Just because someone thinks they’ve picked out the right carpet for their flooring project it doesn’t mean the job is over. Quite the contrary, things have just begun. Hopefully the right carpet was chosen, often it’s not, which can lead to monumental problems at times. But, we’ll get to more of that later.
The end user is paying for carpet product that will work and live up to their expectations and an installation that will be trouble free and not compromise the carpet. It is the job of the specifier, architect, designer and contract carpet firm to make sure expectations are met and problems do not jeopardize a successful project. Do you know how? There are several important issues that have to be taken into consideration they are; know what to use where, how to use it, how to install it and how to maintain it. Without being able to control these aspects of the product, the installation and the maintenance of it this house of cards can come tumbling down. The product choice is not that of the manufacturer, they are not in business to police where their materials are used. The parties specifying and choosing the material know more about how it is to be used, for how long and what the expectations are than does the manufacturer. The manufacturer will make you what you want but few will tell you that you can’t use one of their products in a particular application. Unless they are an integral part of the selection and qualification process, and they are relied upon for a final decision as to what to use where because of certain performance concerns or considerations, they are not responsible for any failures in performance because someone chose the wrong product. If the wrong product is chosen and fails to live up to the expectations of the end user, whoever chose the product bears the brunt of the responsibility for the failure. Certainly a rep can make suggestions but they’re not going to fight you on a color choice, for example, if that’s what the client wants, even if it is wrong. So to make the carpet work without a problem, or any floorcovering material for that matter, which is actually easy to do if everyone commits to the concept and asks questions- here is what has to happen.
The carpet must be specified correctly. The carpet must be understood, what will it do and not do. It must always be capable of delivering the type of performance expected and desired or else it isn’t capable of being used where specified. It must be known how the carpet will be used, where it’s going and if it will hold up to the application. It must be installed properly and compromises taken into consideration and planned for in advance just in case something unexpected should occur. It must be maintained effectively. Not just superficial maintenance and cleaning but a planned and flexible program. The program must take into account varying responses the carpet may have to use and soiling that can be addressed with whatever it takes to fight back the offender. Simply, every aspect of the products specification, installation, use and maintenance must be qualified to prevent problems in the future.
THE PRODUCT: SPECIFYING AND UNDERSTANDING IT FOR OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE.
What yarn system have you specified and why? Nylon is the number one fiber used in carpet and especially commercial carpet because it is the best performing fiber. Nothing yet produced in volume performs like nylon. There is a constant marketing battle going on between the two types of nylon available – type 6 nylon and type 6,6 nylon. Type 6,6 nylon has a denser molecular structure so it is harder to dye and harder to stain but any white nylon is basically easy to stain regardless of the molecular structure. Both types of nylon can be dyed with any dye method available. Both nylons can be made more resilient with various yarn and fiber processing methods. Both nylons can be configured in any fiber shape. Both nylons can be produced in staple or continuous filament fibers. Both nylons can be used in any type of carpet construction and any face configuration or weight. Branded nylons offer premium performance backed by the technology and years of experience of their respective company. DuPont is the nylon producer everyone chases but each nylon producer has its own slightly different product nuances. Carpet manufacturers, since having gotten into the fiber production arena, continue to improve their offerings -they only offer type 6 nylon. Though not up to every level of the branded nylons yet they continue to close the gap, which isn’t that wide. For example, the exact same carpet, produced the same way in every respect, whether in type 6 or type 6,6 nylon, will perform the same – there should be no detectable difference.
Polypropylene is used very little in commercial carpet except in the Main Street arena. The primary reason is that this fiber is the least resilient of any fiber used to produce carpet. It is not appropriate for most commercial markets but it may find its way into the health care category with the right construction because it is not affected by aqueous based agents, is almost impossible to stain and is always solution dyed so it is very colorfast. Polypropylene from Ronile can be spaced dyed and this fiber is actually one of the highest quality polypropylenes available. The tips of polypropylene fiber or yarn can be melted or fused if struck by a sharp blow, a quick stop from a soft soled shoe or a piece of furniture dragged across the surface of it. Polypropylene hates water but it loves oil so it would never be appropriate in an application where oil of any kind would come in contact with it. Polypropylene is also the least expensive of any of the synthetics used in carpet. This fiber constructed in a 5/64 gauge, ten to 12 stitches per inch, low pile height level loop, patterned carpet could perform well in a retail store setting, for example. The question has to be asked: “What are we trying to accomplish and where is the price differential relative to performance of a lesser quality nylon versus a much more densely constructed polypropylene.” This fiber can work surprisingly well, in the most unlikely of constructions, in a mall retail store where there would be food and beverage spillage from shoppers, for example.
Polyester is mentioned only because it is one of the fibers used to manufacture carpet but in the commercial arena it is a non-entity.
Acrylic is used very little in commercial carpet and if it is used it would only be for an accent yarn.
Wool, by itself, would see use in executive areas and possibly where one would have a concern for fire such as in airplanes, subway and rail cars. As a stand alone fiber it is not the best choice for commercial application unless very densely constructed because it can be worn away abrasively. A woven wool/nylon blend in an 80/20 combination respectively, on the other hand, is one of the best performing carpets known to man. It’s use in casinos is testament enough to the high performance, appearance retention and longevity of this blend. Wool grows old gracefully but it will wear out abrasively. Nylon can ugly out but it will not wear out and it has excellent resiliency. Combine the two in the right construction, colors, pattern and style and you have a beautiful, classy, high performance product. This is a high end product used in high end properties. The market for these products however is continually being chased and encroached upon by new tufting technology that can emulate the look of woven wool carpets. However, wool is also finding more favor with this new tufting technology as well. In my opinion the woven wool/nylon carpets are the Mercedes of the industry. This is a product that is timeless and exquisite. If you want to make a statement this product will do it.
WHAT DYE METHODS ARE GOING TO BE USED?
The Pre-Dyeing methods – adding color before the carpet is constructed
Solution Dyeing: The highest performing dye method by far is solution dyeing. The color is an integral part of the fiber – the polymer and the color chip are melted together. Like a carrot, the color goes all the way through the fiber so it is virtually impossible to stain and it’s extremely colorfast. Any fiber, except wool, can be solution dyed. The color pigment chip is added to the fiber chip in a ratio that determines the final color. The two components are blended, melted to a molten state and extruded into a fiber shape which is then processed into a yarn. The limitation of the solution dyeing is the color palette – not every color imaginable can be produced.
Stock Dyeing: This is a batch process in which loose staple fiber is placed into a pressure vessel, like a kettle, and dyed under pressure and heat. This process is used primarily for woven wool carpets and there is very little of this in use in the US today. It would be used primarily for accent yarns in a pattern. This is an exhaustion dyeing method where the dye in the bath is exhausted or absorbed by the fiber.
Space Dyeing: This process is just what it says, spaces of color – over 20 can be applied – are placed on the yarn to achieve a coloration or look in a product to accomplish a pseudo patterning. This process is still very much used and very popular in carpets today. This is a pad dyeing process whereby the dye is sprayed on or the yarn pressed into the dye placing spaces of color on the yarn.
Skein Dyeing: This process takes packages of white yarn, winds them into skeins or hanks and dyes them in small to large vessels holding from 50 to 5,000 pounds of yarn. This method is used for dyeing accent colored yarns. After dyeing the skeins are unwound and put back onto packages ready to be tufted or woven into the carpet. This is an exhaustion dyeing method where the dye is absorbed into the yarn.
All of the methods mentioned so far are very involved and some of them, like stock dyeing and skein dyeing, are labor intensive, slow and expensive. They are all however an integral part of constructing the beautiful tufted or woven commercial carpet available today. Post-Dye Methods – adding color after the carpet is constructed
These are dyeing methods employed after the carpet has been tufted. Woven carpets do not use these methods because the yarn is dyed prior to going into the product.
Beck dyeing is an immersion process when from one to three rolls of carpet are sewn together – end to end. Large atmospheric or pressure becks are filled with water and the carpet placed into them. The water is brought to temperature, chemicals and dye are added and the carpet stays in the dye bath for a predetermined period of time. This process can dye solid color or up to three different colors in the carpet. This is achieved by constructing the carpet with different yarns, having different dye affinities and taking on the color they are programmed for. All three dye colors are placed in the vat or dye beck and find their way to the appropriate fiber. This dye method is an exhaustion process. Each dye run is limited and the shade will vary from batch to batch. If carpet is ordered in large quantity that is beck dyed the manufacturer should be asked to “commercially match” each run. That is, lay out each dye run and graduate the color match from lightest to darkest so there will be a gradual, hopefully undetectable, shade variation between each run. If this is not done the installation will mix and match runs and there can be a noticeable shade variation between each panel of carpet.
Continuous Dyeing: This process is the fastest, most cost efficient dyeing process used to color carpet. It is also the process which creates more color match problems than any other. As the name implies, carpet is passed continually under a dye spray applicator that applies color instantaneously to the carpet. The carpet goes in white on one side and within inches comes out dyed on the other. This system is being used more and more because it is so fast and efficient. The draw back is that it creates side match shade variations because the color in the carpet often varies from one end to the other. When the carpet is cut and panels are laid side by side a color variation is often starkly evident. Often this color variation can be blended on site but it is not something one wants to encounter or experience on a commercial installation where you pray you won’t have any problems. Most continuous dyeing of commercial carpet would be in solid colors although there are techniques used in the continuous dyeing process that can apply random color variations to the carpet.
Printing: this is the process of applying colors and patterns to either white, undyed nylon carpet or dyed carpet. The color can be sprayed on making almost any type of pattern imaginable with a jet spray system, roller applicators or screens. There is much more patterned carpet made with tufting and weaving processes, by far, than with the printing process.
In the next issue we’ll continue with PICKED OUT THE RIGHT CARPET?
Author – Lewis G. Migliore – The Commercial Flooring Report
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts