Although this has come up before, it seems this is a topic that could be looked at more closely, as there is a bit of a marketing push for consumers to buy carpets made with this "super new yarn".
BIG players such as DuPont have reportedly spent millions of $$$ developing this yarn using maize, a naturally renewing resource, apparently better for the environment. They have also spent millions more marketing the 'amazing qualities' of carpets made with the Smartstrand yarn. It seems this marketing has first been directed at carpet retailers, so the carpet sales people will have a big sales pitch for customers when they go shopping.
Its not my purpose to suggest these carpets are not good. I just have a healthy skepticism, as the carpets have not been out for long, and there has not been time for the carpets' performance to be truly evaluated in real terms. The manufacturers boast excellent performance and have created novel ways of similating the rigours of what a carpet must stand up to. But there is NO TEST like the TEST OF TIME!
You see, consumers are easily won over by promises and warranties that say a carpet has great stain resistance, as they can relate to that. But characteristics such as resilience, and dimensional stability are not on their mind. A number of technical specifications and components of carpets all work together to give the overall performance of the carpet. So someone buying a carpet because it boasts great stain resistance and fade resistance may ultimately be dissapointed because it has other failings. Too often the promise is greater then the real performance.
Now I know that Anthony likes to post about the remarkable qualities of these carpets. I'm sure he believes in them, and that is fair enough, as he would have seen some very impressive promotions and testing of the carpets. If I can ask you (Anthony).... have you personally lived on/with a smartstrand carpet? Or do you know of anyone personally that has had some for say a year or more? Are there any real life installations of Smartstrand carpets with significant traffic that you know of?
As I see it, there are lots of different yarns used to make carpets, and they all have strengths and weaknesses. This new yarn may very well represent a significant improvement in performance of domestic carpets. But a carpet (any carpet) is more than the type of face yarn it is made from. Carpet's performance depends on the denier of the yarn/s, the density, and how the yarn is treated, how clean it is, backing materials, latex quality and composition, and all sorts of variations in the manufacturing process. Then the way the carpet lays can affect its performance. I'm hearing a lot from installers who say the trend of modern carpets with synthetic secondary backings make them b@stards to lay. These problems can lead to rucking and other headaches.
So for me, I will reserve my opinion until real world experience casts light on the subject. If I had specs available of the range being sold, I would be a little more enlightened. Anthony, you did offer to send me a bit. I think I forgot to PM you my address. My guess is the smartstrand yarn will perform well generally. I have reservations about its recovery from compression, and retention of texture. Also, most sythetic yarns don't have the appearance retention and soil hiding properties that quality wool carpets are known for. But I guess we'll see after a while!
Ash.