The dealer in this claim sold a nylon berber carpet to a customer about six years ago. The complaint regards very fine gritty dust-hard for a few days, then soft-the consumer is seeing on the tops of her furniture in one bedroom. The broadloom is installed throughout the home, but only this one room is exhibiting the dust.

The dealer inspected the carpet and does not suspect it to be the cause. He also noticed places on the ceiling where drywall had been patched. When he mentioned this to the consumer, she said she did have to replace some of the ductwork in the home, but not in that room.

First, if the broadloom was generating a gritty dust, it would likely be from a breakdown of latex in the backing and would be most obvious in the rooms with the most traffic. But it would be everywhere the product was installed.

Second, carpet is a trap - the particles would be seen in it. Things will fall and get trapped in it, so the likelihood of something being generated by the broadloom and becoming airborne is slim.

Particulate matter coming from the carpet could also be caused by the fiber degrading, creating a fine dust-like substance that could become airborne. This, too, would be all over, however, and not in one room. Also, the carpet would look different because the fiber would actually be decomposing and wearing out in traffic areas.

Lastly, anything that may be coming from the carpet would not start out hard and get soft. It would remain in the same physical state.

The cause for this concern has to be isolated to the room where the condition is being experienced. Since there was work on the drywall in the room, and drywall material can be hard and when touched, pressed on or crushed, get soft or powdery, it is likely the cause. Nothing in carpet will do the same thing.

The dilemma this dealer has is the customer is the property manager for a real estate firm he sells to, and he feels if he does not help her it will jeopardize business. This would be tantamount to extortion since, as we've stated, it is not possible for the carpet to be causing the concern. After six years he is also well beyond any reasonable consideration he may feel compelled to offer as a justification for an irrational complaint.

However, I've seen similar situations where dust was coming from the carpet. In one, there was a blue tint appearing in a light colored carpet, and the end user thought the product was somehow changing its appearance. When looked at under magnification, small blue particulate matter could be seen trapped in the fibers creating a subtle blue tint. When the carpet was pulled up a synthetic fiber pad beneath it had a blue tint applied to its surface. Traffic on the carpet had caused the tint to breakdown and migrate into the carpet yarn causing the problem. The solution in this case was to replace the cushion and pile lift the broadloom to remove the particles.

In another case the latex was breaking down on the back of the product, coming up into the face yarn and some of it was getting airborne-this was an extreme and rare case. If latex does break down on backing-as it often will when high filler loads are used-it will stay beneath the carpet because it is too big to come through to the face and too heavy to float in the air.

Remember, if you have a question or concern, contact us. We can help you.