flooring trends...

[Mikey P]

http://mikeysboard.com/2012/10/12/flooring-trends/

along with the pencil and paper trick I took a look around the shop today..

 

[hogjowl]

Way to long. I'll try to wade through it tomorrow.

 

[billyeadon]

Mike,
I think problems with the SmartStrand has more to do with the density of the construction and with their unfortunate marketing. Putting a low face weight yarn in an apartment is going to be an issue with most fibers. Don't forget the crappy pad they put in most apartments.

Whether people like it or not polyester will probably be 50% of the residential market within 5 years.

 

[Mikey P]

Good points Bill.

In my house I have it in a 10 x12 office with swirling chairs and three swirling dogs that get secluded in there for hours at a time and years later it still looks like new after cleaning. But It is a medium weight and berbermax pad.

 

[hogjowl]

I thought the question was about how the non-SmartStrand polyester carpets were holding up to traffic and soiling as compared to the SmartStrand fiber?

 

[Mikey P]

And what is your answer?

 

[hogjowl]

All I see are polyesters that are crushed and matted and then I see Smart Strand carpet that isn't. I have no way of knowing if the crushed and matted polys I see are just the same old crap or if they are Shaw's newest products that are intended to be an answer to Mohawk's SmartStrand brand or not. If I had to guess, I'd have to say that the PTT fiber is the only poly worth purchasing. It certainly would be what I would purchase today, if I had to spend the money on carpets at this point in time.

 

[billyeadon]

One interesting side note is that Mohawk does not use Scotchgard on Smartstrand but they do use it on a cheaper PET. Shaw does use their R2X on their poly.

polyester loves oil so why wouldn't you apply Scotchgard to the fiber. Most likely cost is the reason but I believe it will backfire on them.

 

[hogjowl]

I don't see how Smartstrand could be any more soil resistant. You can clean it with hot water as it is.

 

[billyeadon]

I don't see how Smartstrand could be any more soil resistant. You can clean it with hot water as it is.

Soil resistance is not oil resistant. I agree that it resists acid dyes very well due to the nature of its dye system, but as long as it is in the polyester family it will attract oil which allows the dry soil to stick.

 

[Mikey P]

define "apply" Bill..


sprayed on our mixed in while still in the liquid state ala' Stainmaster type yarns.?

 

[hogjowl]

You may be right, Bill, but it won't be any more of a problem than it has been with olefin fiber. Remember back in the late 80's when cleaners were saying oil on olefin would kill the sale of olefin? Personally, I was glad to run into an oil problem on an olefin fiber ... it made them call me. Time will tell how much of a problem oil is going to be on Smartstrand, but it hasn't been a major problem on PET, so why would PTT be any different? (Speaking from the cleaners perspective.)

 

[billyeadon]

Part of the problem with olefin during the 80s was that they had to apply a lubricant to the yarn during the spinning process due to the low melting point of olefin. The mills tried to save a few pennies by not scouring it off before tufting it into a carpet. This caused massive resoiling in the traffic areas and cleaners had to go out and clean that crap off. You are right it created a lot of cleaning business. Amoco saw the writing on the wall and sold their olefin capacities to Shaw. This really was responsible for the eventual vertical integration of the carpet manufacturing which led to the eventual sale of all the fiber producers such as Monsanto, BASF and Allied to carpet manufacturers. Dupont fibers went to Koch a manufacturer of polyester.

Mike how they apply a fluorochemical is different per mill but I believe most apply it in a foam bath but I am not sure on that part.