Carpet - Terms and Materials

Here are some terms that I think you will need to understand when you visit the local carpet store. Hint: If a store employee can not explain these terms to you, then they possibly do not know what they are talking about.

Average Pile Yarn Weight - Mass per unit area of the pile yarn including buried portions of the pile yarn. In the United States, it is usually expressed as ounces per square yard. Density = pile yarn weight (in ounces per square yard) times 36, divided by pile thickness (pile height in inches); or D = W x 36/T.

"Why? As you will hear the term ounce-weight in reference to the yarn, especially in plushes and saxonies.

Backing - Fabrics and yarns that make up the back of the carpet as opposed to the carpet pile or face.
1. Primary backing - A woven or nonwoven fabric in which the yarn is inserted by the tufting needles.
2. Secondary backing - Fabric laminated to the back of the carpet to reinforce and increase dimensional stability.
- For Fusion Bonded Carpets: Backing material for fusion-bonded carpet is a system of layered vinyl or plastic compound and fiberglass scrim for dimensional stability.
- For Tufted Carpets: Two backings, a Primary back consisting of a woven or nonwoven fabric in which the pile yarn is inserted by the tufting needles. Also a Secondary back, which is fabric laminated to the back of carpet to reinforce and increase dimensional stability.
- For Woven Carpets: Backings of woven carpets are the "construction yarns" comprising chain warp, stuffer warp, and shot or fill, which are interwoven with the face yarn during carpet fabric formation.

"Why? They may try to sell you on a specific grade of carpet "just because" and I want you to be able to know why.

Backing systems -
- Attached cushion: Padding, such as foam rubber or polyurethane, that is made as an integral part of the backing.

- Conventional backing: Carpet with a primary and secondary latex-laminated woven or nonwoven fabric.

- PVC hard-backed or closed-cell PVC (polyvinyl chloride): Used mostly in carpet tile or 6' wide goods due to its weight and stiffness. PVC gives a stiff, stable backing with little cushioning but excellent tuft bind and stability.

- Thermoplastic: A molten resin process that permanently adheres the primary and secondary backing.

- Unitary: A single lamination of fabric backing with high rubber content latex or hot-melt resin compound for increased tuft bind. Used primarily with loop pile carpet.

- Urethane (Polyurethane): A polymeric resin applied by the carpet mill in the finishing process. In the heat and curing chamber it reacts and creates a foam-like texture. This backing encapsulates the yarn for extra tuft bind with a cushion attached.

"Why? Especially important that you understand the different backings. You don't want Unitary backing in a residential area where you want a padded carpet, as unitary can not have a padding. Though is makes for a very dimensionally stable carpet when glued down. We have a church that installed unitary backed carpet 15 years ago and have hosted a school there too, without so much as a ravel.

Cut Pile - A pile surface created by cutting the loops of yarn in a tufted, woven or fusion-bonded carpet.

"Why? Because this term is likely to surface if your are looking at plushes or cut berber.

Drop Match A drop match is a pattern that repeats across the carpet diagonally or at a 45-degree angle to the edge of the seam.

"Why? Especially when selecting a patterned berber or a patterned plush this term is important to figure how much waste you will have on the job.

Dye Lot A quantity of carpet dyed at one time or made from yarn dyed at one time which is consistent in color throughout the fabric. Dye lot size varies with dye method and the capability of dyeing equipment.

"Why? You should actually hear this alot. It is important that all of your carpet comes from the same roll unless it is broken up by hard wood hallways or tile, inwhich case you might (not always) save some money by buying remnants instead.

Dye Methods
- Beck dyed
A method of batch dyeing carpet. A piece dye method. The carpet is sewn into a loop, then hung on a large reel in the dye beck unit which moves the carpet through the dye liquor. This process is continued for a set time and achieves excellent color uniformity throughout the carpet.

- Continuous or "Kuster" dyed
A method of continuously dyeing carpet. A piece dye method. Kuster manufactures a continuous dye machine that is commonly used. Printing is another continuous dyeing process. Large lots of a single dye series are possible with continuous dyeing, but side- to- side color consistency should be verified.

- Continuous solid color dyed
A process of dyeing singles or plied yarn using dye rolls. The application of dye is similar to continuous space dye process except that a single color is applied to the yarn. These solid color yarns can be tufted into multicolored carpets.

- Package dyed
This is similar to skein dyeing inasmuch as undyed yarn is wound on perforated tubes and the packages are dyed by passing dye liquor through the packages under pressure.

- Pad dyed
A process of dyeing carpet, yarn or fiber stock continuously. The material to be dyed passes through a trough containing the dye liquor and then between heavy rollers which squeeze the dye liquor evenly into the material.

- Skein dyed
A method of dyeing yarn. Undyed spun or filament yarns are plied and heatset, then reeled into skein form and dyed in skein dye kettles.

- Solution dyed
Pigment is added to the molten polymer from which the filaments are made. The fiber is extruded in colored form.

- Space dyed
A method of dyeing yarn. Space dye refers to yarn with multiple colors printed on each strand. There are three basic processes used to create this effect: the warp system, the knit-de-knit process and the continuous dye process.

"Why? I just thought I'd throw this in because it could come up in a salespersons speil. Typically most residential carpet is solution dyed or skein dyed.

Hand - The tactile aesthetic qualities of carpet and textiles, how it feels to the hand.

"Why? You will likely hear this term when comparing PET Poly and nylons together. The Poly will have a softer feel, but has a bad fuzzing/pilling effect for several vaccuumings and can mat faster.

Nap - Refers to the pile surface of a carpet or rug.

"Why? You will hear this term often, I just wanted to include this definition to prevent some confusion that has been possible in the past.

Based on a typical cut berber manufacture:

They will usually dye the yarn first. Not always, but usually. The dye process is usually done with an acid dye because most of the fibers (especially PET Polys) have a resistance to staining from conventional dye methods.

They will extrude strands of polypropylene or nylon and weave it together in a loose knit grid pattern, for the primary backing while weaving the yarn in. This process is computer controlled these days and is highly effective in making sure the possible colors and patterns line up properly.

The carpet comes out in a loop rug form and proceeds to another machine that shaves it to the proper height. Different methods of machinery are employed here to create different sheens. The sheen also depends on how densely the yarn was woven into the primary backing. The machine usually resembles like a reel-type lawn mower. Many sheens are actually cut at the looper, which is modified to rock back against a blade while it stitches the loops.

The carpet is usually given a chemical wash at this point, to remove the fuzz from the loop cutting process.

If the yarn wasn't dyed before this point, the carpet, called griege or grey material, gets a sprayed on or a rolled on dye. This dye is also acid based. If it gets rolled on, it is usually a gel substance and is pressed through the secondary backing. If it gets sprayed on, the carpet passes under a set of sprayers that usually spray a random pattern in a process called "Tekdye." Once the process has set, it is given another chemical wash.

Then at this point, another machine squeegees the second woven mat of extruded fibers and glues them to the primary backing with a latex based glue. This secondary backing adds dimensional stability and also increases the dynamics to make for an easier installation.

Then it is heated slightly with various methods, to insure strand stability and also to give the roll a consistant direction as it is rolled onto a single roll to be sent out to a distributor.

Photo courtesy of WFCA

Twist and heat set are important. The harder the twist the 'springier' the carpet is and thus, the more resistant to crush and matting. Heat set helps in two-fold. It causes the tufts to have a direction, which is important because you can actually lighten to carpet or darken it depending on which way the "nap direction" is running. Typically, the installers I trained were to either run it toward the main entrance to give it a deeper, more luxuriant sheen.

When they weave a plush with continuous filament it takes on a loop berber style. They then cut the loops to either a level or a stippled "trackless" plush. Now we'll talk about staple.

A stapled filament is just like those carpet punch toys that you can buy and make different pictures with. You press a short piece of tuft into a screen-like primary backing. When it is finished it is glued together by a latex glue with a secondary backing.

Another filament style is needlefelt, which is electrostatically charged fibers that create a felt like look. It creates a very durable carpet, but isn't very handy for creating a "home" feel.

Rubber back carpet - Stemming from the days when everyone had 'kitchen' carpet, there are three main types. Urethane backing is the middle grade and the most practical for home decorating because of its durability.

Black foam was more common, and even though it is still used today, it is loosing it's market share because of it's instability. With repeated traffic and wet/dry use it crystalizes and starts to turn into a powder, at which point the primary backing and loops have nothing holding them to the floor.

The third type is the best, most durable, and most expensive. I recently used this type of goods in a bank. It has a heavy Urethane backing that is glued down with a pressure sensitive glue. This is supposed to keep it from slipping but make it 'releasable' for replacement, thus saving man hours in reinstallation. The heavy Urethane is very similar to the type used in truck bed liners, in fact I have used it for that before. The main difference between the yellow Urethane and the commercial Urethane is, the yellow residential's primary backing is still bonded using liquid latex (similar to Elmer's glue) with a silica sand as a filler.

Commerical rubber backed carpets and the "carpet squares" commonly used in commercial applications, don't use the latex. Your carpet fibers are woven into the primary backing and then bonded by the black or grey Urethane itself, creating not only a strong bond, but a water resistant layer as well. These carpets can be pressure washed. Yeah, with a car wash sprayer!

Polypropylene - Is a thermoplastic polymer, in use by the carpet industry for the tuft yarn and backings. For this use it is usually extruded to it's shape. A common name for polypropylene is the brand name Olefin. In addition to the extrusion of the yarns it is also used in blend with nylon, or in the case of soft back carpets a spun fiber sheet is adhered to the secondary backing as a means for extending the life of the carpet and making it easier to install. Soft back carpets also reduce the need for touch up paint and stain after an installation, but usually come at a higher price.

Nylon - Is a thermoplastic polymer made from a monomer. Other uses include matrix material for carbon fiber, bristles for toothbrushes, and fabrics. Used primarily for the tuft pile in carpets. It is not as resistant to stains or spills as Polypropylene, but it is more durable. Nylon has a higher memory retention, thus is more resistant to crush or matting.

Wool - Is a natural fiber primarily from the sheep family. It is a durable natural fibre and is a renewable source. It is not made from oil or coal by products like Polypropylene or nylon. Wool is hydroscopic, absorbing fluids at a higher rating than synthetics and also tend to stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer because of the way wool retains air, thus insulating it from the subfloor. It also absorbs sound better because of this fact. But wool and wool blends are profoundly more expensive.

Polyester or PET poly - A cheeper alternative. Virtually resistant to stains. As I was told by a carpet representative once, "Have you ever seen the inside of a coke bottle stained?" PET poly is said to be recycled polymers, and as the rep pointed out, much of which comes from recycled soda and water bottles. The extruded tuft yarn has to be solution dyed, or dyed while in the liquid stage. While resistant to stains it is typically more apt to shed, and is much easier to mat even though it has a stiffer memory than nylon and Polypropylene.

PTT - Or Sonora is a by-product of the knowledge of the three main synthetics. It is a polymer that doesn't vary much from Polyester, but is said to be less crush resistant because of a strong "spring-like" chemical chain. It too has to be solution dyed, but because of this the fiber is more resistant to staining, and of course is much more resiliant at traffic areas.

Now just a note about standard stretch-in backings. I have already mentioned soft back and that isn't one of them on my list to discuss here.

There are two different types of backings used for these types of carpet. I have always made the comment that one seemed to be from manufacturers who wanted to cheapen their plushes because the "don't buy this one" backing usually came on the trackless plushes. They don't use much filler in the secondary backing bonding process which makes it look white, where a more sand colored taupe or beige, is stiffer, and more desirable.

Here's why: The white latex backings tend to loosen up in trafic areas sooner, leading to a situation that needs to be restretched in a short period of time. What is happening, is the bonding glue has crystallized and is actually falling off of the carpet, causing a de-lamination of the primary and secondary backings. Your primary backing is only made to hold the yarn, it doesn't take much stretching before it starts tearing apart. The secondary backing where all of the strength is. The better the bond between primary and secondary backings, also the better the bond between the backings and the yarn. A simple distinction will save headaches down the road.

Also, people have to common misconception that thicker padding is better. Actually, thickness really has nothing to do with it. The pound weight is actually very important. The higher the number the better. A typical pad for berber was 7/16 inch six pound. Some companies call 7/16 pad a "shaved" half inch.

What happens is; the downpressure of traffic works the backing up and down which weakens it. So the action of a thicker pad causes more damage than a stiffer pad. The stiffer pad actually allows for better traffic retention and lengthens the life of your carpeting.

So here we are at your selection phase. You go to the store and find that I still haven't scratched the surface.

There are styles of carpet! The level cut plushes, the trackless cut plushes, the berber textured plushes, the sculptured textured plushes, printed plushes (usually floral patterns), berbers, the patterned berbers, the cut berbers, the flecked cut berbers, cut berbers that look like throwbacks to the shag days, or heavier.

Then there are sculptured carpets, carpet squares, kitchen carpets, "astroturf", out door carpets (besides turf).

If by some crazy happenstance, you don't find the color you are looking for, there are companies that will dye a custom color for you. A simple google search will turn up several.

If you ask me any questions in the guestbook, I can probably answer them, so fire away.

How about carpets like kitchen carpets that are for play rooms with cartoon characters or roads of the little Matchbox cars, similar carpets to those with big people's games like checker boards, backgammon, chess, even shuffle board. I even made a putting green in a game room once with a heavy napped turf, complete with the little ball cup in the hole.

This style has been around for some time. However in the area of rugs to roll out on a bare floor, the use is becoming very innovative. Several fun designs have become available and easily purchased online, with options for non slip padding and easy online shopping complete with samples you can order then send back when you order the rug you like!

Carpets and rugs designed just for kids at KidCarpet.com.


The thing about these guys is they can print the custom rugs. Add your child's photo to the playroom, or your favorite artwork to the study. And that's just one of the four custom features offered besides the thousands of rugs they already have.

Now if your have read this far, Thanks! Spaciba! Aregato! *bow, bow, kiss feet, bow, bow*

ANYWAY...

If you want to know anything else about me head over to my lensography