IT’S STILL POLYPROPYLENE – 9/29/05

Recently two carpet dealers submitted samples of carpets they received complaints on a very short time after having been installed. The concern was for poor appearance, matting, crushing and color change. Both products were expensive. One was a beautiful woven product; a very thick cut pile with an intricate and delicate floral pattern containing wide open spaces with very light colored yarn. This carpet was installed in hallways, on stairs and in a living room. The other carpet was a cut and loop, solid colored geometric patterned product also installed in hall¬ways and a living room. Since both of these carpet products were highly styled and costly the expectations of the end user and the dealer were high.
There’s no question that looking at these products the perception would be that they possess the ability Read more »

IT’S STILL POLYPROPYLENE – 9/29/05

Recently two carpet dealers submitted samples of carpets they received complaints on a very short time after having been installed. The concern was for poor appearance, matting, crushing and color change. Both products were expensive. One was a beautiful woven product; a very thick cut pile with an intricate and delicate floral pattern containing wide open spaces with very light colored yarn. This carpet was installed in hallways, on stairs and in a living room. The other carpet was a cut and loop, solid colored geometric patterned product also installed in hall¬ways and a living room. Since both of these carpet products were highly styled and costly the expectations of the end user and the dealer were high.
There’s no question that looking at these products the perception would be that they possess the ability Read more »

DOES THE CONSUMER EXPECT TOO MUCH? 12/31/01

This is a question that begs an answer. For many years now the industry has trained the con¬sumer to expect the unexpected. Stainmaster ads had people believing that if they dropped or spilled any food stuff or substance on their new carpet it would jump back off. Since this was a physical impossibility and defied reality, consumers complained vehemently about their carpets “staining.” In reality what was happening, in most cases, was the creation of dark spots from spills attracting soil; these were dirt spots, not stains. On top of that consumers were told to clean the spills with Wisk. The sales of Wisk, I’m sure, were boosted by these cleaning instruc-tions but a lot of consumers were sadly disillusioned because they made matters worse by load-ing their carpets up with a soapy agent that did more damage than good.
Next we went to the soil retardant applications and dirt resistant carpets. Read more »

BLOG CHANGING FIBER USE IN THE INDUSTRY

Nylon has been the dominant fiber used in carpet, both residential and commercial, for several decades. There have been fluctuations over the years where nylon, polyester and polypropylene have gained and lost share.  Wool, which only occupies 2% or less of the market, is a factor in high end goods within the luxury market and in rugs.  Wool is also used extensively in the hospitality market in four and five star rated hotels.  The use of wool in carpet has actually increased worldwide due to the rapid development of the world’s economies.  In the commercial market nylon is still king with a proven track record. The dominance of nylon in the commercial market is not going to change any time soon. The major changes in fiber share, configuration, coloration and sustainability are occurring in the residential market. Read more »

BEWARE THE FUZZY STAPLE – 5/18/01

There’s a move on to produce loop pile carpets with spun yarn and, in fact, there are several products now on the market constructed this way.  Spun yarn is made up of short pieces of sta­ple fiber, normally 7 to 8 inches in length, that are blended, paralellized, drawn, twisted and heat set. This process is the same as making yarn from wool and it is a means to emulate a woolen like appearance in the new products which are being produced with this yarn system.  There is an additional step however with these new nylon yarns and that is a process of thermal sealing the yarn. There are a few different methods for achieving this “melt” sealing of the yarn in use today. This process is supposed to keep the fiber intact and prevent severe fuzzing but still allowing some minimal fuzzing to give the appearance of a wool carpet.  The process is also supposed to create a tight twist when the yarn is processed and the twist is set. Read more »

As we embark on a New Year..

As we embark on a new year with hope, ambition and cautious optimism, you should be aware of changes in the flooring industry you’ll inevitably be facing.  Much of the change is being driven by the green movement concerning everyone.  But the green movement is not the only reason for the changes.  Issues of installation of flooring material and protecting the products integrity on the floor, relative to the installation, are pressing.  There are also issues of Read more »

WHAT IS STANDARD OF CARE FOR FLOORING DEALERS?

Standard of care is the degree of care an ordinary, reasonable, and prudent person would exercise in given circumstances. Used as a test of liability in cases of negligence, this standard is not applied uniformly on all persons because varying degrees of reasonableness may be expected from a minor (infant), an unskilled person, or a professional such as a doctor.  In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. Read more »

MORE OF WHAT YOU ASKED FOR

Each year the speakers at Surfaces are furnished with evaluation forms that rate us on how we did.  The results are a barometer of whether or not the attendees felt like they got value and for the most part you felt you did, which certainly inspires the speakers.  However, we always want to give you as much value as we can and your suggestions give us direction.  That said the overwhelming request was for more information on wood issues relative to installation.   So let’s give you a brief overview of what could be the program for our Surfaces presentation for 2011. Read more »

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE

Having just returned from Surfaces I have to say it was probably my best show ever.  Despite the slowdown in the economy the mood was more than up beat.  We can say that on average business is probably down overall between 15 and 20% for flooring manufacturers but there are segments where business is brisk.  Everyone I spoke with was more than happy with this years Surfaces.   Read more »

CARPET FIBERS: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE

With all the talk about new carpet fibers, improvements to existing fibers, recyclability and sustainability what are you to believe?  How much of this is marketing hype, how much is truth and most importantly what exactly is the difference? Read more »

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