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Should you need to store your kilim area ruf for a long period here are some ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ you’ll find useful. Do wash and dry it very thoroughly (or have it cleaned and properly dried) before storage. Do have the rug mothproofed or use moth flakes, not in direct contact with the rug but within folds of paper or cloth placed in the kilim rug as it is rolled up. Do roll the rug to be stored rather than folding it. Don’t store your rugs in a moist, hot environment or in a place without adequate ventilation as these are the ideal breeding grounds for destructive mildew to form. Don’t store your area rugs in any place that is accessible to mice, rats, or other fabric-eating creatures.
If you have researched the subject of kilim care – as we have tried to do – you may have noticed a lack of consensus regarding an item related to storage: should the rug be packed airtight or not. Certain kilim authorities (Alastair Hull and Jose Luczyc-Wyhowska in “Kilim, The Complete Guide”; Lee Allane in “Kilims, A Buyer’s Guide”) recommend, or appear to recommend, airtight packaging, while others, including the eSouthwest website, advise the opposite saying that rugs need to breathe and that plastic wrapping may cause mildew. We are inclined to agree with the latter, mainly because we know that it is a time-tested method to roll rugs up together with a bed sheet or other large cloth first placed on the face of the rug, with the excess of that material, or an additional piece of fabric, forming the outer wrapping. Experienced practical housewives we have surveyed confirm this as being the method that they use.
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