Musty smell in antique rug--help?

Question

I purchased a very beautiful antique rug 2 days ago. The rug had been locked away in storage for years. It has a relatively strong musty odor. It is too delicate for professional deep cleaning. I have gently "beaten" it to remove dust, and now have it hanging in an open garage. I sprayed it with Febreze, but that only helps for a few minutes. Do you think it just needs to air out and give it time or is there something safe I can use on it? It is huge, like 10ft x 14 ft. No deep cleaners will touch it because they fear they will damage it. Help anyone! Thank you.

Answer 1

http://www.rugrag.com/post/Our-Rug-Smell...

you'll have to have a deep wash.  if they're not touching it, they're not good at what they do, unless the rug is in shambles.

Answer 2

I have many antique and vintage rugs which came to me really smelling bad.  The one thing you can do to absorb the odor without damaging the fiber is to sprinkle it with baking soda and letting it sit, vacuuming it up and reapplying until the odor is absorbed.  I have tried airing them out and have found that most of them that are natural fibers (like wool and silk) just don't smell good still when put indoors in a closed room and further, if you live in a smoggy, dusty or hazy area like I do, they simply pick up other odors from the environment.  I have found treating both sides with the baking soda helps, too, because the backing particularly if it is a natural fiber, is also impregnated with the same odor as the fibers.