Did you check with Karastan before you had them steam cleaned? I would never let carpet cleaners touch my rugs. I take them to professional rug cleaners who know about the fiber content, etc and how to best clean them.

I would call Karastan and see if they have any suggestions.

The last time I took an oriental rug to a rug cleaner I was appalled at the dirty vat of water they put the rugs in, and that's why it was the last time.

Good idea to call Karastan and I should have done that to begin with, as you point out.

From the Karastan website, under "Care":

"We suggest sending your rug to a reputable professional who is accustomed to cleaning rugs of this quality when your Karastan rug appears dirty or has set-in stains. In-home cleaning is not recommended, though we do suggest taking immediate action in the case of spills to lessen stains."

OK, again, DUH. I have emailed them "confessing my sins" and will post their reply here in case anyone else is interested.

I guess since this never caused a problem with any other oriental rug, I didn't give it a second thought.

I don't think all rug cleaners use the "dirty water vat method." I deal with a small locally-owned business that really knows their stuff and they take the time to show me exactly what they are going to do. They seem to love Karastan rugs for their quality. They helped educate me on what to look for with selecting rugs for my specific budget.

I would be very curious to hear what Karastan recommends. You might also want to call a rug cleaner and explain the quandary and see if they can fix the problem.

Good luck!