Carpet troubleshooter
5 minute read
A quick guide to carpets and how to deal with any minor problems that may arise.
Colour matching - Carpets are produced in batches called creeds and usually each batch is between 500m2 - 3000m2 (that's about enough to install carpets in anything between 4-25 houses). Whilst the recipe for the dye used remains constant, the colour reproduction will vary from batch to batch. Production is always matched back to the original to ensure that the colour remains within commercial colour tolerance.
A greater level of tolerance is required on blended colours (two tone, heather's etc). To ensure perfect colour matching it is advisable that a single width is used in any installation requiring exact colour matching.
Carpets installed with the pile running in different directions, even if they are from the same batch, will more than likely appear not to match.
Sprouting - Occasionally a tuft can appear to be standing proud of the rest of the pile. This is not a major problem and is easily rectified by trimming the offending tuft with a pair of scissors. They must never be pulled out.
Fading on wool - Carpets made from wool can fade in use. The degree of fade can vary depending on the colour of the carpet and the local conditions to which the carpet is subjected.
Fading can be the result of exposure to ultra violet light which is found in daylight, but is accelerated when sun shines directly onto the carpet. This has the effect of lightening or 'bleaching' the colour, just as exposure to sunlight will lighten human hair.
Measures should be taken to ensure your carpet is protected just as you would protect other furniture or fabric.
A complaint on fading would be considered justified if it failed to meet the required shade standard when tested to the British Standard BS1006 (1990).
Soiling - Soiling is usually the result of some local condition to which the carpet has been subjected to, or in some cases, the maintenance, or lack of maintenance programme. There is nothing manufacturers can do to prevent soiling in use. There are several types of soiling which are quite common -:
Shampoo - If incorrectly applied, can leave sticky soap residues in the fibres which can result in the soiling reappearing quite rapidly.
Dust - which is carried on draughts can spoil carpets in various ways, apart from the obvious soiled edges, at gaping skirting boards for instance. Dark lines appearing on the surface might suggest airborne drawn dust vacuum drawn through poorly fitted floorboards. Sometimes the shape of floorboards can be seen quite clearly. Air borne dust sometimes shows itself as spots on the carpet, this is due to the air carried on a draught under the carpet escaping through minute holes both in the underlay and the carpet, leaving dust deposited on the pile much like a filter action. In such installations, the use of a lining paper is essential as a preventative measure.
It is the responsibility of the retailer to advise the consumer when the carpet is measured of any poorly fitted doors, skirtings, or floorboards, and the consumer's responsibility to ensure any remedial work to seal draughts, is carried out before the carpet is fitted, if a resulting complaint is to be avoided.
Static - Carpets do not produce static but like other household fabrics they do have the capacity to store it. Static is caused by the build up of static electricity upon personnel in a dry environment and is discharged when a person makes contact with an object which can conduct electricity (i.e door handle or filing cabinets etc).
The static charges will vary in intensity depending on the individual, air humidity and the contact materials. Static is more usually associated with synthetic materials as they do not retain moisture very well but it can and does occur in very dry room conditions.
Preventative measures include the introduction of moisture into the room or in situ carpet treatment.
Flattening - Flattening will occur as a result of traffic which eventually flattens the pile particularly in the main areas of use. All pile fabrics will flatten to greater or lesser degree dependant on the amount of traffic to which it is subjected and the construction (tuft density/pile fibre/height/weight) of the product concerned.
Shading - Shading occurs because the pile of the carpet has become crushed, flattened or brushed in a different direction to the natural lie of the pile whilst in situ. This causes light reflection at differing angles resulting in the creation of light and dark patches on the carpet. This will occur on all pile fabrics but can be more noticeable on plainer carpets because the shadows created by pile pressure will not be disguised by a heavy pattern or design.