Triexta

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What are your experiences in cleaning SmartStrand carpets? Can you tell the difference between PET polyester and Triexta, PTT?
 

Mikey P

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Mixed results based on how much loom goop was left on from the manufacturing process.

I was very pleased with how some I had in my old home performed

I can't tell the two apart.
 

Zee

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They all suck.


So much for everything migrating towards being green and recycled.... When we need to nuke these "new" fabrics like no other before..
 
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In order from crap to horrible, recently manufactured Poly/PolyBlend/SmartStrand. The mills are producing pure crap in these products. It's creating big confusion among cleaners coast to coast; thinking they have to be cleaned some "special" way. To many are failing in the traffic lanes and in other pile distortions as compared to their big brother nylons. I have personally seen Shaw go out of their way to hire an inspector that tells them what they want to hear and throw the carpet cleaner under the bus, and then the customer is left with having to go to small claims court for a claim. It's sad.
 

Jim Pemberton

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I find it curious that at a time of declining interest in having carpet in the home that manufacturers are making products that reinforce the belief that carpet doesn't hold up to even moderate use, doesn't clean easily or well, and doesn't stay clean.

If I wanted to go back in time and create even less market share than carpet already has had, I'd have had them push polyester and its "dressed up cousin" triexta even sooner into the game.
 

Larry Cobb

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It seems pretty obvious that Mohawk is aware of the "loom oil lubricant" problem with PET carpet fibers .
Ad from my webinar . . .
Continuum Process.jpg
 
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Loren Egland

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I find it curious that at a time of declining interest in having carpet in the home that manufacturers are making products that reinforce the belief that carpet doesn't hold up to even moderate use, doesn't clean easily or well, and doesn't stay clean.

If I wanted to go back in time and create even less market share than carpet already has had, I'd have had them push polyester and its "dressed up cousin" triexta even sooner into the game.

Well said.

Intelligent life on earth?
 

J Scott W

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I find it curious that at a time of declining interest in having carpet in the home that manufacturers are making products that reinforce the belief that carpet doesn't hold up to even moderate use, doesn't clean easily or well, and doesn't stay clean.

If I wanted to go back in time and create even less market share than carpet already has had, I'd have had them push polyester and its "dressed up cousin" triexta even sooner into the game.


"Manufacturers" are no longer carpet manufacturers. Shaw, Mohawk etc are now flooring manufactuers. They probabl;y make more money selling you wood, bamboo, tile, stone, LVT and LVP. They don't care that carpet has a smaller market share.
 

encapman

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I find it curious that at a time of declining interest in having carpet in the home that manufacturers are making products that reinforce the belief that carpet doesn't hold up to even moderate use, doesn't clean easily or well, and doesn't stay clean.

If I wanted to go back in time and create even less market share than carpet already has had, I'd have had them push polyester and its "dressed up cousin" triexta even sooner into the game.

I agree 100%
The mils are driving with their eyes closed!
 

Zee

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I agree 100%
The mils are driving with their eyes closed!



Or wide open and alert....seeing the bigger bags of money...selling floor coverings other than carpets.


This might be our problem only. Now that we're maxing out the technology and the equipment available to clean carpets.. Perhaps we are going to see and uptick of efficient wood cleaning equipment developed. Better stone, tile-n-grout techniques. Just the same way as carpet cleaning equipment caught up to be very efficient and easy to do.
 

Zee

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I want you to think about how lame our grout cleaning techniques are... Can you picture small motorized equipment that has adjustable mechanism that matches tile width and scrub the grout lines simultaneously? There is a world of opportunities to be developed.

Think about the basic idea of installing grout....how old school is that? I can imagine the "chemistry" of grout lines being developed to be able to regrout damaged lines a'la caulking guns or similar. Which means we could develop super efficient and fast grout removal machines too that will do everything without a speck of dust.
You show up like you do to clean carpets....except your equipment is totally different and you remove damaged grout and re-shoot new grout lines in a matter of a couple of hours and you leave...
There is so much out there that needs to be created...
 

Zee

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Another thought about this generation of carpets: We still have some people that believe that ol' myth of not cleaning new carpets unless it's absolutely necessary, because they learned that from their grandmother.

Now I think we're coming to the point where we will have to offer special deals -through carpet sellers- to clean brand new just installed carpets before they're being used. And we would go in and nuke the oils off and perhaps extend the period, before wear will show (since we get a lot of the sticky out that holds onto dust and dirt which could give premature wear).

So in short, we will start a new trend that is the complete opposite of the old myth.
 
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Onfire_02_01

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Triexta was created for a very specific reason and the carpet mills know why. They created it to help address the problems that are inherent in all Polyester carpets. #1 how do you create a fiber that is even cheaper than the carpet we have now, remember if the customer sees a product for $5 today, they expect it to be $4.50 next year, and will not pay $5.50 for it next year (Americans expect cheap) #2 Polyester is made from petrochemicals and with the high prices of oil, at the time, a cheaper substitute was desired. #3. Many Americans are getting on the "green" or "renewable" kick without understanding what it really means. so the Triexta can be labeled as "green" because it is recyclable and made from renewable corn oil. Does this mean anything? who knows but it sounds good to the customer. #3. Triexta is stain resistant and no "protecter" is needed after several years of use as is the case with Nylon, which again sounds great to the customer #4. Triexta is softer feeling than any of the other carpets available and people will take the softer whenever they are presented with the choice. #4. Triexta is also more resilient than polyester, granted that is not a great feat in and of itself.

The customer will never know any of the reasons why one carpet is better than the other carpet. The sales people have no idea what carpet is about, they are given a handout with all the benefits of this new fancy carpet and regurgitate that information to anyone who will listen. Disadvantages are no where to be found. I have talked with a carpet sales lady with 2 years of experience and in 5 minutes gave her more information about the carpet she was selling than she received in the last 2 years of "training".

Also the mills are creating other flooring types like @scottw said. The new hard flooring is cheaper to make and can be sold for a higher price because it is the new "in thing". The mills are driven by their own pocket books, not ours. Welcome to capitalism everyone.
 

Onfire_02_01

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What are your experiences in cleaning SmartStrand carpets? Can you tell the difference between PET polyester and Triexta, PTT?
There is no difference. At one time Triexta was considered to be Polyester.
Polyester = polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Triexta = polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT)
 

Dmreed4311

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It is garbage, I just try to spread the word. I tell my customers to buy Nylon next time, I even write it on their invoices. People seem to appreciate the advice.
 
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Rick J

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Went in to a large flooring distributor a few years ago. National chain. I was buying linoleum for my kitchen.
Talking to the sales people, they had no idea about different carpets. Like on fire said.

I took some material in to them, describing characteristics etc. their eyes glazed over!!!lol
 
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Zee

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Anybody can be a salesman at a "carpet store".... It is interesting how so many occupations are so amateur here. Where I grew up, you wanted to be a waiter: you went to a trade school for 3-4 years and became a professional waiter. If you didn't do that school , you could not be hired. Here, I could become a waiter today if I wanted to- with zero training.
Same is true for sales associates for any type of clothing store...you go to school 3-4 years and become professional.
Same with electronics stores....and any other industry type selling. So basically you have to be schooled for anything and everything you want to do.
 

Jim Pemberton

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Went in to a large flooring distributor a few years ago. National chain. I was buying linoleum for my kitchen.
Talking to the sales people, they had no idea about different carpets. Like on fire said.

I took some material in to them, describing characteristics etc. their eyes glazed over!!!lol

Trying to have any kind of conversation with anyone about carpet at a most of these places is like trying to talk to a Walmart employee about a cell phone.
 

Cleanworks

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It would be nice if the CRI could get together with the mills and retailers as to enforcing their standards. One of the biggest problems out here is the lack of proper installation. Probably 90-95% or all stretch-in carpets installed in BC are not power stretched. Guys are just using a knee kicker and calling it done. I often go into homes where they have spent thousands of dollars on new carpet and 2 years later, the carpets are buckling. The other thing is the retailers don't inform the customers of the warranty's that come with their carpets. I recently had a customer, who spilled red wine on her new (1 week old) stain resistant nylon carpet. I advised her to check her warranty in case I couldn't get the stain out. (I did) She had no clue that she had a warranty at all. The carpet mills should insist that the retailers meet their standards or pull their product from their stores.
 

steve_64

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A salemans job today is to close the deal. They only need to know enough to make the sale. I guess maybe its always been that way.

To much information can hamper that sale. I try to just book the job when I get a call. I only need to answer that I use hot water extraction and how long it takes to dry. They dont need to know everything at the ooint of the sale.
But like many of us do is customer service at the end of the sale. We inform them of warranties and care for best results.
Thats where most salesman fail imo. And even then with many products there is to much to teach so it falls on the consumer to get educated.
The typical consumer in America just wants it cheap and thats all they know. Thats why guys like mike and mark can charge what they do. They work for educated people. They are far and few between around here.
 

Russ T.

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I try to imagine that a homeowner knows NOTHING about carpet. I do it by asking questions first, so I don't insult them.

Almost no one knows what type of carpet they have. Most of their education came from watching a Shark infomercial.

Then I educate them. I encourage them to use us as a resource. I really want them to see us as experts in floor covering maintenance, that's exactly what we are.

I tell them to give us a call before choosing a new product. We want to help them make the best choice for them.

They aren't really taking me up on my offer but my hope is that they are educated enough to know that we are the ones to call for cleaning and advice.
 

steve_64

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I dint know enough about carpeting and what is best ffor my customers. Everyones needs are different and I dont want to be responsible for their purchase.
 
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Thank you for the responses. I am trying to collect information for an article. I was hoping to hear something specific about the texture issues.
 

billyeadon

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On a similar but different note from comments above. I do not think the mills are making more money from hard surface. The fastest growing segment is luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and the largest manufacturers have jumped in big time. Shaw closed their rug plant just to make LVT. The problem is all of the American manufacturers have brought on a tremendous amount of capacity for foreign countries are going to continually ship more (cheaper priced) LVT to this country. Over capacity leads to lower quality so as to hit price points. Crappy product leads to more dissatisfaction among consumers. We then have the same problem we had with laminate a few years ago.

Secondly PET even though it is touted as green due to using pop, water and other bottles to extrude new fibers, is not really green. The carpet can not be recycled once it has been removed. Currently there are millions of yards of PET products sitting in buildings with no place to go but landfills.

All is not lost as Bob Shaw who started Engineered Floors after he sold Shaw IND to Warren Buffett is now the third largest carpet manufacturer. He built his mill using PET and now has reintroduced SD nylon to the market. With oil prices down maybe nylon can make a comeback. All we can do is hope.
 

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