Professional wool rug cleaning - washed by hand, lanolin intact.
For more than a decade, the Cohen family has hand-washed wool rugs of every kind - hand-knotted, flatweave, Moroccan, tribal, hand-tufted, antique. Wool holds more soil than any fiber and felts under heat and machine agitation, so each rug is dry-dusted, dye-tested, and washed individually with a pH-balanced, wool-safe soap that lifts the dirt without stripping the natural lanolin. Dried flat, groomed by hand. Never by machine, never off-site. Complimentary pickup across Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester, Greenwich, and Stamford.
Hand-knotted, flatweave, Moroccan, tufted - every wool rug.
Wool is the most common rug fiber and the most forgiving to live with, yet the least forgiving of the wrong wash. We clean each construction with the process its foundation calls for - from a sturdy everyday wool rug to a fragile antique or a glued hand-tufted piece.
Hand-Knotted Wool
The classic. Persian, Turkish, Caucasian, and Indian pile knotted in wool on a cotton foundation, 80 to 800+ knots per square inch.
Flatweave & Kilim
Pileless, reversible wool. Kilim, dhurrie, soumak. No knots to protect the foundation, so the wash is gentler still.
Moroccan & Beni Ourain
Undyed ivory high-Atlas wool, plush deep pile. Shows soil quickly and felts easily under the wrong wash.
Tribal & Village
Hand-spun nomadic wool, lanolin-rich, with natural abrash. Kazak, Gabbeh, Baluch, Beni Mguild.
Hand-Tufted Wool
Wool pile glued to a latex scrim and cloth backing. Washed with an adapted, controlled protocol so the backing never delaminates.
Antique & Vintage Wool
Worn foundations, fragile selvedges, early fugitive dyes. Handled as conservation work, each color dye-tested first.
How a wool rug moves through our atelier.
Seven to fourteen days, calibrated to the construction, age, and dyes of your rug.
Inspection & dry-dusting.
Wool holds more dry soil than any other rug fiber, often before the rug ever looks dirty. Our master artisan examines fibers, foundation, and dyes, dye-tests every color, then dry-dusts years of embedded grit from the foundation before any water is introduced.
Lanolin-safe hand wash.
Cool, temperature-controlled water and a pH-balanced, wool-safe soap, worked by hand. The agitation lifts soil without felting the pile or stripping the natural lanolin that gives wool its resilience and sheen. Each rug is washed alone, never in a batch, never through a machine.
Dried flat, groomed by hand.
Dried flat on slatted frames, never tumbled, never hung in the sun. The pile is groomed in the direction of the nap, the fringe finished by hand, and the rug returned to your home in better condition than the day it left.
Why wool rugs are never machine-cleaned.
Wool is a living fiber. Each strand is wrapped in microscopic scales and coated in lanolin, the natural oil that lets wool shed soil and water and gives a good rug its softness and sheen. Heat, agitation, and alkaline soap make those scales lock together - that is felting, and it is permanent.
A rotary machine and a high-alkaline detergent supply all three at once: they mat the pile, strip the lanolin, and lift the natural dyes. Hand-washing adapts to the fiber - cool water, wool-safe soap, gentle agitation - rug by rug. It is the same craft we explain in our guide to cleaning a wool rug, and the reason wool behaves so differently from a silk rug on the wash floor.
Us versus a standard cleaner.
Where the two paths diverge. Eight choices that separate an atelier from a cleaning service.
Cleaning Method
Horizon
Hand-washed, lanolin-safe
Standard Cleaner
Rotary machine, hot water
Soap Chemistry
Horizon
pH-balanced, wool-safe
Standard Cleaner
High-alkaline detergent that strips lanolin
Felting & Shrinkage Risk
Horizon
Controlled - none
Standard Cleaner
Common with heat and machine agitation
Hand-Tufted (glued) Rugs
Horizon
Adapted, gentle protocol
Standard Cleaner
Backing delaminates in a power wash
Drying
Horizon
Flat on slatted frames
Standard Cleaner
Hung or heat-blasted - stretches the rug
Pet Odor & Deep Soil
Horizon
Neutralized in a controlled bath
Standard Cleaner
Surface-treated - the odor returns
Where Your Rug Is Cleaned
Horizon
Our family atelier, supervised
Standard Cleaner
Third-party wash plant
Inspection
Horizon
By hand, before any work begins
Standard Cleaner
Visual only, if at all
Ready to have your wool rug cared for by our atelier?
Where we pick up your wool rug.
Letters from across the Northeast.
A few of the rugs we've cared for — and the families who trusted us with them.
“They returned an heirloom Tabriz — the colors look exactly as my grandmother described them.”
“A 1920s Heriz I thought was beyond saving came back better than the day my parents bought it.”
“Our clients trust us with eight-figure homes. Horizon is the only atelier I send their rugs to.”
Questions, honestly answered.
What clients ask us before they hand over a rug — and how we answer.
How are wool rugs professionally cleaned?
How often should a wool rug be professionally cleaned?
Why can't I clean a wool rug with a regular carpet cleaner or steam cleaner?
Will hand-washing strip the lanolin or make my wool rug feel rough?
Do you clean hand-tufted wool rugs, the kind with a glued backing?
Can you remove pet urine and odor from a wool rug?
Do you clean Moroccan, Beni Ourain, and plush shag wool rugs?
Can you treat moth damage on a wool rug?
Do you pick up wool rugs across Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester, Greenwich, and Stamford?
Where is my wool rug actually cleaned?
How much does professional wool rug cleaning cost?
Is my wool rug insured while it is in your care?
How are wool rugs professionally cleaned?
How often should a wool rug be professionally cleaned?
Why can't I clean a wool rug with a regular carpet cleaner or steam cleaner?
Will hand-washing strip the lanolin or make my wool rug feel rough?
Do you pick up wool rugs across Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester, Greenwich, and Stamford?
Where is my wool rug actually cleaned?
Do you clean hand-tufted wool rugs, the kind with a glued backing?
Can you remove pet urine and odor from a wool rug?
Do you clean Moroccan, Beni Ourain, and plush shag wool rugs?
Can you treat moth damage on a wool rug?
How much does professional wool rug cleaning cost?
Is my wool rug insured while it is in your care?
More from Horizon.
Other ateliers, every service we offer, and the rest of our story — a few directions to explore.
Bring us your wool rug.
Hand-knotted, flatweave, Moroccan, tribal, antique - we hand-wash with the process appropriate to its construction, lanolin intact. Complimentary pickup from Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester County, Greenwich, and Stamford.
By hand · By the Cohen family · By appointment