A carpet inspector I know recently asked whether pile reversal, water marking, and pooling of carpet could reverse itself if the product were removed from the floor. He had heard, apparently from people at the carpet manufacturing facility, a carpet which had reportedly suffered from these conditions did not exhibit them when it arrived back at the mill.

CAN PILE REVERSAL, WATERMARKING, AND POOLING REVERSE ITSELF

My first response was to ask whether everyone was sure what was being seen was, in fact, pile reversal, water marking, and pooling, and not just a shading condition. The difference is significant in understanding the question.

Shading will make the carpet appear to have highlights, a light and dark visual effect such as that seen when suede is brushed. Shading occurs when the carpet pile lay is altered by foot traffic, vacuuming or grooming.

The carpet can be easily influenced to shade, such as when a solid, cut-pile product is brushed by hand. When brushed, the surface will feel smooth, soft, and physically unaltered. The pile lay direction change alters the light reflectance value of the carpet, creating shading. However, this shading can easily be altered by subjecting the carpet to the same influence-again, like brushing your hand over suede-so, the shading is not permanent.

Pile reversal, pooling, and watermarking are significantly different. Though shading occurs, it is the result of a distinct physical change in the carpet pile-a permanent vertical reorientation of its direction.

Further, at the point of a pile lay change, the face yarn actually alters its physical shape by contorting, drawing down, or actually tightening its twist. This condition can be seen and felt. It is blatant and set in the yarn, not something which will come out by itself when the carpet is taken up.

Once a physical change has been effected it will not automatically reverse itself. This would be like a traffic lane disappearing from the carpet when it is taken up or tip blossoming, ply separation, or distorted pile in front of furniture disappearing-it just doesn’t happen. An analogy which may be simpler to comprehend is to a permanent in your hair. Once you have one, it stays until your hair grows out.

Unfortunately, the surface of carpet does not continue to grow once it’s tufted or woven. If a physical change is initiated, such as distortion of the pile surface, it will not come out just because the carpet has been taken up.

What prompted this discussion further is the comment the carpet had arrived back at the mill reportedly because of pile reversal. Almost no carpet is replaced for this condition, as it is not deemed a manufacturing defect. If it is replaced due to this phenomenon, the conditions are extraordinary.

I cannot believe when the product arrived at the mill the pile reversal was gone. If pile reversal, pooling, and watermarking were correctable by pulling up the carpet, I would have done it in my own place years ago. Every complaint registered because of this malady would have been resolved by pulling the carpet up, rolling it, unrolling it, and re-installing it. This would be a simple, effective, and relatively cost-efficient way to eliminate complaints for water marking, pile reversal, and pooling.

But, since this type of condition cannot be corrected once it sets itself in, pulling up the carpet and sending it to the mill will not make the problem go away. If it did, that would be the best kept secret in the industry and would surely have been ferreted out many years ago.

So, I’m going out on a limb, one I believe is very short, and tell you, you can’t correct a physical change in carpet by simply taking it up and sending it back to the mill. If you could, a whole lot of replaced carpet could simply be cleaned and resold and would look just like new.

I have to believe the carpet which allegedly alleviated itself of pile reversal, water marking, and pooling was actually suffering from a shading condition misinterpreted by whoever looked at it. Since physical changes do not revert to their original configurations in any tangible material, a disfigured carpet will not straighten itself out.

If I’m wrong, we have finally found the cure for this condition which has plagued the industry and disillusioned so many end users, but don’t bet on it just yet.