Carpet Fibers and Cleaning
Most people would like to have their carpets restored to a "like new" condition when they have them professionally cleaned. Unfortunately, there are things that can prevent that outcome. The most significant factor that will determine how your carpet will respond to cleaning is its fiber content. (We’ll discuss how color and style choices affect maintenance another time.) Most residential wall-to-wall carpet is made from nylon, wool, polyester or olefin fibers. The two fiber characteristics that determine how the carpets will respond to cleaning are resilience and color stability. Resilience is the natural ability of carpet fibers to bounce back or to be able to regain their fluffy texture. A resilient carpet fiber will fluff up after a heavy object has been removed from the carpet (such as a piece of furniture). Heavy soil buildup also tends to mat down carpet fibers. Good resilience means the fibers will bounce back after the soil has been removed. Once carpet fibers with poor resilience have become matted, even if the original cause of matting has been removed (furniture or soil) they will remain matted. They do not have the ability to spring back. Poor resilience results in a carpet looking “dead” even after it is completely and thoroughly cleaned. Color stability is the other important fiber characteristic. This refers to the carpet’s ability to maintain its color. How does it respond to fading, bleaching and staining from spills containing food color dyes? How do the different carpet fibers compare on these important characteristics?Both nylon and wool dominate over polyester and olefin in their natural resilience. Nylon and wool fibers will spring back to their original fluffy texture. Unfortunately, once polyester and olefin fibers have been flattened from foot traffic, furniture indentations or soiling they will never regain their fluffy appearance, even if well maintained. Polyester and olefin are definitely the winners for color stability. They never loose their color due to fading or bleaching and it is extremely difficult to stain these carpet fibers. However, the colors in nylon and wool are vulnerable to color loss and staining. Their colors can be permanently changed from bleach, sun fading, pet urine, food coloring (i.e. Kool-Aid), coffee and medications. Generally the most important characteristic for a residential carpet to have is "good resilience." This is because most of us chose thicker, plusher carpet styles for our homes, as opposed to the low level loop styles of commercial carpets. Which fiber is best?Nylon is the most practical carpet fiber for residential carpets. Unless your home has a serious color stability or staining concern, well maintained nylon carpets will provide the longest “like new” condition. Traditionally, nylon has been the most popular residential carpet fiber because of its great resilience and reasonable price. With proper maintenance a nylon carpet can look great for many years. |
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