each corner a good shake does wonders to freshen up the look of our longer pile rugs.
LONG SHAGS – 4 TO 6 INCH PILE
You must use a vacuum attachment to clean these area rugs. A shop vacuum works well as does the shaking method described above.
SPOT REMOVAL AND CLEANING
BASICS
For the best results, respond quickly to any spill with proper cleaning. If possible, use a professional cleaner familiar with cleaning fine area rugs. If cleaning yourself, be prepared for multiple treatments applied to the affected area.
Whether cleaning yourself or using a professional cleaning service, use cleaners with a neutral pH or lower (i.e. pH of 7 or less) for best results. Higher pH cleaners may cause colors to fade or bleed.
A FEW NOTES ABOUT WOOL
Wool rugs require extra care to remove spots or spills. Avoid using excessive agitation or heat and harsh “Oxygen” type cleaners, which may damage the wool yarn. “Oxygen” cleaners form oxygen, hydrogen and soda ash when mixed with water
BLOT, DON’T SCRUB, DO NOT RUB, BLOT, DON’T SCRUB, JUST BLOT…
You get the idea. Scrubbing works the spill into the pile while potentially harming the yarn. Although true for both nylon and wool, it is especially the case with wool yarn, which will mat if over agitated.
CHARACTERISTICS
WRINKLING: THE RISKS OF PLACING OUR RUGS ON WALL TO WALL CARPET
Whenever an area rug is placed between a soft surface, such as wall to wall carpet, and a hard or heavy object, such as a table or couch, wrinkling inevitably occurs. In most cases the area rug will wrinkle from one or both edges towards the center eventually forming permanent creases or “wrinkles”. This is not a defect, instead it is physics at work!
While we do not recommend the placement of an area rug on top of wall to wall carpeting, use of an area rug pad may minimize the wrinkle effect in some cases, but is unlikely to entirely prevent wrinkling (and resulting damage to your rug).
SHEDDING
For the first several months, a new area rug will experience some shedding of fiber. You may vacuum the carpet and notice the entire bag filled with this fiber. This should cause no concern as it is a normal occurrence and is to be expected. Loose fibers, which are not held tightly by the yarn, are being removed. The amount of fiber removed will decrease with each vacuuming and finally be very minimal. Shedding will be especially noticeable in the areas of highest traffic. This is normal and is not a manufacturing defect. Shedding will be more pronounced with wool rugs.
FADING
Creative Accents employs only the highest quality fibers, dye and dying process. Despite our best efforts, our area rugs are not fade proof. Depending on the amount of exposure to sunlight, all colors will fade. In addition to sunlight, gasses in the air will cause colors to fade. We call this ozone fading, and it is especially noticeable to our friends in Hawaii and Florida. Ozone fading is not something we can control; it is inevitable and is not a manufacturing defect.
SHADING OR WATERMARKING
Shading or watermarking occurs naturally in cut pile area rugs with use and is caused by a slight directional change in the pile. The effect is similar to that of velvet fabrics. Although this effect is unavoidable, the appearance is minimized in rugs crafted in our higher-density Autograph grade. Shading and water marking will be most pronounced in large areas of indosheen fiber.
SPROUTING
Sprouting occurs when small tufts of loose yarn pop up or extend above the surface of the pile. If this occurs, confirm that the beater bar of your vacuum cleaner is not set too low. If you notice a loose loop or part of a loop pile or detail sticking above the surface of the pile, Do not yank it! Some of the loops will work loose. This is normal and not a defect. Simply cut the loop level with the surface of the pile.
PILE CRUSH
HAND MADE RUGS, NORMAL IRREGULARITIES
DYE LOT VARIATION
All of our yarn is dyed using the highest quality dyestuffs and with adherence to strict standards of color matching. Although we require close tolerances to our standard colors, slight variances from dye lot to dye lot will occur and are impossible to eliminate. To avoid any risk of slight color variance, we recommend taking advantage of our “Pom for Approval” program, which reserves a specific dye lot for your rug.
RETURN POLICY
Despite our exacting standards, and putting aside the inherent limitations of hand crafting rugs using dyed yarn, we know that sometimes a real problem can slip through our quality control process.
If you have a concern about your rug, please let us know as soon as possible. Our warranty extends to defects brought to our attention within 30 days of receiving the product. Once we are notified of a potential defect, we will send a representative to inspect the rug. The rug will only be inspected at the place of purchase.
If our initial inspection indicates a potential defect, we will arrange a pickup with our shipping carrier. Also, should a return become necessary, the rug must be shipped in its original packaging. If the original shipping package is no longer available, we will send replacement material for your use.
Any shipping damage incurred from improper packaging will void the 30 day warranty. In any event, never fold, box or otherwise improperly package a creative accents area rug. Area rugs must be returned to us in the same manner in which they were shipped to you. If you have any questions, call us.
WARRANTY EXCEPTION: IMPROPER PLACEMENT OF AN AREA RUG
Our area rugs are designed to be placed on hard surfaces such as hardwood, concrete, etc. We do not recommend that they be placed between carpet and heavy furniture. This will create a problem known as “wrinkling” which is explained in the basics section of care and feeding. We will not warranty problems such as wrinkling, creeping or creasing caused by improper use of your area rug.
WARRANTY EXCEPTION: FREIGHT DAMAGE
Look for visible freight damage when your area rug arrives. All products with visible freight damage must be refused by the customer. The shipping carrier will automatically return the rug to Creative Accents and a damage claim will be filed. If previously undetected damage is discovered once the rug is removed from its packaging, the damage must be reported to Creative Accents within 5 business days. The rug will not be covered under warranty if the damage is not reported within 5 days.
WARRANTY EXCEPTION: IMPROPER REMOVAL OF PACKAGING
Cut both ends of the plastic package with scissors and pull the area rug out. If you have to cut the body of the packaging, make sure your scissors do not come in contact with the backing of the area rug. We do not advise the use of a utility knife or box opener as they can slit the backing when used by a careless opener. We will not warranty cuts in the backing or binding of a rug caused by careless packaging removal. We will not warranty cuts in the backing of a rug caused by careless packaging removal.