Called the carpet cleaning company and day later you’re moving in your furniture as it took 24 hours to dry. Looking good, but have you ever wondered what went into the making of the carpet? Originally carpets were predominately made of wool, and woven on hand looms, but today wool is strictly high end, and synthetic fiber predominate. Many carpets are dyed but some are printed. High shag, low shag and sculptured refer to the look and pile of the carpet. Electronic controls have changed the carpet making industry, allowing more flexibility in design. Synthetic yarns like nylon (66%), acrylics (15%), polyester (<15%) and polypropylene (<5%) are the primary yarns used in carpets.
Carpet Backing & Padding
Carpet backing is made up of woven and woven polypropylene, though some may incorporate jute as well. The backing is held together by synthetic adhesive latex backing. The latex backing is the rolled on under pressure, sealing the yarn loops on the back to the backing creating your carpet. Carpet padding is rebond (bonded urethane). Rebond is recycled scrap urethane that is chopped up into uniformly sized chunks and pressed into layers. Rare today but still around are pads made of horsehair and jute. Padding of quality includes a plastic top sheet between the carpet and the padding.
Tufted Carpet Construction
Fibers are spun in long filaments called ‘slivers’ the slivers are then spun into yarns. The yarns are heat set to prevent unraveling. Modern carpets are tufted. Needles with yarn penetrates the backing with the yarn forming a loop. As the needle retracts the looper, a flat hook, seizes the yarn forming the carpet. Knives cut the loops to level the carpet and cut in sculptured designs. Solid color carpets are dyed, while others are printed using a large-scale screen printing technique. Some are printed with embossed rollers, rolling the design onto the carpet. Carpets are then inspected to make sure no tufts are missing. A worker with a single needle gun shoots pile yarn where ever there is missing tufts. The carpets are tested for flammability, resistance to sunlight and static discharge. Tests determine wear potential. The number of tufts determine how the carpets wear and how the pile holds up. Density also affects the feel of the carpet. Numerous other tests determine the strength of the backing, both its adhesion between layers but its resistance to stretching.
Carpet Cleaning & More in Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Northridge & Greater Los Angeles, California
Carpet manufacturing is a tried and true process that has been developed over 3000 years. Carpets resist traffic, wear, sunlight and dirt. Granulated dirt can cut fibers diminishing the life of the carpet over time. All carpets need cleaning periodically. It’s the nature of the beast. Cleaning removes dirt, biological contamination and fluffs the pile returning the carpet to nearly like new state. Carpet cleaning is another technology that has matured over time. We don’t hang carpets and beat them like we used to. Cleaning prolongs the useful life of the carpet. Carpeting is an investment meant to last 20 years or more, and many prefer carpeted floors, especially with toddlers and young children. Contact Eco Clean Carpet Cleaning for all your floor and upholstery cleaning needs.
