In this installment we’ll look at appearance retention issues. Appearance retention is an area that is more attributable to knowing and understanding the products performance than it is to manufacturing defects. However, manufacturing defects can create appearance retention problems.

One of the biggest complaints relative to appearance is matting and crushing. Now carpet, because it has a vertically oriented textile surface is going to mat and crush to a degree. It’s when this condition occurs prematurely, that is, before the consumer expects it, that you’ll get a complaint. It may be that the carpet is not appropriate for use in the environment in which it was sold. For example, if you sell a base grade carpet into a house that has two adults, four children and two dogs don’t expect it to look good for much longer than a month. However, if you sell a nylon berber product, in a dark shade, that is very dense it should perform well for several years and look good doing it except for soiling from use.

Relative to matting and crushing however, if the carpet has a very loosely plied yarn, it will blossom on the tips and change the appearance. This may be a defect or it just may be the way the yarn is processed. The tighter the twist the less likely a yarn is to blossom. A cut pile polypropylene is guaranteed to mat and crush because it inherently lacks the resiliency to bounce back. If this type of product is over marketed or over sold you are going to have problems. It’s not a defect since it is a known characteristic but if the mill sells it as the type of product that is a high performer then you are justified in taking them to task.

Most often matting and crushing complaints are going to be in concentrated, unalterable, pivotal areas such as hallways, in front of someones favorite chair or in an entry area to a room. You must know how the products will perform that you sell in order to avoid this type of a complaint. Unfortunately this information is not supplied by the manufacturer so you have to fend for yourself and use your common sense and experience.

Pile reversal, water marking and pooling is another appearance change condition that may manifest itself in cut pile carpets. It is not considered a defect but if it occurs within a very short time of installation you may have cause for action. This condition will occur most often in denser, better quality products. It is a vertical reorientation of the surface of the carpet which alters the light reflectance values of the face yarns. It will look like water was spilled on the carpet. There is no known cause or cure for this condition and it is considered a phenomena in the product. However, much is known about how to prevent it from occurring but the information has not been shared with many in the industry. Just think about this. Have you ever seen a carpet with an attached polyurethane backing experience water marking, pooling or pile reversal? Part of this process, unbeknownst to the finishers, is working to prevent these conditions.

Premature wear is another complaint area. This would be considered “ugly out.” That is, the carpet looking worn long before its time or before it is expected to look worn. And the term wear is relative to whomever is complaining about it. A consumer may expect her new carpet to look worn after a few years but not after a few months. Again, we go back to putting the correct carpet in the use environment so that the performance levels are optimized. Premature wear can cover several categories of problems. It may be matting, crushing, fuzzing, pilling or dulling of the color. It may also be a discoloration of the carpet. For example, blue, which is one of the worst colors there is on carpet can take on a yellowish or grayish cast making it look ugly prematurely.

Premature soiling is also an area which can generate complaints. On polypropylene carpets particularly, if the yarn lubricant is not purged from the surface or if it does not volatize in the finishing oven, it can attract soil rapidly. Spilling water on a carpet that has excessive yarn lubricant can generate dark spots. This is a manufacturing problem but not a defect. It can be corrected with hot water extraction using no cleaning solution. Another issue is the soil retardant. Not enough and the carpet will soil more rapidly, too much and the carpet will really soil more rapidly. This is a critical area and one that requires close monitoring by the manufacturer.