There are many ways to test the quality of wool and that is why there are experts who do nothing else. It would be impossible to tell you what rug traders have spent a lifetime learning, but you can use a couple little tips to help you select the best possible accent rug or wool area rugs for your home.
One thing to watch out for is wool rugs that have been chemically washed to enhance their lustrous look. You see, high quality wool is oily and shiny, while dead wool or inferior quality short strands are often lacking luster and will also shed and wear poorly.
There is one simple thing you can do to see the wool quality and that is to agitate the carpet, rubbing and rubbing it between your hands many times and seeing how much wool comes to the surface. All wool area rugs will shed somewhat, but if there is a lot of lose wool and the hairs are short and when you gather them together they are equal to the height of carpet pile, you are looking at an inferior rug.
Also, the feel of a rug is not just an aesthetic thing but if you really feel the carpet and compare one to another you will find that a high quality wool area rug will be noticeably softer. It will not feel brittle or wiry or dry, in fact it will feel oily and slick..
If the area rug has been overly chemically washed it will have lost the natural sheep oil or lanolin and will have less sheen and luster and less of a smooth feeling when you run your hands over it. You may need to compare it with an area rug that you know is high quality to be able to tell the difference, especially if you have little rug quality testing experience.
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