Carpet Innovations
By: Amanda Campbell
Updated: August 24, 2010
Endurance II Synthetic Fiber Cushion
* Reuse selvedge (edge trim waste from carpet backing). Shaw Industries no longer sends its selvedge to landfills and recycles the carpet fiber, latex and backing materials from carpet manufacturing by making it into Earth-friendly carpet pad.
* Goes down just like any pad.
* Shaw produces 15-20 million pounds of this pad a year. That averages out to about 50,000 households per year.
Pet (Recycled Plastic) Carpet
* Believe it or not, the fibers in this carpet have been made from soft drink bottles. “Number 1” recycling plastic as well as plastic jars and those clamshell packages you find around cookies you buy in the grocery store, etc.
* This plastic has a long scientific name, Poly Ethylene Terepthalate, but most people just call it P-E-T for short.
* In the factory, recycled plastic is melted and extruded into fiber. Then that fiber is spun into yarn for carpet. PET is naturally lightfast and fade-resistant, so colors remain bright and true.
* Carpet made of PET fiber is very strong and durable and has a tremendous resistance to stains.
* PET carpet holds its color and resists fading, so the original color remains bright and true over time.
* It’s also extremely moisture resistant.
Glow in the Dark Carpet
* Three different styles, 5 colors each: Diamond shapes, sports theme, and stars and moon shapes.
* Comes treated with Scotch guard.
* Walks at 3.5.
* A mineral additive is built into the fiber, just like carpet dye is added to give a carpet color. That’s what allows these carpet fibers to be “charged” by light during the day and glow in the dark.
* The additive will not wear out as you walk on it or get dimmer if you steam clean the carpet.
* Carpet is charge by room light and natural light. Glow lasts 2 to 4 hours, depending on the amount of charge.
Softbac Carpet Backing
* Much more flexible than traditional carpet backing
* Prevents damage to baseboards & door facings (great for replacing carpet in existing homes.)
* Easier to work with in cold weather (new houses under construction in winter)
* More stable & cuts down on wrinkles showing up later.
Softbac & Pads
Some pads have a surface that makes it a little harder to get carpet into position with Softbac. Try either of these 2 methods (they work with other carpet backs, too.)
Method A - fold both sides of the carpet toward the middle and lay the roll in the center of the room. Then unfold the sides toward both walls, making one side net to one wall.
Method B - lay a sheet of plastic (carpet wrap is fine) on the pad, then slide tire carpet into position. It will slide even easier than over the best pad. Then pull the plastic sheet out before seaming and hooking on the strip.
Thick pads make it hard to hook carpet with any backing on the tack strip pins because of the difference in thickness between the tack strip and the pad. Thinner, firmer pads install easier and are better for the carpet.
Seams
Temperature - Softbac is not as heat sensitive as conventional backs. It is not harmed by seaming at iron settings up to 3 to 3 1/2.Make sure the hot melt glue goes completely through the fleece and into the woven part of the backing. The hot melt must penetrate the entire backing! Otherwise, the seam may pull open.
Cooling - Let the scanting tape cool before stretching. Softbac insulates better than other backs and seams cool a little slower. Feel the tape instead of the carpet face. If you stretch before the tape cools, the seam may pull open.
Stretching - When making a fill seam near the wall, always stretch to the opposite wall, away from the seam. When stretching near a warm seam, the seam may pull open. (This is good practice with all backings.)
Wall Trim
In some areas of the country, baseboards are installed on the floor, in others,they are set 1/2" above the floor. Where the baseboard is on the floor, cut the carpet net to the baseboard on the end where the tailpiece of the power stretcher is located. Do not cove it up the wall. This prevents the carpet from coming off the pins when stretching. (This also helps with other backs, especially on Berbers.)
* Reuse selvedge (edge trim waste from carpet backing). Shaw Industries no longer sends its selvedge to landfills and recycles the carpet fiber, latex and backing materials from carpet manufacturing by making it into Earth-friendly carpet pad.
* Goes down just like any pad.
* Shaw produces 15-20 million pounds of this pad a year. That averages out to about 50,000 households per year.
Pet (Recycled Plastic) Carpet
* Believe it or not, the fibers in this carpet have been made from soft drink bottles. “Number 1” recycling plastic as well as plastic jars and those clamshell packages you find around cookies you buy in the grocery store, etc.
* This plastic has a long scientific name, Poly Ethylene Terepthalate, but most people just call it P-E-T for short.
* In the factory, recycled plastic is melted and extruded into fiber. Then that fiber is spun into yarn for carpet. PET is naturally lightfast and fade-resistant, so colors remain bright and true.
* Carpet made of PET fiber is very strong and durable and has a tremendous resistance to stains.
* PET carpet holds its color and resists fading, so the original color remains bright and true over time.
* It’s also extremely moisture resistant.
Glow in the Dark Carpet
* Three different styles, 5 colors each: Diamond shapes, sports theme, and stars and moon shapes.
* Comes treated with Scotch guard.
* Walks at 3.5.
* A mineral additive is built into the fiber, just like carpet dye is added to give a carpet color. That’s what allows these carpet fibers to be “charged” by light during the day and glow in the dark.
* The additive will not wear out as you walk on it or get dimmer if you steam clean the carpet.
* Carpet is charge by room light and natural light. Glow lasts 2 to 4 hours, depending on the amount of charge.
Softbac Carpet Backing
* Much more flexible than traditional carpet backing
* Prevents damage to baseboards & door facings (great for replacing carpet in existing homes.)
* Easier to work with in cold weather (new houses under construction in winter)
* More stable & cuts down on wrinkles showing up later.
Softbac & Pads
Some pads have a surface that makes it a little harder to get carpet into position with Softbac. Try either of these 2 methods (they work with other carpet backs, too.)
Method A - fold both sides of the carpet toward the middle and lay the roll in the center of the room. Then unfold the sides toward both walls, making one side net to one wall.
Method B - lay a sheet of plastic (carpet wrap is fine) on the pad, then slide tire carpet into position. It will slide even easier than over the best pad. Then pull the plastic sheet out before seaming and hooking on the strip.
Thick pads make it hard to hook carpet with any backing on the tack strip pins because of the difference in thickness between the tack strip and the pad. Thinner, firmer pads install easier and are better for the carpet.
Seams
Temperature - Softbac is not as heat sensitive as conventional backs. It is not harmed by seaming at iron settings up to 3 to 3 1/2.Make sure the hot melt glue goes completely through the fleece and into the woven part of the backing. The hot melt must penetrate the entire backing! Otherwise, the seam may pull open.
Cooling - Let the scanting tape cool before stretching. Softbac insulates better than other backs and seams cool a little slower. Feel the tape instead of the carpet face. If you stretch before the tape cools, the seam may pull open.
Stretching - When making a fill seam near the wall, always stretch to the opposite wall, away from the seam. When stretching near a warm seam, the seam may pull open. (This is good practice with all backings.)
Wall Trim
In some areas of the country, baseboards are installed on the floor, in others,they are set 1/2" above the floor. Where the baseboard is on the floor, cut the carpet net to the baseboard on the end where the tailpiece of the power stretcher is located. Do not cove it up the wall. This prevents the carpet from coming off the pins when stretching. (This also helps with other backs, especially on Berbers.)
