Chevalier, which also cleans rugs and tapestries, offers conservation, restoration and repair work on beaded and other types of textiles.

Professional cleaners can be hired for less frequent or specialist tasks such as cleaning blinds, rugs, and sofas.

The Textile Conservation Laboratory at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine will clean high-quality rugs, old or new, and it will also clean and conserve, say, a quilt that has been left draped over a dresser too long.

These facilities are often equipped with separate vacuum stations that allow customers to clean the upholstery and rugs inside their cars.

Mr. Stewart, 76, puts his handyman skills to use volunteering at their church and working part-time at Macy's; he cleans rugs on the side.

Hand washing is the most thorough method of cleaning antique rugs, contemporary handmade rugs and machine-made "Belgium" or Karastan-type rugs.

As a child, Nnanji had cleaned rugs for his father.

And it cleaned larger rugs as well as it did hard floors, if not better.

Thanks to Liz she had found a concern in London that specialised in cleaning antique rugs and carpets.