FIBRES:
All carpet results from the conversion of raw fibre. With a few exceptions, this fibre is spun into yarn and
this yarn is then made into carpet through one of three methods - weaving, tufting and bonding.
All carpet fibres have something special to offer, whether it is warmth, cleanability, durability, fire
retardant or even price. Your carpet will perform longer and look better depending upon which fibre you
select and how much is packed into the carpet.
Fibres are sometimes blended together to give the optimum performance at the best possible price.
There are two sources of carpet fibre - Natural and Man-Made.
Natural Fibres:
Wool Silk Jute Coir Flax
Man-made fibres:
Nylon Polyester Polypropylene Acrylic Viscose (a vegetable based fibre)
Natural Fibres:
Wool
The oldest and most popular of the natural fibres. Exceptionally suited to carpets because it combines hard
wear with lasting good looks. Wool does not support combustion and under normal conditions does not conduct
static electricity.
Silk
Little used except in fine quality hand made rugs.
Jute
Used mainly in backing materials but occasionally in surface fibres for flat woven rugs.
Coir
Coconut husks contain a strong and flexible fibre. The husks are harvested and soaked for many months before
being beaten, washed and dried. The pale yellow fibres are then spun into yarn which is finally woven into
either flat weave carpeting or cut pile rugs and mats.
Flax
Used occasionally in loop pile and flat weave rugs and carpets.
Man-Made Fibres:
Popular since the early 1950's, great advances have been made in the performance of man-made carpet fibres.
Main benefits of man-made fibres.
Acrylic
Not as hard wearing as Nylon and less fire resistant than wool, Acrylic is a fibre with good bulk and
resilience.
Polyamide (Nylon)
Many different brand names, such as ANTRON, Anso, Timbrelle. A tough fibre and with stain resistant treatments
is less prone to soiling than earlier nylon carpets. More flammable and prone to static than wool. Nylon is
often added to wool to increase resistance to wear especially in lower pile weights and densities.
The most popular branded nylon in the UK is ANTRON. Made by DuPont, it is available as ANTRON Stainmaster or
ANTRON Teflon.DuPont has just launched a high tech product called ANTRON Microfibre which combines durability and softness.
Polyester
Used in luxury Saxony styles, less resistant to flattening than some fibres but wears well.
Polypropylene
Hard wearing and not as resilient as other fibres. It is very easy to clean but will scar if exposed to flame.
Polypropylene (olefin), a by-product of gasoline refining, continues to gain market share for two reasons: it costs significantly less than nylon and it is inherently stain resistant.
Its inherent stain resistance arises from its lack of dye sites and the fact that it is chemically inert. In fact, chlorine bleach and even battery acid have no effect on it. It is inherently mold resistant. It is also resistant to fading from sunlight and is, therefore, the fiber of choice for outdoor use.
Olefin's biggest drawbacks are its lack of resilience, its strong attraction for oily soils, and its propensity to wick more than nylon resulting in more frequent complaints of "reappearing spots", streaking, yellowing, flattening and re-soiling. Also, because it has a much lower melting point than nylon, friction from moving furniture or casters can permanently damage the fibers. Even friction under-foot will cause damage at vulnerable sites such as stair winders.
Additionally, a broken vacuum cleaner belt will seriously and permanently damage an olefin rug or carpet, melting the rubber into the fiber. Fortunately, because it is so resistant to most chemicals, more aggressive cleaning agents can be used on olefin.
Olefin is used in most Berber carpets or for use where a less expensive product is required and life expectancy and long-term appearance are unimportant.
Olefin is the fiber of choice to use outdoors. Olefin should NEVER be used where the primary soil is oil; for example, olefin should never be used in a car showroom.
The use of any polypropylene carpet in extra heavy traffic areas, such as stairs, should be avoided due to flattening of the pile, leading to 'shading' and premature wear.
To reduce wicking on olefin carpets and rugs, it is best to pre-vacuum, make extra drying passes, and use air movers to speed up drying. The new Advanced TeflonŽ is recommended for olefin. Olefin should never be treated with a solvent-based protector. The mill can apply protector to olefin, by essentially fusing it into the fiber.
Viscose
Not as resilient as many other fibres it is prone to flattening. But it is relatively inexpensive fibre and it
brings fitted carpets within a wider reach.