Select Your Carpet
Carpet Construction
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Understanding the components of carpet construction and how they influence appearance and performance is an essential part of the specification process. Some elements contribute primarily to aesthetics, while others impact performance. |
Color and Pattern
Color is an important aesthetic consideration, but it also determines the amount of soil hiding in carpet. While light colors show soil more readily, dark colors show light-colored soil and lint. Medium-value colors most effectively reduce the visible effects of soiling. Pattern also plays a role in hiding soil.
Solid colors show soil most easily, followed by heathers and tweeds. More effective, are regular patterns, such as organic, geometric and linear:
- Organic - A design using free-form, contour lines to create objects within a pattern.
- Geometric - A design using straight lines to create shapes within the pattern.
- Linear - A repeat in design that clearly represents either horizontal or vertical movement.
Finally, random patterns, which allow for random color placement, provide the best soil hiding capabilities.
For more heavily trafficked areas, multicolored carpets with medium-value colors and random patterns should be considered for optimal performance.
Texture
Texture is the second major aesthetic factor to consider in creating the overall look of the carpet. With carpets of Antron® nylon, you can choose from a wide variety of textures:
- Level loop-loop pile with one pile height
- Textured loop-loop pile with slight height variation
- Multilevel loop-loop pile with more than one pile height
- Cut and loop-combination of cut pile tufts and loop pile tufts
- Tip shear-a multilevel loop with the high loops sheared to give a cut and loop look
- Cut pile-all tufts cut; can be one or more than one pile height
For high-traffic areas, loop, cut and loop with mostly loop, or tip shear with mostly loop yield the best performance.
Carpet Type/Construction
You should make your choice between tufted or woven broadloom and modular carpet based on styling preference, budget considerations, backing performance needs (moisture impermeability) and facility requirements (installation, floor access).
- Tufted broadloom-carpet manufactured on a tufting machine; a row of needles inserts yarn into primary backing
- Woven broadloom-carpet manufactured on a loom
- Six-foot-carpet tufted or woven in 6' widths; available in attached cushion or hardback
- Modular tile-carpet manufactured in squares measuring 18" x 18", 24" x 24", 36" x 36" or in rectangles measuring 18" x 36"
- Fusion-bonded tile-yarns sandwiched between two backings then split to form two carpets simultaneously (typically cut pile)
Fiber Type
Antron® nylon can be specified for all carpet constructions. Antron® Legacy nylon, Antron with StainRESIST™ fiber technology, Antron Lumena® solution dyed nylon, and Antron® Brilliance™ nylon offer outstanding soil resistance and crushing and matting resistance, plus built-in static protection. In addition, Antron Lumena® solution dyed nylon offers unsurpassed acid stain cleanability, and Antron with StainRESIST™ fiber technology offers permanent stain resistance with the flexibility of a white dyeable fiber. DSDN® and XTI® nylon provide very good peformance when initial budget constraints preclude the use of Antron®.
Generic fiber terms you can specify:
- Type 6,6 nylon-provides unsurpassed resistance to crushing, matting and abrasive wear
- BCF (bulked continuous filament)-fiber in a continuous form; can be used in cut and/or loop pile
- Staple-short lengths of fiber that have been cut from continuous filament; must be spun into yarn before tufting; cut pile only
- Solution dyed nylon-BCF yarn with pigment added to the polymer; color is built in and resists fading and the effects of harsh cleaners
Fiber Shape
Fiber shape determines how the fiber hides soil and how much it can trap and hold soil. Antron® nylon fibers are engineered to scatter light (making soil less visible) and to resist trapping of soil.
- Hollow filament-used in the BCF form of Antron® Legacy nylon, Antron® Brilliance™ nylon and Antron Lumena® solution dyed nylon; patented fiber engineering of the outer surfaces eliminates crevices where soil can be trapped. Internal voids scatter light most effectively to make soil less visible.
- Delta-used primarily in the staple form of Antron® Legacy nylon; reduces soil-trapping crevices while scattering light to minimize the appearance of soil
- Trilobal-conventional shape used for most commercial carpet yarns as well as DSDN® and XTI® nylon
Density/Pile Weight - For Loop Pile Carpet
In loop pile carpets, crushing can occur if the density is too low. In general, with a similar backing system, a
higher density will provide better texture retention. Density is measured in ounces per cubic yard and is
calculated as follows:
Pile Density = [36 x finished pile weight (oz/yd2)] / [finished pile height (inches)]
It is important to specify a minimum average pile density consistent with expected traffic conditions.
Yarn processing can also impact texture retention. For textured loop, multilevel loop or tip sheared carpets, yarns that are twisted and heat set generally perform better than those yarns that are not heat set.
Yarn Twist and Pile Height - For Cut Pile Carpet
In cut pile carpets, which are normally heat set, yarn twist level, pile height and pile weight are the key factors that influence texture retention.
A higher twist level and a higher pile height should be used in heavy-traffic areas.
Backing
The carpet backing offers stability as well as other advantages to the carpet, depending on the material used.
- Conventional backing-made of a primary fabric attached to a secondary with latex
- Woven-the same yarns make up the face and the backing
- Unitary-single-fabric backing
- Urethane-resin that creates a foam-like texture when applied to the primary backing (can be hardback or cushion)
- Vinyl-compound applied to primary backing; used for tile or 6' goods (can be hardback or closed-cell cushion, can be made with recycled or virgin content)
- Thermoplastic-molten resin applied to back of carpet (includes vinyl)
Contact your local mill representative for specific backing performance attributes.
For more information, contact your local Fiber Consultant.
