Which carpets have the least amount of chemicals added?

FlooringGirl · September 11, 2009, 08:07 PM

Peter Kodner said

Tia, not sure what you mean.

Most carpet used to be scoured when oil was used as a lubricant. It was a major problem for polypropylene due to their affinity for anything oil based.

Wool is still scoured before processing into yarn. I have been to a few yarn plants that spun wool and you would understand very quickly why they do this The receiving area for the bales of fiber is an experience your nose will never forget.

Yes, this is what I meant. Many of the berbers and recycled pop bottle carpets used to be very "sticky" and leave residues on installers and babies' knees, socks, etc. Hard to vacuum and clean, everything stuck to them. As for the comments about wool, does anyone know the story of Berber?

Those specks in what was originally called berber carpeting originated from woven rugs of the Berber tribe in Africa, they wove all the dirt and dried dung from the wool into their rugs. This look is of dirt and dung, LOL!!

Tia

ortiz34 · October 8, 2009, 05:42 AM

When Invista (stainmaster now) bought it from Dupont , Sorona was available and they said no thanks.
Why? Because they knew it was a polyester dressed up in a tuxedo. This all came from the US Stainmaster rep right after the sale and Sorona wasn't a blip on the radar screen yet.

I sell a few polys, some wools and mostly type 6,6 nylon as I find it wears and cleans the best for the value

FlooringGirl · October 8, 2009, 08:11 PM

ortiz34 said

When Invista (stainmaster now) bought it from Dupont , Sorona was available and they said no thanks.
Why? Because they knew it was a polyester dressed up in a tuxedo. This all came from the US Stainmaster rep right after the sale and Sorona wasn't a blip on the radar screen yet.

I sell a few polys, some wools and mostly type 6,6 nylon as I find it wears and cleans the best for the value

The most difficult thing is that the market is being saturated with polyesters. Yes, there have been many improvements on those fibers, but it is still so scary as a salesperson who has seen the track record of the previous polyesters, to recommend them. People gravitate to them, the big mills are encouraging them and giving big warranties, so it seems we have to go with it. Haven't seen problems with the new, improved fibers, yet.

I may have said this before, but my husband (long-time installer) brings home scraps and we put them in the garage or at the bottom of the basement steps on concrete with no pad to see how they wear. I have truly seen some polys do better than nylons.

Back to the chemicals in carpets: they are made of chemicals. Thinking about it, even wool consists of chemicals. Our hair contains chemicals. My husband had one of the worst take-ups in many years the other day - a horsehair pad that had broken down so bad, there was a 1/4 inch of dust everywhere. He had to convince the dear lady it had nothing to do with her housekeeping skills and clogged up the shop vac filter three times.

"Green carpet"? That's a marketing ploy and an entire different story. It's only green if it is able to be picked up by an appropriate place and recycled.

Tia

Peter Kodner · October 8, 2009, 08:26 PM

FlooringGirl said

"Green carpet"? That's a marketing ploy and an entire different story. It's only green if it is able to be picked up by an appropriate place and recycled.

Tia

Or will break down into organic compounds. An all natural fiber wool face piece should be able to go into a compost pile. Even a tufted one with latex will provide great compost as the latex is inert.

Every recycling program I know that is either open loop or closed loop separates the latex and uses it in planting compounds.

IMHO green efforts are not going away but getting stronger. Whenever and by whatever means they start to regulate carbon emissions, recycling of carpet face fiber will become a part of the industries standard practices. The tipping point is getyting closer to where recycling will be cheaper than virgin fiber production.

rusty baker · October 8, 2009, 08:30 PM

Do you think they will ever get it where it is cheaper to recycle than make new fibers. I have read, after all these years, it is still cheaper to make new aluminum cans than to recycle.

FlooringGirl · October 8, 2009, 09:11 PM

It would be an interesting study to see what breaks down and what it breaks down into.

We have a huge compost pile, and okay, let's do another experiment and put some different types of carpet in and see what happens!

I do believe it is cheaper to make new than to recycle, due to collection, breakdown, remake. To make new, you obtain materials and make. However, when in Europe, they have been the experts on recycling forever, and it works, perhaps due to skipping some of the steps we take in the effort, and also out of necessity. I got wigged out on for putting an empty TP cob in the garbage instead of the recycling box. Their garbage bags are tiny. Composts are required and inspected. We are pretty far behind, and getting an entire country to do something they weren't raised to do is nearly impossible.

Back to carpet - if someone wanted to turn theirs in around here for recycling, except for certain commercial companies, there is no one to pick it up and do it.

Tia

san diego jim · October 14, 2009, 08:47 PM

What is IMHO?

rusty baker · October 14, 2009, 08:57 PM

In My Humble Opinion.

Lo Down · October 14, 2009, 09:03 PM

Peter Kodner said

Or will break down into organic compounds. An all natural fiber wool face piece should be able to go into a compost pile. Even a tufted one with latex will provide great compost as the latex is inert.

Every recycling program I know that is either open loop or closed loop separates the latex and uses it in planting compounds.

IMHO green efforts are not going away but getting stronger. Whenever and by whatever means they start to regulate carbon emissions, recycling of carpet face fiber will become a part of the industries standard practices. The tipping point is getyting closer to where recycling will be cheaper than virgin fiber production.

Wool breaks down? I have had a 2 by 3 scrap of Karastan wool berber as a doormat on my sun wind and rain exposed deck for a dozen years and I'm waiting for it to break down.

Holdin up so good I'd install the stuff on the entire deck if it wasn't for the needles from the spruce tree.
(tho cost is a big issue)

Daris Mulkin · October 14, 2009, 09:26 PM

lo says"Wool breaks down? "
Sure it does. Haven't you seen those nekkid sheep running around your area once a year? Otherwise they would be wooley.
Sorry I couldn't resist that.

Daris

FlooringGirl · October 15, 2009, 11:04 PM

HAHA! The part I cannot figure out to this day is why sheep get rained on, dry out in the sun and don't shrink, yet the wool products made from them will.

Tia

Peter Kodner · October 15, 2009, 11:12 PM

FlooringGirl said

HAHA! The part I cannot figure out to this day is why sheep get rained on, dry out in the sun and don't shrink, yet the wool products made from them will.

Tia

Tia, you've used that line before

Get some new material already!
Although I did laugh again...

Dobby Tappet · October 16, 2009, 07:52 AM

If we're digging up old ones, is it true virgin wool comes from ugly sheep?

I know, that's baaaaaaaaaa-had!

Buy, in all seriousness, does wool actually shrink?

Dobby

Daris Mulkin · October 16, 2009, 08:28 AM

Dobby Tappet said

If we're digging up old ones, is it true virgin wool comes from ugly sheep?

I know, that's baaaaaaaaaa-had!

Buy, in all seriousness, does wool actually shrink?

Dobby

No, wool doesn't shrink ,the material in the backing if a natural fiber[jute] is what shrinks.
By the way the title of the threads wants to know about the least amount of chemicals. Well anything but natural is all chemical in composition. Right?

Daris