Guide To Carpet
There are many different brands of carpet. The major differences lie in quality, such as the amount of Fibers used per tuft, the quantity of tufts per row, the number of 'twists' per tuft, and the backing of the carpet. Generally, the more fibers per tuft, and the more tufts per row mean that the carpet is most likely constructed better. Most installed carpet used today is synthetic. The most popular types are constructed of nylon and what you see in many inexpensive Berber carpets: olefin (also called polypropylene).
Nylon: Characteristics - tough, does not, scratch easily, hides dirt very well. and generally cleans up well. Nylon's main drawback is its price. All things being equal in construction, it can cost up to twice that. of its olefin counterpart. Nylon has good RESILIENCE (it doesn't tend to crush easily), has a high MELTING POINT (temperature at which the fiber will melt). and if kept clean, will hold up for many. many years. In theory. properly maintained nylon carpet may last twice to three times as long as an improperly maintained carpet.
Olefin: The other popular fiber. olefin. isn't. very tough. has a low MELTING POINT, (even merely sliding a fairly heavy piece of furniture across an olefin carpet can permanently damage the fibers) scratches fairly easily. does hide dirt very well, does repel water and water-based spots extremely well. but BEWARE! Olefin attracts one type of soil more than any other carpet in existence - OIL If your olefin carpet is near an asphalt: drive or walkway, you're asking for trouble if you track in the oils that. naturally stick to your feet and shoes from asphalt. Olefin has a natural attraction to oil. It loves it. It can't get. enough oil. Some cleaners would even go so far as to say that oil seeks out olefin just: to make cleaners' lives difficult! If the oil from asphalt (or any oil for that matter - including motor oil. peanut utter. vasoline, etc.) is left in the carpet for a matter of time. even a few weeks. a PERMANENT YELLOWING OF THE CARPET FIBERS MAY OCCUR. Professional cleaners can make oil-stained olefin carpet lighter through the use of special detergents and other -solutions, but once yellowing has started to occur. it. will usually continue to come back.
Others: There are other t;y1ies of synthetic carpeting. like polyester and acrylic, but they're not used in modern carpet: construction as often. While it's true that their physical characteristics are different. than olefin and nylon. for. the most part they can be treated in the same manner as nylon. Natural carpeting is generally made of wool. Wool has great, RESILIENCY, naturally repels water and water-bayed spills. is tough and cleans up very well. One negative about. wool is that it stains very easily. Unlike synthetic fibers, wool doesn't. melt. it burns and the burnt, fibers can usually be brushed off so that. the burn isn't: that. noticeable. After thousands of years as the primary carpet fiber, wool is still known the world over as the 'creme de la creme' of carpeting. Wool is also the one of the most expensive carpet fibers. The most. expensive type of wool carpeting is WOVEN. Because of its high cost, wool is not as popular as synthetic carpeting. The biggest concern to be aware of when cleaning wool is to ensure the pH (percent. Hydrogen - a measurement of hydrogen in cleaning products and any water or water-based chemical. for that matter) STAYS BELOW 8! Many harsh cleaning agents (that: usually dissolve soil faster) are high in pH. HIGH pH CAN AND WILL RUIN WOOL! One thing to ask a carpet cleaner before you hire one is at what pH solution they'll be using on your wool carpeting. If he/she gives a number ANY HIGHER THAN 8. CALL ELSEWHERE! A high pH solution will ruin wool carpeting slowly, but surely.
pH: You may have heard of the term pl1 before - particularly if you've studied science or have heard hair shampoo commercials. pH, as mentioned earlier. is a measurement of hydrogen in water solutions. In the cleaning industry. we know that all water-based cleaning solutions have a pH rating attached to them. The pH scale is numbered from 1-14. The number '1' designates an ACID, while the number '14' designates an ALKALINE. Neutral on the pH scale is the number '7.' This is important to know ,because not only will a high pH rating ruin wool; but a pH rating over 10 will void most Stain Resist warranties. It was widely believed that the higher the pH the cleaning solution was, the better it cleaned. However, advances in research have proven this to be a myth.
Nylon: Characteristics - tough, does not, scratch easily, hides dirt very well. and generally cleans up well. Nylon's main drawback is its price. All things being equal in construction, it can cost up to twice that. of its olefin counterpart. Nylon has good RESILIENCE (it doesn't tend to crush easily), has a high MELTING POINT (temperature at which the fiber will melt). and if kept clean, will hold up for many. many years. In theory. properly maintained nylon carpet may last twice to three times as long as an improperly maintained carpet.
Olefin: The other popular fiber. olefin. isn't. very tough. has a low MELTING POINT, (even merely sliding a fairly heavy piece of furniture across an olefin carpet can permanently damage the fibers) scratches fairly easily. does hide dirt very well, does repel water and water-based spots extremely well. but BEWARE! Olefin attracts one type of soil more than any other carpet in existence - OIL If your olefin carpet is near an asphalt: drive or walkway, you're asking for trouble if you track in the oils that. naturally stick to your feet and shoes from asphalt. Olefin has a natural attraction to oil. It loves it. It can't get. enough oil. Some cleaners would even go so far as to say that oil seeks out olefin just: to make cleaners' lives difficult! If the oil from asphalt (or any oil for that matter - including motor oil. peanut utter. vasoline, etc.) is left in the carpet for a matter of time. even a few weeks. a PERMANENT YELLOWING OF THE CARPET FIBERS MAY OCCUR. Professional cleaners can make oil-stained olefin carpet lighter through the use of special detergents and other -solutions, but once yellowing has started to occur. it. will usually continue to come back.
Others: There are other t;y1ies of synthetic carpeting. like polyester and acrylic, but they're not used in modern carpet: construction as often. While it's true that their physical characteristics are different. than olefin and nylon. for. the most part they can be treated in the same manner as nylon. Natural carpeting is generally made of wool. Wool has great, RESILIENCY, naturally repels water and water-bayed spills. is tough and cleans up very well. One negative about. wool is that it stains very easily. Unlike synthetic fibers, wool doesn't. melt. it burns and the burnt, fibers can usually be brushed off so that. the burn isn't: that. noticeable. After thousands of years as the primary carpet fiber, wool is still known the world over as the 'creme de la creme' of carpeting. Wool is also the one of the most expensive carpet fibers. The most. expensive type of wool carpeting is WOVEN. Because of its high cost, wool is not as popular as synthetic carpeting. The biggest concern to be aware of when cleaning wool is to ensure the pH (percent. Hydrogen - a measurement of hydrogen in cleaning products and any water or water-based chemical. for that matter) STAYS BELOW 8! Many harsh cleaning agents (that: usually dissolve soil faster) are high in pH. HIGH pH CAN AND WILL RUIN WOOL! One thing to ask a carpet cleaner before you hire one is at what pH solution they'll be using on your wool carpeting. If he/she gives a number ANY HIGHER THAN 8. CALL ELSEWHERE! A high pH solution will ruin wool carpeting slowly, but surely.
pH: You may have heard of the term pl1 before - particularly if you've studied science or have heard hair shampoo commercials. pH, as mentioned earlier. is a measurement of hydrogen in water solutions. In the cleaning industry. we know that all water-based cleaning solutions have a pH rating attached to them. The pH scale is numbered from 1-14. The number '1' designates an ACID, while the number '14' designates an ALKALINE. Neutral on the pH scale is the number '7.' This is important to know ,because not only will a high pH rating ruin wool; but a pH rating over 10 will void most Stain Resist warranties. It was widely believed that the higher the pH the cleaning solution was, the better it cleaned. However, advances in research have proven this to be a myth.
