Mountain View Carpet Care
Member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2007
- Messages
- 1,085
Does anyone have any feed back on this stuff? Does is crush like Poly?
Mohawk SmartStrand®
- Thread starter Mountain View Carpet Care
- Start date
Warren Wallace
Supportive Member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2007
- Messages
- 839
I've spot cleaned for a carpet store a few times. They say you can clean with
water bs! I have stairway a customer can't get black spots out of, should be
no problem.
water bs! I have stairway a customer can't get black spots out of, should be
no problem.
Mikey P
Administrator
I have two rooms of it, six months old. Just fine.
Cleaned a newish living room of it today as well. With no pre spray and just a Soap Free rinse it looked perfect as well.
Cleaned a newish living room of it today as well. With no pre spray and just a Soap Free rinse it looked perfect as well.
daniel@procarpet
Member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2008
- Messages
- 3,797
Can someone help me. I have been running accross a cut pile carpet that looks like nylon, but my wand will not grab onto the carpet. This has to be the worst carpet to clean. What is it?
A
amazingcleansc
Guest
danielc said:
I ran into an olefin cut pile that blew my mind last month. got a callback for wicking and everything like it was cgd.
daniel@procarpet
Member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2008
- Messages
- 3,797
Every time I run into this mystery carpet I think my filters are clogged or something because the vacuum just plain sucks. The hose simply will not clear like it should. I had one today as a matter of fact. It is some kind of nylon I presume.
Scott Rogers
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 1,033
Mikey P said:
Hack!!!.
just kidding lol
ACE
Member
A local retailer here has been selling it for a while. He says it dose wear out just as fast as any poly. I'm sure it cleans up fine unless It gets oily or greasy. I think Smartstrand is a marketing scam.
steve g
Member
keep in mind there is a big disconnect between the mill reps and the real world, basically the mill reps don't know crap. They try to tell the stores how great the product is. mill reps tell the carpet stores I works with all the time that poly is just as good as nylon. I was at the counter one day a customer was there wondering what sample to buy. the mill rep for one of the products happened to be the only one at the counter. he naturally tried to sell them on his but his happened to be a low loop olefin and the other was a nylon, I spoke up and said the olefin carpet was junk and the nylon was what they wanted. The mill rep went ballistic attacked my character and pretty much told me I don't have a clue what I am talking about, including that the nylon could not be cleaned. I shook my head and walked away.
the mills keep trying to suger coat poly by calling it different names, saying its a new process, sayings its made out of recycled this or that. its still the same ole shit and it still will not replace nylon nor is it a substitute for it. I do have a polyester in my own home, don't blame me it came with the house. it is very very short napped and can be somewhat fluffed up when I clean it more so at least than a typical poly. Its actually doing better than I thought it would. it also is much much less prone to get dirty than a nylon would be, in 3 years its needed cleaning about half as much as a nylon would. however it still aint no nylon in the wear department, and the stairs look worn and like crap.
the mills keep trying to suger coat poly by calling it different names, saying its a new process, sayings its made out of recycled this or that. its still the same ole shit and it still will not replace nylon nor is it a substitute for it. I do have a polyester in my own home, don't blame me it came with the house. it is very very short napped and can be somewhat fluffed up when I clean it more so at least than a typical poly. Its actually doing better than I thought it would. it also is much much less prone to get dirty than a nylon would be, in 3 years its needed cleaning about half as much as a nylon would. however it still aint no nylon in the wear department, and the stairs look worn and like crap.
J Scott W
Member
Excerpt from a technical guide I worte on this fiber -
CARPET CLEANING
Triexta
INTRODUCTION
You may be getting asked to clean fibers you have not encountered before. Consumers may be identifying their carpet as Triexta, SmartStrand, Sorona or asking if you can clean fiber made from corn.
Our industry saw its first official new fiber for many years in March 2009 when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recognized polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) as a new class of fiber. It had previously been consider a type of polyester.
PTT was initially developed by DuPont back in 1941. In 1999 Shell started marketing PTT under the trade name Corterra. Use of the fiber was limited and mostly in clothing fabrics not carpet.
Shaw industries began marketing Corterra as a carpet fiber in 2001. Mohawk began making PTT under the name Smartstrand beginning in 2004.
A version of PTT including 37% of a DuPont resin that originates from corn was brought to the market by Mohawk. It is called Smartstrand with DuPont Sorona.
This could be spun into fibers and tufted into carpet using the same equipment as was being used for nylon fiber carpets. With the ability to be processed on existing equipment and the green appeal of using corn, a renewable resource, PTT has now holds a small but growing share of the carpet fiber market.
So, how should this fiber be cleaned?
PROCEDURE
It is anticipated that Triexta fibers will resist staining with acid food dyes and be somewhat resistant to disperse dyes. (the yellow of turmeric in mustard is an example of a disperse dye.) PTT does have an affinity for oil and grease, but should respond well to cleaning if it is done on a regular basis, at least annual for typical family use.
? STEP 1 DRY SOIL REMOVAL
Begin by vacuuming the carpet to remove dry soil. It is easier to remove many soils before they are mixed with cleaning solutions.
? STEP 2: SPOTTING
Determine if any spots will need extra attention prior to cleaning and go to work with your Bridgepoint Spotting Kit. Most spotting can be done after cleaning.
? STEP 3: PRESPRAY
Apply Traffic Slam to the carpet using a quality sprayer. When fibers are heavily soiled with oil or grease be sure to add 1 or 2 ounces of Citrus Solv per gallon of ready to use prespray. Traffic Slam has a charged hydrotope that helps overcome Vander Waals forces between this fiber and very samll particles.
Agitate the carpet with a Grandi Groomer. This will work the solution into the carpet and the physical agitation will loosen the soil.
? STEP 4: EXTRACT
Use End ZONE or Power Point in the chemical injection system of the truckmount or in the solution tank of your portable machine.
? STEP 5: NEUTRALIZE (OPTIONAL)
Spray the carpet with a dilute solution of Fab-Set. This will neutralize any alkaline residue. For lightly soiled carpet, some technicians use Fab-Set as their rinse agent. This cuts out the neutralization step but you will sacrifice some cleaning power.
? STEP 6: PROTECT
For fibers other than olefin, apply Maxim Advanced Carpet Protector to the clean carpet.
? STEP 7: PILE SETTING
Groom the carpet using Grandi-Brush or Grandi-Groom. This makes sure the protector is evenly distributed while also removing wand marks and footprints. This creates a good visual impression but
even more importantly it aids drying by straightening and separating the fibers.
? STEP 8: DRYING
Be sure that ventilation is at optimum levels by opening windows, turning on ceiling fans, turning on the heat or air conditioner, etc. If the customer has an evaporative cooler you may turn on the fan portion but don’t turn on the water pump as this will slow drying by adding humidity. Moving the
Air Mover from room to room will speed drying and enhance customer satisfaction.
? STEP 9: FINISHING TOUCH
Leave your customer a bottle of Home Pro spotter so they can remove spots and spills while they are fresh. They will have your company name and phone number handy to call you for their next cleaning.
CARPET CLEANING
Triexta
INTRODUCTION
You may be getting asked to clean fibers you have not encountered before. Consumers may be identifying their carpet as Triexta, SmartStrand, Sorona or asking if you can clean fiber made from corn.
Our industry saw its first official new fiber for many years in March 2009 when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recognized polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) as a new class of fiber. It had previously been consider a type of polyester.
PTT was initially developed by DuPont back in 1941. In 1999 Shell started marketing PTT under the trade name Corterra. Use of the fiber was limited and mostly in clothing fabrics not carpet.
Shaw industries began marketing Corterra as a carpet fiber in 2001. Mohawk began making PTT under the name Smartstrand beginning in 2004.
A version of PTT including 37% of a DuPont resin that originates from corn was brought to the market by Mohawk. It is called Smartstrand with DuPont Sorona.
This could be spun into fibers and tufted into carpet using the same equipment as was being used for nylon fiber carpets. With the ability to be processed on existing equipment and the green appeal of using corn, a renewable resource, PTT has now holds a small but growing share of the carpet fiber market.
So, how should this fiber be cleaned?
PROCEDURE
It is anticipated that Triexta fibers will resist staining with acid food dyes and be somewhat resistant to disperse dyes. (the yellow of turmeric in mustard is an example of a disperse dye.) PTT does have an affinity for oil and grease, but should respond well to cleaning if it is done on a regular basis, at least annual for typical family use.
? STEP 1 DRY SOIL REMOVAL
Begin by vacuuming the carpet to remove dry soil. It is easier to remove many soils before they are mixed with cleaning solutions.
? STEP 2: SPOTTING
Determine if any spots will need extra attention prior to cleaning and go to work with your Bridgepoint Spotting Kit. Most spotting can be done after cleaning.
? STEP 3: PRESPRAY
Apply Traffic Slam to the carpet using a quality sprayer. When fibers are heavily soiled with oil or grease be sure to add 1 or 2 ounces of Citrus Solv per gallon of ready to use prespray. Traffic Slam has a charged hydrotope that helps overcome Vander Waals forces between this fiber and very samll particles.
Agitate the carpet with a Grandi Groomer. This will work the solution into the carpet and the physical agitation will loosen the soil.
? STEP 4: EXTRACT
Use End ZONE or Power Point in the chemical injection system of the truckmount or in the solution tank of your portable machine.
? STEP 5: NEUTRALIZE (OPTIONAL)
Spray the carpet with a dilute solution of Fab-Set. This will neutralize any alkaline residue. For lightly soiled carpet, some technicians use Fab-Set as their rinse agent. This cuts out the neutralization step but you will sacrifice some cleaning power.
? STEP 6: PROTECT
For fibers other than olefin, apply Maxim Advanced Carpet Protector to the clean carpet.
? STEP 7: PILE SETTING
Groom the carpet using Grandi-Brush or Grandi-Groom. This makes sure the protector is evenly distributed while also removing wand marks and footprints. This creates a good visual impression but
even more importantly it aids drying by straightening and separating the fibers.
? STEP 8: DRYING
Be sure that ventilation is at optimum levels by opening windows, turning on ceiling fans, turning on the heat or air conditioner, etc. If the customer has an evaporative cooler you may turn on the fan portion but don’t turn on the water pump as this will slow drying by adding humidity. Moving the
Air Mover from room to room will speed drying and enhance customer satisfaction.
? STEP 9: FINISHING TOUCH
Leave your customer a bottle of Home Pro spotter so they can remove spots and spills while they are fresh. They will have your company name and phone number handy to call you for their next cleaning.
sweendogg
Member
Steve you are right about the polyester and Olefin.. they are inferior to Nylon. Smartstrand though is showing a little promise. We've been running our tests now on it for about 2 years and so far if you are not dropping cooking grease on it ( I did it on purpose) the affinity for oil is still lower than a polyester. It does have some decent resiliance and it does not have an affinity to develop traffic lanes, karastan just brough out quite a few berber style smartstrand pieces I'll be looking forward to seeing how these work out.
And as above stated if you have oil/dirst soil/ it needs to be cleaned with chems, all beit you need a lot less. It does hold up well to bleach, and mustard can be cleaned out of it with out reaching for the oxidizers/reducers.
Though you do need to distinquish between polyster, PET and Smarstrand. The Smarstrand is a ALOT better product that polyester or PET.
Daniel you could be running into PET fibers, they have been very popular and toted as a green carpet as it is recycle from water bottles and similar plastics. Its a recyled polyester basially and it has those exact characteristics of in cut pile form, as it makes a vacuum seem week. And it does have an affinity for oil just like Polyester.
And as above stated if you have oil/dirst soil/ it needs to be cleaned with chems, all beit you need a lot less. It does hold up well to bleach, and mustard can be cleaned out of it with out reaching for the oxidizers/reducers.
Though you do need to distinquish between polyster, PET and Smarstrand. The Smarstrand is a ALOT better product that polyester or PET.
Daniel you could be running into PET fibers, they have been very popular and toted as a green carpet as it is recycle from water bottles and similar plastics. Its a recyled polyester basially and it has those exact characteristics of in cut pile form, as it makes a vacuum seem week. And it does have an affinity for oil just like Polyester.
Jim Pemberton
MB Exclusive.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 12,300
- Name
- Jim Pemberton
I have a sample that I put in our service department (OK, very abusive environment).
I was able to get it clean, but there are two grease marks that I could only remove with toluene.
Great for anything Ricko the Rhino does, but not so good for Tim the Tool Man streaks and tracks.
I was able to get it clean, but there are two grease marks that I could only remove with toluene.
Great for anything Ricko the Rhino does, but not so good for Tim the Tool Man streaks and tracks.
sweendogg
Member
Jim... I was able to move permanent marker with just a little POG, same with furntirue stains sets for a month or two.... maybe you are getting tooo aggresive with it?
Jim Pemberton
MB Exclusive.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 12,300
- Name
- Jim Pemberton
Tried all that stuff first David.
GKW those guys in my service department are tracking on it. But it is petroleum, and even to get the overall oily soil out, I was underwhelmed with the soil release.
GKW those guys in my service department are tracking on it. But it is petroleum, and even to get the overall oily soil out, I was underwhelmed with the soil release.
sweendogg
Member
Yeah, when heavy oil is present I agree with you that it has an affinity to oil when saturated in it. I'd still be interested to know what chemically happens to the corn polymer part when subejcted to severe chemistry.
The Great Oz
Member
Even the new and improved Triexta still lays down and stays down unless the construction is very dense cut pile, then it squats. But, not as badly as common polyester. If you're accustomed to working with a lot of low-cost carpet, it should compare fairly well.
If I had to choose between builder grade type 6 nylon, polypropylene and polyester, I might choose the nylon. If I had to make the same choice with Triexta polyester, I'd take the Triexta.
The carpets we have the most trouble with are the recycled pop bottle (PET) stuff. It mats into an Ozite-like felt that requires pressure washing to clean. It makes greenies feel good for awhile, and gets building owners LEED points, and then gets replaced with something more reasonable.
If I had to choose between builder grade type 6 nylon, polypropylene and polyester, I might choose the nylon. If I had to make the same choice with Triexta polyester, I'd take the Triexta.
The carpets we have the most trouble with are the recycled pop bottle (PET) stuff. It mats into an Ozite-like felt that requires pressure washing to clean. It makes greenies feel good for awhile, and gets building owners LEED points, and then gets replaced with something more reasonable.
Mikey P
Administrator
Anyone else noticing that Smartstrand take a lot longer to dry than Nylon?
