Featured Funky surprise rug

Found at a sale over the weekend. They let me stay way after close because I was spending money and they know the longer I stay the more I’ll spend. I was doing my final rush lap making sure I wasn’t missing anything I just had to have. This piece had been taken from somewhere I hadn’t seen it, folded, and put on top of a stool in a room I’d been through a few times. since folded I just saw like 1/8 of its surface or less. On a quick two second look I loved it and figured I’d bring it up and see if I could have it cheap. I assumed they would have a very high price on it as this sale runner prices everything at the moon retail price and then a little more. I was getting hefty discounts but figured this would still be more than I wanted to pay. To my shock this, a blanket, and the embroidered (Berlin work, it turns out) seat cover thing I got totaled a price of $10 they told me. I didn’t argue. I handled it a bunch out to car, in house, moved it around a couple times. I even rested my chin on it walking it to the car to make sure it didn’t slip off the heavy box I was carrying. Today I laid it out to photograph and handles it a bunch more. As I was taking photos it occurred to me all the yellow in the design looked very out of place when I thought about it more. “Wait a minute, what’s going on here” I thought to myself. It’s so prevalent my eyes told me it was supposed to be there. I looked closer and then it clicked, “oh my god, there’s soooooo much pee that I mistook it for a design element”, barf. I mean this is old baked in pee so at least it didn’t smell or anything but holy cow. Just an immense amount pee, lol. So much of it. Like this rug was just the household litter box. I don’t know if it’s dog or cat but someone claimed this rug as their personal toilet it seems. There’s even a clump of a #2 stain on the underside which I’ll spare you a photo of. Enough to clone the animal I’m pretty sure, if the years old clump is still viable. They must have hid it out of site and then brought it back out when readying to leave. No wonder it was so cheap, they must have been more shocked that I wanted it than I was when they said $10. Kind of hilarious but a real shame, I thought it was super pretty before I realized half its wait was urine. I hope someone can get a chuckle out of my misfortune, my mother did!

I am actually really wondering if it’s nice enough someone might pay to get it cleaned. Or if it’s even possible to get this out and keep the rug in otherwise good condition? I don’t think I will pay to do it before attempting selling it but someone may be willing to if they like it enough, ….maybe? Maybe it’s destined for an early grave though, time will tell.

I was thinking it may be Mexican or if not another Central of South American country? Peruvian? It’s so thick and soft. A shame about that pesky immense amount of urine!

 

I would try to clean it. It looks like a really nice rug, well worth trying to get the stains out.

 

It's a beaut Dag ! Now the question is-do you have a DNA Test done on it ? Could be a cat,granny,or Mark Twain perhaps ?
PS-Honestly worth taking to a rug/carpet cleaning expert and a t least getting an estimate.

 

Isnt that called a duhrrie ? Its pretty,but that amount of pee stains would earn it a trip to the curb with a quickness.I never had any luck trying to clean animal urine out of anything.

 

That almost looks like it lived in frat house bathroom. Some dudes just plain can't aim. Might as well try cleaning it.

 

I’d suggest the stain culprit might be a bulimic cat — the marks left by cleaning the hairballs and undigested cat food with a commercial stain cleaner look just like that. The size and scattering also apply. And that would explain the lack of smell.
I am not sure they can be gotten out by a professional either.

Another observation: couldn’t one of the figures on the rug be a very stylized/abstract thunderbird? Rather than a Mexican eagle? Otherwise the rug looks Mexican/Southwest to me too but for the (modern?) colors.

Rugs are NOT my area of expertise AT ALL— unlike the cat throw-up stains with which I boast extensive experience.

 

Lol that was funny - great storytelling!
Now I'm going to show my stupidity, but I'd have it cleaned - to me the design gives off a Louis Vuitton aura & - again - to me looks expensive; I'd have bought it!

 

It looks like a dhurrie to me too.

Ditto.

Ditto.

 

They make enzyme cleaners that are worth a try. Cat pee is very distinctive vs dog vs human. My last cat peed on 2 sofas one leather one down with linen. I am trying to remember the brand that was used to clean them it is also used in horse stalls. I was going to pitch the down sofa, when a friend who owns a cleaning business suggested she send her people over first. It worked it took a few days of applications.

 

Hmmm, I don't think you'll ever get the stains out of it.
You could get your $3 back at your next yard sale?
Maybe you can use outside, like under patio furniture or something.

I once bought a gorgeous wool handwoven Persian style rug from a yard sale for $10.
Vacuumed it real good, and put it in the living room.
Turned out it was the source of a moth infestation in my home that lasted almost 3 years. I wouldn't wish clothes moths on anyone...it was a nightmare. I still get anxiety just thinking it.
No more wool in this house.....ever again.

 

I had the same after I bought a beautiful woollen designer jacket. It also took me years to get rid of them, and they ate nearly all of my favourite clothing. Not just wool either, they aren't picky.

 

Is there any way to visually or thru scent to detect moth infestation on a piece before you bring it home ? It sounds horrible.

 

I would say it's a contemporary Mexican rug, based on the distinctive flying bird design, which is a common image found on textiles from central Mexico. It also appears to be woven from cotton yarn, and hemmed to hide the fringe, and keep it from unraveling.

Most Mexican cotton rugs have little resale value, even without the pee stains, which may explain why it was still left after the sale. But I do admire the ability to see beauty in what others don't!

I wouldn't bother trying to clean it, which wouldn't add much to the value, but if you do offer it for sale, don't be surprised if the interest is minimal!

 

Not unless you actually see moths. But those tiny eggs could be hiding anywhere in the weave of the fabric and in linings etc..

 

I’ve stuck those in a washing machine before now.

 

One of my most enduring memories of Grandma's house is the smell of moth balls,in addition to their 'secret' Prohibition cellar.

 

First off, thanks for sharing this amusing rug story, J Dagger. We've all had situations where we got home from an estate sale and discovered damage we hadn't noticed in something we purchased. But this was a colorful account!

If zero smell, very much doubt cat pee. Not sure if dog pee has a lingering odor, but cat pee would. If no smell at all, almost wondering if the rug picked up a stain from something else, like rust, etc, but sounds like value maybe doesn't justify a lot of work trying to clean. Whatever the source, these stains look to be hard to get out, maybe impossible.

 

I agree with the moth problem, since I've been battling moths for years, and I collect Navajo rugs. Problem is, most wool items, that moths seem to prefer, are ruined by water.

I've found that putting the wool items in the freezer for a couple days, then taking them out for a day, and replacing them in the freezer until they freeze again (overnight, or a day or so, depending on the size) greatly helps the problem, if you remember to do the whole process as soon as you bring the new items into the house. It apparently freezes the moths that may be present, and lets any eggs hatch after the first freeze, and then freezes and kills the new larvae before they do any damage.

All I know is, it works. Although, you need to do it a couple times a year, to be sure, and have a big freezer! (I wrap the item first in a cotton sheet.)

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Sounds like it won’t be an easy battle vs. these possibly puke, possibly pee, possibly mystery stains. I’m not up for a laborious fight or expensive pro treatments. I was actually thinking the washing machine was worth a try and OBB’s mention of the same is encouraging. I too think the stains are unlikely to come out without, or even with professional help but it’s an easy enough effort. Since the rug has no collector value, which I assumed since it’s so contemporary looking, there’s nothing to lose. Despite having no collector value I think clean it would have garnered me a nice profit. The colors are just so unique to most rugs I’ve seen, south westy/tribal adjacent deigns do well for me, and it’s just so comfy and warm. I think I would have gotten an easy 100-200 out of it in a local sale. Nothing to write home about but I think it would have been a worthwhile effort. Those sales add up. Maybe I’ll just put it in one of the free groups online if the washing machine doesn’t work and let someone else tackle it. Glad a few of you got a chuckle out of it. I must have looked pretty funny pressing my chin into it to anyone in the know who was looking out the window as I walked away. It was a good sale, they pulled in over 150k and had enough great stuff left to be better than 97% of most fresh sales day one. I happened to grab one of the only crappy things there, pun intended.

 

My moth trick is scented bar soap. I like old fashioned proper soap. I unwrap it, and put it in cupboards, wardrobes, whatever. It hardens up, so lasts longer, but it’s also a really good moth deterrent.