Continuing from last time, we will introduce wool, a material often used for rugs.
"Water, Oil, and Cuticles"
We often say, "Wool is stain-resistant, so it's okay even if you spill a drink on it," and today we'll tell you why.
Sheep's wool is made up of the same material as our own hair.
This may sound a little strange, but just like hair, the surface of wool fibers is covered with a cuticle.
To be precise, it is a scaly outer layer called scale, which has the excellent ability to repel water and absorb humidity.
Most of the yarn used in Gabbeh and tribal rugs is spun with the oils inherent in the wool intact, so the surface of the fibers is coated.
In other words, this "cuticle + oil" repels water when you spill a drink and prevents dirt from penetrating into the fibers, so wiping it off quickly makes it less likely for dirt to stick.
We tested a beige Gabbeh by spilling a generous amount of coffee and cola on it and wiping off the water after three minutes. Both came out clean without any problems. (See Care Instructions.)
I was excited to try it with red wine, but unfortunately, it left a faint trace of it. If you are going to spill something, I recommend using white wine.
*Please rest assured that traces of red wine can be easily removed by dry cleaning (approximately 5,000 yen per square meter).
(Excerpt from Layout News Letter Vol.2 (Published in 2017))