When an oriental rug is very old and fragile, and whenever normal repairs are not enough to preserve its shape, we would suggest applying latex (a natural rubber solution) and reinforce the repairs with a linen backing. The application of latex to the back of a carpet followed immediately by the addition of a secondary backing like linen will anchor the rug?s tufts and stabilize its construction. For very damaged rugs, latex backcoating will help maintain your rug?s size, shape, strength, and stretch resistance