We clean these all the time with moderate success. The key we find is to treat them similar to cleaning silks. Don't ever use any kind of rotary agitation, only brush in the direction of the pile. It is key that the rugs are groomed in the direction of the pile while wet and left alone to dry. Any movement of the pile, or if it falls off a drying pole, will create distortion in the pile that can only be corrected by re-wetting the rug and grooming/drying again.
This has worked well for us, we try not to stress about it, and as with all cleaning it is important to set the clients expectations prior to getting them to sign off on the cleaning. Good luck!