All flooring materials have inherent characteristics that you should be aware of to avoid having them mis-interpreted as defects. It’s also important you understand the natural characteristics of flooring materials so that you don’t oversell them and set yourself up for a complaint. Finally, manufacturers themselves sometimes don’t understand the inherent characteristics of the products they produce and may direct their claims departments incorrectly on how a condition should be handled.
Let’s look at some of the more common carpet issues. All carpet will soil. Regardless of what a warranty may say as long as soil falls down and is transferred by foot traffic it will get on a carpet. It will also be trapped there and must be removed. Spills and dripping liquids will leave a residue that can attract soil leaving dark spots. The same thing can happen on hard surface flooring materials. When the soiling conditions and dark spots are properly identified they can be removed. Light colors show more soil and dark colors hide more. This should be a common sense understanding but I’ve found over the years that common sense is often lacking when it comes to floor covering problems and issues.
All carpet will mat and crush and change appearance in traffic areas regardless of the yarn system. Depending on how the carpet is constructed, how dense it is the pattern and how it is cared for the degree of matting and crushing will vary but in concentrated, unalterable and pivotal foot traffic areas there will be compression of the face yarns and a degree of appearance change. This change can also alter the color of the carpet as the light reflecting off the face of the carpet will also be altered affecting the color values. The best way to avoid this type of condition, which is normal, is to sell the right carpet into the right place. Very often if a product fails to perform or maintain its appearance it is because the end user was sold the wrong product. All concentrated, unalterable and pivotal traffic areas will show traffic to varying degrees, depending on the traffic load.
The wear warranties on carpet are a waste of paper. Carpet does not wear out, it uglies out. The majority of carpet is made with nylon and pound for pound nylon is stronger than steel. No carpet has ever been replaced for abrasive loss of fiber, which the warranties cover. Any replacement for wear has been an accommodation. Synthetic carpet for that matter does not wear out. The exception is on stairs where the traffic is more pounding and harsh, which is why carpet is not covered on stairs. Again, it is wise to know what works where and why and how to use it so you can avoid claims.
All staple carpet fibers will fuzz and shed. Because these carpets are made with short lengths of fiber some of it will work out and come loose. This condition may last for months. The thicker the yarn the more shedding there may be and the longer it may take to go away. If the consumers vacuum cleaner fills up with carpet fiber when they first vacuum their carpet with staple fiber this is normal. It will diminish with time. If it never stops filling with fiber at about the same volume then there’s a problem with the carpet. All wool carpets will shed indefinitely, this is normal.
Here are some others. All vinyl will cut, nick or gouge when sharp or abrasive objects are dropped or dragged across them. Chairs without protective leg devices will damage vinyl and wood flooring. Light colored vinyl may discolor when asphalt or oil residue is tracked in from outside. All wood will dent and scratch and lots of it expands and contracts with changes in heat and humidity. Stone and ceramic floors will chip and crack if heavy objects are dropped on them. These types of floors may also chip if they are vacuumed with a vacuum cleaner with a beater bar and brush. And moisture in a substrate affects the installation every type of flooring material. Plan on attending one of our seminars in 2008.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts