Our family has many antiques, including fine art. We have passed these precious family treasures from generation to generation as far back as the American Revolution.

Our rug measures at least 8' X 12.

My grandfather passed away on a family rug woven by his mother after the birth of her first child; my grandfather was the last of nine children. unattended this last summer. Because of the heat this summer his body decayed and ruined the rug. The smell was horrible. He did not have a shirt on and a large piece of flesh stuck to the rug. Blood stained a large area of the rug leaving an outline of my grandfather's body.

We do not have the heart to dispose of this rug. We pray for God's guidance, and we know there must be a way to recover it.

Can you help?

Helen

Mississippi

Thank you for emailing.

Before moving on with anything written here, do your research. Google has plenty on wool and cotton cleaning.

What you find here are suggestions, but nothing final.

Although you did not mention how long your grandfather laid on the rug, we can still work without exact information about decomposition. You did not mention the type of material, wool or cotton?

The offending material consists of many body chemicles. The two biggest concerns for removal follow from blood and fat pollution of the rug.

In either case, the suggested methods will work about as well on cotton or wool. What you might do before starting to clean is find an area big enough for workiing on your rug.

The barn will not do. It's full of insects, and besides, your rug needs air, lots of air. Sunlight will help, but not too much in the beginning. The Sun has disinfecting qualities.

Wear protective clothing. Place your rug on a flat, clean concrete surface. Brush it off repeatedly.

You will need a large tub, preferably a child's plastic swimming pool. Depending on the amount biowaste freed by soaking, you will need to empty and then refill your soaking tub.

No harm should arise from this process, unless the cleaning solution reaches plants intolerant to your cleaning solution.

Because the rug's biowaste dried out long ago, it will be safe enough to handle for placement in your tub. CAUTION: Make sure you wear gloves, nose mask, and goggles because any debris that becomes airborne must not reach your eyes, nose, or mouth. It is doubtful that this debris has biohazards in it, but pretend that it does.

One approach might involve using bacteria or enzymes. Enzymes have specific targets for their chemical work. Bacteria that feed on proteins and fats will help remove much of the rug's biowaste.

Always test.

Place a small portion water polluted with appropriate bacteria on your rug's most heavily soiled area. Soak well. With plastic beneith the rug's stain and plastic placed on top of the rug's stain, let it sit for a day. Return and reapply your solution. Continue until the stains a remaining matter diminish or disappear.

There are numerous solutions on the marketing advocating the safety and usefullness of their bacteria products for protein removal, blood. The above directions are found on pet stain remover products requiring multiple applications. Check your local pet store, too.

Visit Argosheen's page. Argosheen has a near neutral Ph. level and works well on wool, if your rug has wool content.

If your rug has cotton content, and it probably does, you can use Argosheen or a product safe for cotton cleaning.

Test your rug before moving forward with any cleaning solution. Once satisfied that you can clean and not damge your rug. Give it a thorough soaking. Let it soak overnight. Aggitate the water.

Once your water looks fairly clear, add your cleaning solution again, but this time step into the pool wearing socks, and aggitate with your feet. If you prefer using a soft brush, this may help, but be careful not to damage the wet material because it is now weak.

Once you've done as much as your time and energy allow, which is to say about 24 hours of soaking and aggitating (off-and-on), empty your tub. Slowly, genly roll your rug out of the tub. Open it on the concrete and let it dry.

Once dry, blow a fan over your rug, or place outdoors on clothes lines, fully supported and secured against blowing wind.

If the death odor remains, find a place for your rug to remain with good ventilation. The odor will go away.

With the rug dry and odor gone, you can consider your next step, if there is a next step.

Blood stains will probably stain cotton material. These stains may be permanent, but can be dyed over.

At this stage of your work the finer cleaning details allow focus and use of water and solution in limited areas. Time, patience, and attention to detail pay rewards now.

Peroxide baths with weak peroxide solutions (tested first) may help causes color loss to blood stained areas. Do not use bleach unless you've given up on your run, and only then use bleach in very mild solutions with water. Always rinse thoroughly.