What should a stain and soil resistant carpet repel and how effective should it be at doing that? This is something you need to know so you aren’t overselling carpet to your customers and setting yourself up for a complaint.

NO CARPET IS PROOF ANYTHING

Stain resistant means just that, the carpet is resistant to stains; it does not mean the carpet is stain proof. No carpet is “proof” anything.

ACID BASED DYES

Staining agents are any substance that will impart color or remove color. Since most nylons are dyed with acid based dyes and most water based substances are colored with acid colorants, there is an affinity for them to stain, or dye, nylon carpet.

KOOL AID

The stain resist chemistry will block dye sites. However, this does not mean that given enough dwell time, staining agents will not adversely affect carpet, hence, Kool-Aid can dye broadloom.

SPOTS

If the staining agent is stronger than an acid dye stuff, it will either impart color or strip color off the carpet. That’s the distinct difference between a spot and a stain. A stain is any substance which will add or remove color. A spot is caused by a substance spilled on the broadloom that leaves a sticky type of residue which will hold soil in place on the carpet’s surface.

If the spot cleans off and comes back, you have a residue remaining. This would not be the carpet itself regurgitating or spitting up dark spots on its own. Once this substance is purged from the broadloom, the spot will no longer exist. Plain water on a polypropylene carpet with excessive yarn lubricant in it will cause dark spots. It would be necessary to purge the carpet of this residue with plain hot water from an extraction cleaning unit.

A level loop carpet will have a higher surface tension naturally and a spilled or dribbled substance would have more of a normal tendency to bead up, even without a soil or stain resist agent. A cut -pile carpet, since it is vertically oriented, will allow a spilled aqueous based substance to seep down the sides of the yarn. Treated effectively the substance should be held at bay by the soil or stain retardant so a prompt response should remove whatever was spilled.

This can be done with a clean, soft, terry cloth or paper towel. Some water or club soda can be added to more effectively dilute and neutralize the agent spilled. Even solution-dyed nylon and polypropylene can be stained or the color adversely affected by a strong enough substance. However, these two fibers are more impervious to normal, everyday staining agents.

SOIL RETARDANT

A soil retardant will help prevent soil penetration and build up. Since most carpet is installed on the floor and gravity causes things to be pulled toward the earth, which would be down on the floor, soil is impossible to prevent. The intrusion of soil into the broadloom is as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning.

It is ludicrous to try to sell a carpet by saying it will not get dirty because it has a soil retardant application. That’s like telling a consumer the eggs will jump out of their non-stick frying pan.

It would be a good idea to think about what you’re being told about the carpets you sell and it would be a better idea for you to think about what you’re telling the customer when you try to make a sale and determine if it makes sense to you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

This is one of the subjects I touch upon in the LGM Technical Carpet Seminar. If you’d like more information about how carpets and fibers perform you can order our Fiber Booklet or one of our many videos which will help you become more proficient and profitable with your business.

To order or to inquire about one of our products, call 706-370-5888. And if you need help from me personally, I’d be happy to assist you.