Carpet Fibers

The face of the carpet is a major decision-variable for customers. It's what we see, and it takes the brunt of the foot traffic wear. The following information describes the individual characteristic of common fibers.

Wool

Natural fiber shorn from sheep. The type is determined by the breed of the sheep and the climate. Most fabrics use long and short wool fibers interlocked together. Wool has the natural ability to hold or release water vapor as required by climatic conditions. It becomes a natural humidifier. A microscopic view of the fiber shows overlapping scales arranged much like roof shingles. The scales keep dust and dirt near the surface of the carpet pile, where it can be released by vacuuming. The scaly character of the fiber scatters optical light, thus reducing soiling visibility. Wool is naturally flame resistant, forming a char that will neither melt or drip.

Characteristics: Natural resilience, good resistance to abrasion, good texture retention, good resistance to soil, and good cleanability.

Advantages	Limitations
Prestigious Resilient Versatile Flame resistant	Expensive High static Poor stain removal Allergenic Inconsistent quality

Nylon

The first synthetic fiber, made into carpet in the 1940's. It is synonymous with strength and abrasion resistance.

Characteristic: Good resilience, outstanding resistance to abrasion, good texture retention, and good cleanability.

Advantages	Limitations
Good bulk and cover Clear colors Long wearing Resilient Dye versatility	Higher cost than polypropylene

Acrylics

Introduced about 10 years after nylon. Acrylics have many wool-like characteristics, including excellent cover and bulk. Often blended with modacrylic fibers as a guard against potential flammability. However, improvements in composition have reduced flammability to no more than wool.

Characteristic: Warm, luxurious appearance like wool. Good resilience, good resistance to abrasion, good texture retention, and good cleanability.


Olefin (Polypropylene)

Produced about 1965. It is the lightest commercial carpet fiber, with a density of
0.905. Virtually non-absorbent (hydrophobic), so solution dyeing is the only way
to color the fiber. It is often air-entangled with nylon to add flecks of color. A
solution dyed version of the fiber is used in indoor-outdoor carpets.

Characteristic: good resistance to abrasion, very good resistance and cleanability,
adequate resilience and texture retention.

Advantages	Limitations
Inexpensive Abrasion resistance Moisture resistant Fade resistant Low static Stain resistant	Resiliency Color range Flammability rating (lower than nylon) Low melting point (friction burns)

Polyester

Produced after 1965 and became popular because of its soft, luxurious appearance, close to that of wool. It is the most produced, used, man-made fiber in the world (20 billion pounds). Noted for its bright lustrous shades.

Characteristics: Good resistance to abrasion, very good resilience and texture retention when adequately twisted and heatset, and adequate cleanability. Naturally stain resistant because it has no dye sites for food and beverage stains to attach to.

Advantages	Limitations
Highest melting point	Less durable than nylon

Nylon 6 vs. Nylon 6,6

The molecular structure is the basic difference between the two nylons. Type 6,6 nylon is extruded from hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid. The polymer contains two strands of 6 carbon atoms. Type 6 is extruded from caprolactam and yields a polymer with 6 carbon atoms.

Some minor differences exist between the two types of nylon. The differences are of no consequence when compared with samples built and tested equally.

Colorfastness against atmospheric gasses is of significant concern in areas where humidity is very high all year round. But, colorfastness is a function of the dyes used, not the substrate. These oxidizing gasses are ozone, sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. All oxidizers are capable of destroying dye stuffs. Type 6 nylon has been considered the most sensitive to these gasses. But, with the advent of the stain resistant carpets, and the changes in the dye stuffs (from dispersed dyes to acid dyes), the differences have become moot.

Carpet performance is determined by many factors of varying importance, but nylon type differences are so overshadowed by other factors that they are near the bottom of the list.