Last week I received a call from a dealer complaining about Kid Proof Carpet. A consumer complained the carpet, which was just installed, did not look like the sample. The product, a cut-pile olefin, was matted down.

Sure enough, when the dealer went to see the carpet, it did not look like the sample the consumer still had. When the dealer called the mill to report the complaint, she talked to someone in Tech Services.

KID PROOF CARPET

The response from the mill was, that is what this product does. It added, it hadn’t had any complaints on this product for this condition. Not that it would tell her about them-that’s just a pacifier to make her go away.

The dealer’s response was, she had just sold and installed this product and it hadn’t even had time to get used before there was a complaint about it. When the dealer voiced her concern to me, she got the same answer: Cut-pile olefin will compress and, if it does so while it’s rolled, you can do nothing about it.

You could use a lawn thatcher, but it won’t bring the carpet back up once it goes down. The reason is, polypropylene has virtually no resiliency. And, in a cut-pile configuration, it is guaranteed to compress to a point from which you’ll never get it up again. If the carpet is rolled up warm, the compression will be worse.

If the carpet doesn’t match the sample, and chances are, it won’t if it’s matted, you’ve got a problem. Is this a manufacturing defect or reason enough to replace the carpet? The answer to both questions is no, and I’ll explain the answer not many of you, especially not the mill, will want to hear.

EFFECTS OF MATTING AND CRUSHING ON CUT-PILE OLEFIN

Matting, crushing, roll marks, or anything which affects the carpet so the face is flatter than the sample’s is not a defect. Since everyone in the industry should know polypropylene mats and crushes, if you order the product, be ready for it not to look like the sample. This is because it has been flattened at roll up, in the truck while riding to your store, and when it was in storage under the other rolls in the stack.

If you are really lucky, you may be able to steam the product and pile lift it to get it to come back to some semblance of its intended appearance. Don’t bet heavy on it, though.

So, the answer to the first question is, no, this is not a manufacturing defect. It is the nature of the beast, and you all should know that. The dealer who voiced concern over this product knows now not to buy or sell this type of product anymore, and won’t. You should know the same.

To answer the second part of the question, is this reason to replace the carpet? In the case of this dealer, she’ll have to do so because her customer had the sample to compare.

Even if the customer didn’t have the sample, she would only have to come to the store with a scrap of the installed carpet or get the sample and take it home. Whichever scenario played out, the dealer would lose. If the carpet is replaced, it will be at the dealer’s expense, not the mill’s.

This is not to say the mill is completely exonerated in matters such as this. The dealer is supposed to be able to purchase a product for resale which will perform to certain standards and be merchantable for service. If products are constructed which fail to live up to these standards, it is the mill’s fault for putting such a product on the market.

This creates another problem. If the carpet is supposed to be Kid Proof, Pet Proof, Reggie Proof, or Sibling Proof-and I do not like the term “proof” anything when it comes to carpet-one would think it would at least start its life on the positive side of the appearance meter. When it doesn’t, the industry has a problem.
You can find products which will actually accomplish what is expected of them under childhood traffic. A solution-dyed, loop-pile nylon, for example, will give you the stain resistance and resilience required to satisfy the consumer and probably cost about the same.

You can’t believe all the hype, special naming, or outright stretching of the truth you hear about some carpet. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is; and if you question it, call LGM Technical Carpet Services and we’ll give you the facts. Better you should read this and get upset with me now than have to pay the price for disillusioning a customer, who will really make you pay out of your pocket with your reputation.