Here you can find a good answer about the same question. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: cleaning Karastan rug

I did clean my Karastan myself and had great results. I used my Hoover steam cleaner with regular tap water and Woolite. I mixed the Woolite 1//2 strength. Before you start the cleaning process vacuum both sides really good. You will be surprised at the dirt that comes out when you do that. I did it in the garage and let it air dry. I did not want to put outside for fear of colors fading. Mine was a 9x12 so I needed help turning it over. Good luck.

I used the woolite to clean the rug and once I felt it was clean then just used clean tap water and went over the rug to get out all of the soap residue. I was well pleased with the results. The Hoover steam vac almost removed all of the water so it did not take long to dry. I am sure there might be other cleaners out there but this was the one that I had so gave it a try.

I send mine out to be cleaned every 3-4 years. If I had a place to spread them out to dry, we would wash them. It is only about $300 for a 9x12, 10x14, 3x4 and a 5x7. They give a bit of a discount dropping off and pick up ourselves. I think they do a more thorough cleaning than we can.

Claire, Sam, Linda, and Cooper: Thanks so much for responding. She does have a steam vac so I'll pass along all your advice.
Thanks again!

Wow, we have a wool-silk Chinese rug (8x10) and it cost us $600 for cleaning, mothproofing and Scotchgard - and it wasn't even dirty/stained, just 10 years old and might have some dust that I didn't get with vacuum cleaner, and had been stored rolled up in plastic bag (open at ends) for a year!

How often do you have your rugs cleaned, if you don't wear shoes in the house, vacuum regularly, and don't spill anything? (This rug has always been under our DR table, but we rarely eat in the DR.)

I used to hose my Karastans off! Seriously...I've done it on a sloping driveway and on a deck (lked the deck better as the water could drain through and then I could drape it over deck railings to dry. I'd pick a warm dry day and hose it off good, then use VERY diluted rug shampoo or something mild (pour it all over from a bucket) and walk on it to squish it around, then rinse, rinse, rinse. You need either a very sloping clean (all dirt and grit, etc. hosed off) driveway or a deck large enough to lay the rug out. I could either let it lay in the sun on the deck to dry, turning it occasionally or drape it over the railings, moving position occasionally so it wouldn't crease (though even a bend would straighten out once it was back on the floor.) Once I used a clean (unattached) mop handle to "roll" the water out of it. I think the largest I ever did that way was 8 x 10....sounds crazy but it worked great. They wash oriental rugs in the far east! Of course it's much easier to look for an oriental rug cleaner with a big drying room, especially if the rug is too large. And you do need warm dry weather so it will dry fast.

Found this:

"You are right to clean the rug yourself. You'll do a better job than any type of dry cleaner. Try and use the steam cleaner on the cold setting. Use a mild soap (Ivory soap will work), or a shampoo made especially for Oriental carpets. When you clean the rug, make sure you don't use too much water. Also, do the cleaning outside so that you don't ruin your floors. Anywho, do the shampooing and extracting and leave the rug out in the sunshine to let it dry. For the fringe, use a small brush and some soap and water and clean that part by hand. That should do the trick!"

I'm an old textile junkie. Have many antique rugs as my Uncle was an importer in the early 1900s. (It's nice when people don't have kids). I clean them myself with Orvus. This is the same product any high end cleaning company uses. You can buy it at any feed store as it is used for washing show horses, etc. Orvus conditions the rug. I don't use machines, I use a stiff push broom and a hose.

I have a couple rugs waiting in line for their summer cleaning. :+)

Lindac is right on about the soap residue picking up dirt. I have subsequent to finding out the experts use something similar, used a water hose, a stiff scrub brush like the janitors once used, my clean patio and a nice sunny day.

My mom taught me to go over the rug with a dilute solution of vinegar after shampooing it with soap. That will remove any residue.

An all wool rug and a STEAM cleaner? You will make felt! It's like throwing an all wool sweater into the washer/dryer.

This is a 9X12 Karastan rug that I paid $100 for at an auction. It was dirty and smelled faintly of dog and/or cat. I had used a commercial cleaner before for an oriental rug and was not happy, plus it was way expensive. So I did this one myself. I started with a good vacuuming on both sides First I soaked the pet-odor area with liquid Biz and let it sit for a day. Then I mixed up some Hoover carpet cleaner with water and scrubbed it with a brush, including the fringe. Then I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed with the hose. At this point it was completely saturated so I pushed out a lot of the water with a wide, flat yard tool I have. I could have used a piece of 2X4. If you don't have anything to push out the water, I wouldn't suggest this method, because you need to remove as much water as possible. I put some pallets under the rug for air flow then let it sit on the driveway for 10 days. The light spots you see in the picture are sunlight, not stains. it took so long because it was mostly in the shade. I had checked the weather, there was no rain predicted for 2 straight weeks, which was lucky. When it was dry I sprinkled it with baking soda and cornstarch with a few drops of eucalyptus oil, and thoroughly vacuumed. It is now ready to come inside, soft, no odor, clean. As it dried, it had a terrible, wet-wool odor which completely disappeared. So if you have strength, time, dry days, and a big flat area, you can clean your oriental rugs!