Occasionally, on a loop pile carpet, especially a large looped berber, it is not unusual to see yarns which either protrude a little higher or completely sprout from the surface.

CAUSES OF PULLS AND LOOPS

Higher loops are a result of a yarn tensioning or looper malfunction. This causes the loop to exceed the height of its neighbors, which can be unsightly and can cause damage when the higher loops get snagged by a high heel, vacuum cleaner, or dog’s nail. When this happens, the affected loops protrude and pull out.

The nature of many berber or textured loop carpets, however, is, the loops are not supposed to be level. This unevenness gives the carpet its aesthetic appeal; but sometimes flaws, which we have described, will cause pulls. Other times, a consumer thinks there’s a defect, but the cause is something she’s done.

In a recent complaint, the client had purchased a textured loop, patterned berber carpet which was installed in a small living room and upstairs hall. The living room was the primary living space.

The carpet has been down for approximately four months. About two days after installation, the consumer noticed a pulled loop. The installer, who was in the home putting in a vinyl floor in the kitchen, repaired it for her.

Within weeks, the client noticed more pulls. The dealer went to look at it and told the consumer her family’s lifestyle was causing the problem. The family didn’t like hearing this, nor the retailer’s overall manner of presentation, and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. This action prompted the dealer to call for an independent evaluation of the consumer’s complaint.

The dealer wasn’t wrong in his assessment of the problem; how he handled it, however, was less than tactful. This small house should have been listed as a petting zoo-it smelled like one. Three people live there along with five cats, two hamsters, 21 birds, and three dogs, one of which just had 11 puppies.

The carpet had several pulls and an intense odor of urine. When urine penetrates a carpet, it loosens the latex and allows yarns to pull out. If dogs are running around on this carpet, their nails can catch on a loop and pull it out, especially when the tuft bind has been compromised by urine. When the yarn was tested under UV light, urine was found; there was also the unquestionable odor and feel of it.

This damage was caused by the consumer due to the sheer magnitude of negative influence imposed on the carpet, a nice way of saying what you can imagine I’m thinking. There was no defect in the carpet.

In fact, when the tuft bind was tested, the lowest number we got was 10 pounds, with an average of 13.6 pounds, and indication of how well the carpet was constructed and finished. The industry standard on this type of carpet is 6.25 pounds. This was a Shaw product with the new Softbac, and it was impressive to see how well this system enhances the integrity of the product.

What lessons can we learn from this case? First, the dealer should not have disrespected the client, by saying her family members were slobs. Second, he could have suggested having the carpet inspected and tested to determine the cause of the problem, even if he knew what that was. This way, he could have an independent determination. Third, the client stated the dealer knew she had these pets and told her this carpet would be great when, in fact, this type of product, despite its excellent construction, was not perfect for this particular type of installation.

Don’t get excited about any “pet proof” carpet, since nothing is “proof” anything. With this type of kennel condition in this home, carpet would not be my first choice for floor covering. Hay, straw, sheet vinyl, concrete, but nothing which could be compromised by the adverse conditions in this house. This was not a carpet friendly environment.

Here is yet another situation which gives carpet and dealers a bad name. None of the parties in this case were highly intelligent; but the most reasonable seemed to be the consumer, who realized the pets might cause a problem. The retailer should have known this too.

This might have been a good time to point the consumer in the direction of buying flooring from someone else-which brings up the fourth issue: Know how to qualify your customer and ask, ask, ask.