Star Rug Cleaners was founded in 1921 by June Smith in a building at 26 E. Cota St. in downtown Santa Barbara. The building was formerly the site of a buggy and wagon works. Mr. Smith provided a service to wash rugs of all sizes and makes in his cleaning plant. In home carpet cleaning was not available; therefore carpets had to be un-tacked and brought to Star Rug Cleaners for service.
In 1932 Mr. Smith sold Star Rug Cleaners to Merrill Knight whose family operated the business until 1988 when it was sold to the Michele and Tony Jensen family. Tony and son Michael manage the day to day operations. Star Rug Cleaners employs six fabric care technicians providing in home cleaning services for carpet upholstery and drapes as well as care for oriental and specialty rugs in the same plant that once was home to a buggy and wagon works.
The plant features the only rug care equipment of its kind on the central coast and the expertise to maximize its applications. Dry soil on rugs is removed by specialized vacuums, and then the rugs are immersed in cleaning solutions specific to the yarns, dyes and conditions they are in, then are flushed with clean, cold and softened water, sprayed and extracted three times through the unique riming machine. Rugs are then blocked and hung for drying in an environmentally controlled room. Rugs dry over night and are inspected for continuing processing until they are customer ready.
