Shedding is the loss of loose fiber from a cut pile carpet or one made with a spun yarn. When we say spun yarn, think of wool as spun yarn made up of short lengths of fiber. Most residential carpet using spun yarn employs nylon. Since the length of the fiber used in spun yarn is short, it is normal for these small pieces to shed. This is not a defect. Spun yarn will shed forever. Most of the shedding will occur in the early life of the carpet and diminish over time.

There are other factors that will influence the amount of shedding, such as the thickness of the yarn and tightness of the twist. The heavier the yarn, the more shedding. If the yarn has less twist it will also shed more fiber. The tighter the twist the more securely the fibers of the yarn are held in place and the less shedding there should be.

The amount of traffic on a carpet will also influence shedding. The volume of shedding at first will likely be heavier in high-traffic areas and diminish as the loose fiber is worked out of the carpet. The areas not subjected to high traffic will never experience this normal loss of loose fiber because the only time they may see any agitation is when the carpet is vacuumed.

Therefore, these areas will continue to shed and fill the vacuum bag. People normally don't just vacuum the traffic areas but rather the entire carpet, and where you don't walk you'll always get a higher volume of shedding during vacuuming.

There may also be balls of fiber on the surface of the carpet when it is new as a result of loose fiber shedding. This should diminish greatly over time. And the more aggressive the vacuum cleaner the more loose fiber it will harvest from the carpet. This will worsen if the vacuum does not have an adjustable brush. It will dig into the carpet and pull out whatever loose fiber it can.

If the vacuum has a clear canister the loose fiber will be displayed, often causing concern that the carpet is falling apart. Remember, the fatter the yarn and looser the twist, the more fiber will come out. There are some vacuum cleaners being sold and used today, marketed as high-performance machines, that don't lose their suction and can create havoc with cut pile carpet. Vacuums with the CRI Seal of Approval are all that should be used to vacuum carpet.

Just because the bag fills up with fiber does not mean the carpet is defective or falling apart. This, as we stated, is normal with carpets made of spun yarn. Do not tell the consumer the shedding will or should stop in a couple of weeks or months because it won't. If the carpet is made with staple fiber, the shedding will never stop; it will diminish greatly over time but the length of time will vary depending on any number of conditions. Not all carpets are the same - not used the same way and not vacuumed the same way.

On the other hand, fibers that extend from the carpet, entangle on the surface, mat, cause pilling or don't shed indicate another issue that is likely a manufacturing defect.

Post this article where it can be seen by your staff and customers to explain shedding. Don't tell people carpet made with staple fiber will stop shedding in any given time frame because it won't. The carpet won't go bald from shedding.