Common Carpet Problems

Sunlight or ultra-violet rays:
Almost all textiles will lighten or fade over time. This is largely due to how much sunlight a textile has been exposed to. Note that lighter shades usually fade more quickly than darker ones, since less dye is used. Most dyes are composed of two or more colors. If one dye is affected more than the others, then the eye perceives a color change rather than a lightening of the color. For example, a green carpet yarn is made from blue and yellow dyes. If the yellow dye is affected more than the blue, then the green yarns may turn bluer. (In other instances the dye fade may be more uniform.)

A synthetic yarn that is solution dyed at the manufacturing level is least susceptible to sun fading. The pigments are added to the polymer before the fibers are formed. Most polypropylene (olefin), many acrylics, and some polyester and nylon yarns are dyed using this method.

Rippling:
Latex is an adhesive material applied by the manufacturer to anchor yarn tufts to the back of the carpet or rug. These adhesives start to break down as soon as the textile is bought by someone and put into a house or office. The rate of deterioration is related to the quality of the adhesives, how they were applied, the conditions under which the textile is being used, and the wear and tear on the carpet or rug. The breakdown may occur in areas that leave the appearance of “bubbles” due to separation of the adhesive. Dragging heavy furniture across the surface, exposure to heat, heavy traffic and wear, and spills can all cause eventual weakening of the latex adhesive. The end result is backing separation that on the topside looks like rippling. (Note: Stretching a carpet does not remedy this problem.)

Dark edges along walls:
On wall-to-wall carpet this phenomenon can be seen not only on the edges of the carpet near walls, but under doors in the threshold, or even as silhouettes around furnishings or furniture on the floor. This is named “filtration staining” and it is caused by charged particles floating in the air and being driven into carpet by air currents. As they make contact with the yarns, a bonding occurs and makes a dark difficult-to-remove line. This should not be confused with dust build-up, which may follow the same air path just described.

The appearance of yarns:
Yarns have unusual appearances and this may lead to what seems to be pile distortion of wear patterns. This troublesome appearance is commonly referred to as “Pile Reversal” or “Shading.” It also has been referred to as “Watermarking” or “Pooling,” since it resembles characteristics of water. This phenomenon is described and visually portrayed in a report furnished by the Carpet and Rug Institute.

Color Variations in Area Rugs:
Handmade rugs have certain distinct and unique characteristics, among these is something called Abrash. This is defined as variations in color or hues that appear as bands or horizontal bars, but other shapes or sections of color variation are possible. This condition results from differences in the dyeing process. Since handmade rugs, particularly those made by nomadic tribes, have used small quantities of pile yarn dyed by hand before the rug is made. Each dye lot is hand knotted into the rug. Next, when another dye lot of yarn is used, color variation occurs that gives the rug character. However, sometimes this character disappears because the rug becomes soiled. When the rug is thoroughly cleaned, this variation may become apparent. These distinct color variations should not be considered defects, but rather characteristics resulting from variables that include various dye lots of yarns combined with atmospheric conditions and sunlight over time. Some modern rug manufactures try to simulate this effect with new production textiles, trying to achieve this sought after look.

In conclusion, Abrash is part of the beauty and distinctive natural appearance of handmade woven or knotted rugs.

White Dots or Spots in Area Rugs:
These small white spots that appear randomly on the surface of hand-knotted rugs are really knots in the rug’s foundation yarns. Their whiteness comes from the rug’s typically off-white cotton foundation. Because the cotton yarns may have been knotted together to form long pieces to create the warp and weft yarns, these may become visible through the pile or knots that attached to the warp part of the construction. Even in the weaving process, some of the cotton yarns will break. This requires the weaver to knot them so that he can continue weaving. If they are close to the surface, they will be more visible to the eye through the pile yarns. Certainly as more wear occurs in the pile yarns, the more detectable the white knots will be.

In conclusion, the appearance of White Knots is normal and careful inspection will turn them up in almost any hand-knotted rug.