Carpets

Modern manufacturing processes and the development of man-made fibres have

revolutionized the carpet industry, making available carpets in a wide range of
materials and textures. The quality of a carpet depends not only on the method
of manufacture, but also on how well the carpet is made, the fibres used, the
quality of that fibre, and the density of the pile. A good quality carpet should be
able to withstand wear from constant footfalls, spillages, cigarette ash, and grit
and also have the ability to recover from the effects of heavy or sharp furniture.
Its shape and colour should be stable even if deep- cleaned or constantly
exposed to sunlight. The pile should be dense and made from strong fibres, held
firmly in position.

Benefits/Advantages of Carpets

Safety
First and foremost, a carpeted floor is a safer floor. The soft surface and cushioned
under-padding not only reduce the impact of a fall, but also the likelihood of it
happening in the first place. Carpet is inherently slip- resistant, meaning it’s harder
to slip and fall.

Sound Reduction
If you live in a busy home with lots of traffic, you know how loud wood or
laminate floors can be. Carpet stifles noise and reduces echoes in three ways;
absorbing the impact of foot traffic, soaking up room sounds and echoes and
finally, by blocking sound from carrying between floors (especially helpful in
condo apartments or multi-family homes).

Warmth & Insulation

Carpet provides excellent warmth underfoot, making it a great choice for chilly
bedrooms or stark offices. Carpet also acts as an insulator. The combination of the
carpet and its under-padding acts as an additional layer of insulation in your home
and depending on the weight and grade of your carpet – it can even add to the R-
value of your home.
Ease of Care
Most carpets made today are made to be highly stain-resistant, meaning clean up is
easy. With just a damp cloth or a quick vacuuming, your floors look as good as
new. Because carpets trap dust and allergens, they can also improve the air quality
in your home as long they’re properly cleaned and vacuumed on a regular basis.

Flexibility and Style

Carpet isn’t limited to just a few colors or grains. You can get carpet in any style,
design, color or pattern that you want. Because of its versatility, carpet fits in well
in any design scheme.

Low Cost

Typically, carpet costs significantly less than other types of flooring like tile,
marble or hardwood. Even with professional installation, carpet tends to cost much
less than other types of flooring options.

Warranty
Unlike many hard surface flooring, most carpeting comes with an extensive
manufacturer’s warranty that covers pile, installation and craftsmanship.
Listed below are some of the advantages of using carpet in your home:
 Carpet is much quieter than hard surfaces floors.

 Carpet comes in a wide variety of colour tones and hues.

 Carpet is easy to decorate with and offers many solid colour tones for rooms
with patterned wall coverings.
 Carpet can hide many subfloor irregularities that would not be permitted
with hard surfaces floors.
 Carpet can go on a variety of substrates and on all grade levels, even
concrete slabs in basements.

Parts/composition of Carpets
Major parts of Carpets are
 Underlay/Padding

 Backing
 Pile
Underlay/ padding
It has numerous purposes ranging from making the carpet feel better underfoot, to
providing extra insulation against heat loss. It works to protect the carpet backing
from the substrate, protecting it from dust, dirt and moisture. It aids in the
soundproofing of a room and protects the carpet from premature wear. We look for
similar characteristics in underlays or carpet cushions as we do when selecting
carpet, strength resilience and durability. Today we have three types of underlay
available to choose from: Felt Underlay (cushion), Foam Sheet Underlay (cushion)
and Rubber Waffle Underlay (cushion).

Backing
The backing is on the underside of the carpet; it secures the tufts of the pile &
gives additional strength & stability to the carpet. Most carpers have a double
backing; a primary backing, to which the yarn is attached, & an outer backing
called the secondary backing. A layer of latex adhesive is sandwiched between the
two layers to seal the pile tufts to the primary backing.
Types of backing include jute, polypropylene (a synthetic thermoplastic resin), &
foam rubber. For expensive carpeting rubber covered jute is preferred. However,
synthetic backing is more resistant to mildew, odor, &dry rot, &is no allergic.

Pile

Pile Also called the 'face' of the carpet, this is the part which is seen on the
surface and walked on. Hence, it should be strong and resilient. The pile may be
made of a blend of fibres or of exclusively synthetic or natural fibres (such as
wool and cotton; silk is used in very expensive luxury carpets). The blends used
are typically of wool and rayon; wool and cotton; wool, acrylic, and rayon; and
so on. The synthetic fibres usually are polypropylene, polyester, and acrylic.
The pile fibres' density, height, twist, and weave affect the carpet's resilience
and durability.

Carpets can be produced with several different kinds of pile. Variations in

texture can be used as effectively as 'colour'. The different types of piles are:
1) Loop Pile: A pile surface with the looped yarns left uncut. The loop can vary to
any height depending on the pattern desired. Loop pile is often referred to as the
ground wire.
2) Two Level Loop Patterns/ sculptured pile: This type is an extension of a
single-level loop. The second levels of loops are added to create interest and to
make the carpet bulkier and heavier. Level loop pile is made by weaving even
loops of yarn into carpet backing at both ends. This type of carpet is very durable
and track resistant because of its strong loops. Higher loops create a more
luxurious appearance. Level loop piles with short and densely packed loops are
easy to clean. They prevent dirt from filtering into carpet. This type of carpet is
ideal for high traffic areas.
3) Cut Pile: Can be simply described as a loop pile that has been cut.They can be
of 2 types:
 Plush Pile: a cut pile which has very dense construction. The yarns are
equally packed in so tightly that the yarn ends stand straight up and support
each other.
 Shag Pile: Is a tall, long, loose plush pile with a deep and long surface yarn.
This pile ranges from 3⁄4 to 3 inches in height.

4) Cut and Loop Pile: Is a plush pile with a

pattern cut through it and tightly loop yarns. Cut
and loop pile combines cut and looped fibers. It
provides a variety of surface textures or sculptured
effects for medium durability. Cut and loop pile
carpets are available in solid or multiple colors. The
different levels in this type of carpet can hide dirt
and footprints in formal and informal areas.

5) Twist pile: Also called hard twist or frisé. This

style of carpet features yarn that has been tightly twisted to form a pile with an
irregular textured surface. This hard-wearing texture minimizes tracking
(footprints), shading (irregular light and dark areas in the pile) and fluffing which
makes it a very popular and practical carpet.
Types of Carpets
Woven carpets
Some of the highest-quality carpets are made by the weaving method. The pile
and the backing are woven together here so that the pile is locked into position.
The weave consists of warp and weft yarns interwoven to form the face pile and
backing at the same time. The pile may be either cut or uncut. The uncut or
looped woven carpets can take 5-10 per cent more wear. The advantage of
woven carpets lies in the slight elasticity of the woven back. When correctly
laid, the backing fibres hold the pile tufts erect so that they spring back after
they have been walked on. Woven carpets are of three types: Wilton,
Axminster, and Oriental. Wilton and Axminster are the names of the looms on
which these types of carpets are woven. The main difference is that the
Axminster loom allows any number of colours, as the threads are cut off and
reintroduced according to the pattern.

Woven carpets are more expensive than non-woven ones, but worth their cost
since they are more durable. These carpets are used in reception areas,
corridors, dining rooms, and bedrooms.

This falls into two main categories:

 Wilton

 Axminster
 Oriental

2. Non-Woven Carpets

 Tufted
 Pile Bonded
 Needle Punched
 Electro Statically Flocked
In woven carpets, the backing and surface pile are produced together during the
weaving process but in non-woven carpets, the surface pile is attached to a pre-
made backing.

Non -Woven Carpets

These carpets are produced by attaching the surface pile to a pre-fabricated
backing.

1. Tufted

In these thousands of needles, threaded with pile yarns & extending 12 to 15 feet
across the machine, are forced through the backing material to form loops or tufts.

2. Bonded Carpets

These are neither woven nor tufted. They are hardwearing & make economical
floor covering with good pile.
a. Pile Bonded/ knitted-Here the pile is made and stuck to PVC. These generally
have a pile of nylon or polypropylene which is stuck into a PVC backing. Pile
Bonded carpets are also available as tiles.
b. Needle Punched-these carpets are made by a process that compacts &
mechanically joins fibers to form a felt like surface. Needles literally ‘punch’ the
fiber into a foam or latex backing. Usually these are used for outdoor installations.
c. Electro Statically Flocked-These are produced by projecting electrically
charged fibers downwards into an adhesive coated backing material. These are
hard wearing easy to clean and quick to dry. They are mostly used in very wet area.
Swimming pool and in kitchen area.

3. Berber Carpets
These carpets have short tufts; pile is dense & lopped, characteristically made of
natural un-dyed sheep’s wool. Berber carpets are a modern style of carpet.They are
typically in a plain color mix with no pattern, and are relatively cheap and durable,
so popular for areas with relatively heavy use such as offices.
4.Knitted Carpets
These are produced by interlacing yarns in a series of connected loops. As in
woven carpets the pile & the backing are produced simultaneously. Multiple sets of
needles interlace the pile, backing, & stitching yarns together in one operation.

Selection of Carpets
Following are the factors that are considered for selection of the appropriate
carpet:-
SIZE
On the basis of size the carpets can be classified as follows.
 Body/ strip carpeting— best suited for close fitted or wall-to wall
carpeting. Width is either 27 inches or 36 inches.
 Broadloom carpeting— body width is wider than above. Widths available
are 9ft , 12ft & 15ft. tufted carpets are available in width of 9ft 101/2 or 13
ft101/2.
 Carpet squares— usually 6ft 9 in x 4ft, 12 ft squares or 9ftx 12ft
rectangles. Carpet tiles — range from 9 in square to 20 in square.
 Rugs & mats-— can be used in areas of heavy use to save wear & tear of
carpets.
PURPOSE
Where exactly the carpeting is to be done can be tallied with the manufacturer’s
classification i.e.
 Light domestic use.

 Medium domestic use, for hotel & home bedrooms.

 General domestic use for home, hotel bedroom use or public areas that have
a medium use.
 Heavy domestic use for public areas e.g. Banquets, restaurants etc.
 Heavy contract use for areas like shops etc.
 luxury
CONSTRUCTION
Most commonly used carpets are the tufted carpets. For outdoors needle punched
are preferred.

PILE DENSITY & WEIGHT

How well a carpet will perform is mainly a matter of density of pile which in turn
is a function of many characteristics— the gauge, the pitch, pile height stitches per
inch, pile weight, yarn size & so on.
Average pile density is the weight of pile yarn in a cubic yard of carpet.
Average pile density = 36 x face weight / pile height
The density of carpet face fibres is the best indicator of durability. In general, the
greater the density, the better grade of carpet. It keeps stain & dirt at the top of
fibres, preventing deeply embedded soiling. To determine how dense a carpet is,
bend a corner of the carpet & see how much backing shows underneath the pile.
The less the backing shows the denser the carpet.
In carpets of equal density, the one with higher pile & tighter twist will generally
be a better product. Carpet that is more tightly twisted is more resilient & thus will
retain its appearance better.
In tufted carpets, the pile density is expressed in “GAUGE”. A medium carpet
would have a gauge of 1/8, a heavy-duty carpet 5/64.” Gauge” is based on the
number of needles per widthwise inch. The first of the fraction indicates no. of
inches; second half, the number of tufts.
For a woven carpet, the term “PITCH” indicates no. of warp (lengthwise) yarns in
a 27-in width of carpet. A standard pitch for Wilton is 256, for Axminster 189 &
for velvet 216 the no. of tufts per lengthwise inch I expressed in “rows for
Axminsters”, “wires” for Wiltons” & velvets & may vary from 4 in inexpensive
carpets to 13 in a densely woven luxury carpets.
Yarn/ face weight is the number of ounces of yarn per square yard. On an average
greater the weight more durable is the carpet.
PILE HEIGHT & STYLE
Carpet pile height is how far the carpet extends above the primary backing. It’s
simply how tall the carpet is. Obviously, the higher a carpet extends the more
material it consists of which in turn bumps up the price. Viewing a carpet’s pile
height in addition to its density is critical in determining carpet quality. While you
might want a lower carpet pile on your stairs, generally the higher the pile the
better. When considering various carpet samples with comparable twist and
density, keep in mind that the one with the greater pile height will usually wear
better, and feel more comfortable underneath one’s feet. The lower the pile height,
the denser the weave should be.
PILE FIBER
 Nylon: This is the most popular synthetic carpet fibre used today. It offers
tremendous value, performance, and ease of maintenance. Nylon provides
brilliant colours and hides soil and traffic well. Today’s most advanced
 nylon carpet fibres actually reduce dirt and soils ability to stick or transfer
onto the surface of the carpet. These specially treated fibres will even bead
up liquid spills rather than allowing soaking in. This makes carpets
manufactured with these new generation fibres much easier to keep clean
and looking like new longer than ever before.
 Soft Carpet Fibers: Some fibre manufacturers are producing fibres that feel
as soft as cotton, yet will outperform many other conventional carpet fibres.
The difference is the nylon filaments are really much finer than the typical
filaments (finer than a strand of hair) but twice as many fibres are packed
into the strands of yarn. This gives these carpets its softness and strength
 Olefin: This fibre is also called polypropylene. Olefin is extremely popular
in Berbers; level loops carpets and outdoor turf products. Olefin carpets are
highly stain static, mould, and mildew resistant. They can be used for indoor
or outdoor carpets. Olefin’s resistance to matting and crushing is not quite as
good as nylon.
 Polyester: Gives excellent colour clarity with a soft feel to the carpet. But
lacks the durability as of a nylon carpet
 Acrylic: Has a real wool look and appearance, used mainly in level loops,
bath mats, and some velvet carpet styles. Offers good mould and mildew
resistance with low static levels.
 Wool: Although somewhat expensive, wool still offers great bulk,
performance and an elegant look. Wool is not stain resistant and can smell
when it gets wet.
RESILIENCE
DYEING
If carpet colours must last in strong sunlight or heavy wear, solution dying is, of
course, the most likely to succeed.if more than 600sq. yd, of carpet in same one
area is needed, beware of piece dying because there may be a slight variation in
colour between different batches.
 SOLUTION DYING—synthetic fibres spun from a coloured solution, in
this the filament is completely impregnated with pigments.
 STOCK DYING—- fibres are dyed before spinning.
 YARN DYING—yarns dyed before tufting or weaving.
 PIECE DYING —. fabric dyed in one piece after tufting.600 yards is a
maximum length which can be handled in one batch.
Following are some terms associated with carpet colours.
 Bleeding – loss of colour when wet due to improper dyeing or poor
dyestuff.
 Crocking – colour rubbing off due to improper dye penetration or fixation.
 Fade-o-meter –standard laboratory device for testing carpets colour fastness
to sunlight.
 Greige goods – goods just of the tufting machine or loom waiting to be
dyed or finished.
 Mordant – chemical used in some textile fibres to increase their affinity for
dyes
AESTHETICS
For aesthetics rules of interior design are to be used.
BACKING
UNDERLAY/PADDING
REPUTATION OF THE DEALER
Suitable methods for Fixing Carpets
1. Glued: The carpet made stuck to the sub-floor.
2. Tackless Gripper: Steel pins protrude from plywood or metal strips fixed
to the floor or the stairs and hold the carpet in place.
3. Sunken: The carpet is laid in a sunken area and the edges are covered with
brass or wood mostly used as doormats.
4. Turned and Tacked: The edges of the carpet are turned under and taits put
through the double surface.
5. Pin and Socket, Press Studs, Ring and Pegged: These methods are
especially suitable where a carpet needs laying frequently. E.g. banqueting
areas.

Care and Maintenance of Carpets

A regular maintenance programme is a must for carpets, since they are easily
soiled ar damaged. Good maintenance can increase the life of a carpet
considerably. Most new carpets shed fluff for the first few weeks. During this
period, they should be only lightly cleaned with a hand brush or carpet sweeper.
Cut off any tufts that stand
up noticeably above the surface-do not pull them out. After the first month,
clean with a vacuum cleaner at least once a week, always RTAN making the
last stroke in the direction of the pile, so that it lies flat. To even out wear on the
carpet, move furniture around occasionally so that indented pile can be brushed
up. Avoid dragging heavy furniture over carpets, as this damages the fibres.
Parts that receive heavier wear, such as in front of a door, can be protected by
rugs.

Routine maintenance
This involves the daily removal of dust and dirt from the carpet. The removal of
dust may be carried out using a dry-suction vacuum cleaner or a carpet sweeper.
Care should be taken to clean the surrounding areas around the carpet too.

Periodic maintenance
This involves deep cleaning of the carpet. The executive housekeeper should
prepare a periodic schedule for this. The practice of carrying out a deep cleaning
only when the dust and dirt become obviously visible is detrimental to carpets.
In many properties, carpet cleaning is contracted out because of the specialized
equipment and skills required. Deep cleaning of carpets can be carried out by
three different methods: shampooing, hot-water extraction, and dry powdering.

Shampooing
Carpet shampoo machines use one of the two types of shampoos liquid and dry
foam. Shampoos are anionic synthetic detergents and should be diluted in the
correct measures for optimal performance. Liquid shampoos produce very little
foam but tend to leave a residue that traps dirt, making it necessary to shampoo
the carpet frequently. Dry-foam shampoos are actually also liquids, but they
leave a dry foam on the surface of the carpet after application-hence the name.
The foam loosens and lifts out the dirt, holding it on the surface of the carpet
pile until it can be removed by dry suction. Dry-foam shampoos contain some
solvent in addition to the detergent to assist in the removal of solvent-soluble
dirt. Carpets cleaned with a dry-foam shampoo require less drying time as well.

Carpet shampoo machines are used to dispense both types of shampoos. A

cylindrical brush works the foam into the pile of the carpet.
Hot-water extraction
This is done by a hot-water extraction machine. The machine uses a shampoo
solution that does not form foam. It injects the solution under high pressure
through the pile to the back of the carpet, where it emulsifies and loosens dirt
and grease. Simultaneously, the machine sucks up the solution along with the
now- suspended dirt and grease. The use of a wet-suction machine after
shampooing greatly accelerates the drying time. The dirty solution is deposited
into a tank, from which it is discarded later. After the cleaning process, the
carpet is left slightly damp and requires a very short drying time.

Dry powdering
In this method, a powder containing absorbents such as sawdust, solvents, and
drying agents is sprinkled on the carpet and left for several minutes. The powder
absorbs the grease and dirt, and is removed with the help of a dry-suction
cleaner. Waterborne dirt is not removed by use of such a powder, therefore this
method is not very efficient. The method cannot be strictly considered a deep-
cleaning method in fact, and should be used only in conjunction with the other
carpet-cleaning methods.