Understanding colors and how they interact with each other is important knowledge for professional rug cleaning technicians. This is another reason that it is imperative to have your rug cared for by professionals. Every color that we see is light that has either been reflected or transmitted by a colorant, such as a pigment or dye.
The use of dye has been dated as early as 2,600 BC in Asia and it was slowly introduced in Rome and other western country around 715 BC. The use and method of dyes is still changing and continuing in the world today.
Acid dyes are anionic and water-soluble. In addition, they are very common in acrylic fiber that has a stronger dye-resistance, silk or nylon for example. Basic dyes are cationic and water-soluble. They are applied with neutral dye-bath at a boiling point for softer material such as wool or cotton.
Other water-insoluble dyes are ground in the presence of a dispersing agent, which is then spray-dried on the fiber.
Natural Dye vs. Synthetic Dye is an old debate as to which is the better system, natural dyes have the reputation of aging with beauty and grace. Natural dyes are often derived from plant material: indigo (blue); madder (red); marigolds (yellow); and from cochineal insect (red). The secondary colors are often made by using two different dyes of primary colors. The color green is formed by over-dyeing the yarn with indigo after it has been dyed yellow.
The dyer is an artisan and there is always a mystery surrounding the exact formulas and methods that they used to obtain the colors in the rug that you're looking at.
