Wool Area Rugs

When buying wool area rugs, there is more to consider than meets the eye. Wool area rugs, especially hand–made rugs, can be very pricy. Before making a big investment on a wool area rug, you should know what you are buying.

Wool comes from the hair of sheep, or sometimes llamas or goat, though this is rare. Not all wool fibers are the same quality. There are over 200 different types of sheep, each of which produces wool of different textures, lengths, durability, and quality. In fact, there are many grades of wool depending these and several other factors. Wool taken from sheep in high altitudes and from younger sheet is generally the most valuable wool. In addition, wool taken from the belly or the neck area of the sheep is finer quality than other areas on the body. To further add to these factors, the sex of the sheep as well as the health can also affect the quality of the wool.

In addition to different levels of quality available in wool fibers, there are different area rug constructions, backing, adhesives, and other factors that can affect the quality of the rug. For example, hand–knotted wool area rugs are much more valuable than machine woven area rugs. Some adhesives may have high levels of VOC’s and others many have chemical treatments applied.

With all of the different factors to consider when buying wool area rugs, one would have to take hours studying the different types of wool rugs available to make a completely informed decision. To make buying rugs easy, FindAnyFloor recommends that you buy your wool area rugs only from a reputable retailer.