Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 May 16, 2010 8:29 pm There have been some recent discussions about newer and existing carpets on the market and how there perform, specifically with regard to stain resistance. So rather than waffle on there, I thought Id make my point here to put the topic into perspective.... As we live in our homes, stuff happens! We try (some more carefully or successfully than others) to avoid accidents, but stuff happens sooner or later. And usually there are consequences when stuff happens. The coffee cup drops = the curtains get sprayed, the cup dents the timber floor, or perhaps smashes on the tiles. When stuff happens, our choices of floorcoverings can make a difference as to what consequences we have to deal with. So putting aside any issues with hard floors, and looking just at carpet types, when 'stuff' happens, we are likely to have something to clean up. Now I want to get into the nitty gritty of what role carpet types will play in how successfully we clean up the 'stuff' and hopefully maintain a nice clean carpet. There is so much hype and hoopla about stain resistance that its time we all get over this fixation! It boils down to this.... when stuff happens, clean it up! Learn to clean up stuff properly and its hardly an issue, no matter what carpets we have. Now sure, there has been all sorts of technology designed to make fibres more forgiving, with repellency to spots and spills, including the latest Smartstrand fibre carpets. But they make little difference to the fact that stuff has to be cleaned up if you want your carpets to keep looking good. Obviously the best way to avoid problems is to prevent stuff from happening. What I'm getting at is that as we live, we have to take responsibility for our activity. A carpet (or any other floorcovering) is passive. Its sitting there with gravity drawing everything to it... a simple fact of life. How well it looks or how long it lasts is not so much about its characteristics as it is about how we live. Our action or inaction will be reflected to us by our carpets to some degree. We need to STOP blaming this or that carpet for looking crap. And when we choose new carpets, learn to choose those which will give good service. Now a bit more about stain resistance.... Many times I go to clean someone's carpets and they show me a heap of 'stains' they want removed. But most are not stains at all! Lets define what a 'stain' is. A stain is where a substance has entered within the fibres, changing their colour. It might be an acid dye like the dyes in Fanta or cordial, tannins from coffee or tea, or it may be some sort of chemical reaction. Cleaning often will not remove stains, and special treatments may be required to do so. Stains will normally only be an issue with fibres that are absorbent (primarily wool or some nylons). Solution dyed fibres such as polypropylene, polyester and Smartstrand are unlikely to be stained. But that does not mean they will not be marked by stuff. The 'stains' (that are not stains) I mentioned customers complaining about are usually actually SPOTS. Spots are defined as substances contaminating the carpet by coating the fibres, but have not necessarily absorbed into the fibres. SPOTS can be oils, sugars chemical residues, gum, & all sorts of STUFF. Now no matter how stain resistant a carpet may be, spots can and will still be prevalent if we let them be. Most spots will be simple to remove from almost any carpet, if we do so promptly and correctly. The main reason they are not permanently removed is INCORRECT ACTION when it happens, and has little to do with the stain resistance of the carpet fibres. If stuff happens and is cleaned up correctly without leaving sticky residues in the carpet, it will not be a problem. But if its doused with every manner of chemical and not rinsed or recovered, the spot might disappear but soon return, because the sticky residue is attracting soil again. This applies to Smartstrand just as much as any other fibre. So in concluding, the ability of a carpet to maintain its beauty and qualities we bought it for are not so much about the technical ability of the yarn to resist staining. Its more about (A) how we look after it, and (B) other characteristics such as resilience, appearance retention, and technical specs of the carpet. The best example of what I'm talking about is polypropylene. It is virtually non absorbent and has excellent stain resistance. But it usually looks crap within the first few years because of other factors, especially its poor resilience, heat sensitivity and affinity with oils. Ash. Re: SPOTS, STAINS and STUFF 2May 16, 2010 9:04 pm Don't at all disagree Ash. A good post !! Soiling is possible with any carpet, afterall it's just "dirt" sticking to the side of the carpet, not IN it. The difference is commonly misunderstood by many people (soiling v staining). As I said. Good post mate. Very common on rendered homes Smaller suppliers get the lower quality raw materials 6 11968 Hi everyone, Have just put a shower in the laundry and after only using it 2-3 times have noticed staining on the grout. The tiles were glued onto a concrete wall after… 0 5560 I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 10637 |