Re-Stretching Carpet: CRI Advice From Washington Post

Washington Post Cites CRI Advice: Re-stretching Carpet

I work with business and industry groups so much that sometimes I forget there is so much great carpet related information for consumers on the CRI website. I was reminded of that recently when I saw that the Washington Post, in Advice on stretching carpet, referenced a CRI Technical Bulletin on re-stretching carpet in a question about removing carpet wrinkles. Here’s the tip:

“Question: I have 5-year-old wall-to-wall carpet that is stretching. There are lumps against the walls and especially under arches. The problematic carpet is on the center level of my three-level townhouse. The carpet was new when we bought the place five years ago, so I don’t want to replace it. I got one $300 estimate for restretching, but I fear that unless I figure out the cause, it might happen again. Is my fear justified? --Timonium, Md.

Answer: Proper restretching should fix the problem. A technical guide on recommended procedures is available from the Carpet and Rug Institute, a trade association. Titled “Guidance for Restretching to Remove Buckles, Wrinkles, and Bubbles,” it’s available at http://www.carpet-rug.org/.

Even though you’ll want to hire someone to do the work, it’s worth reading the recommended procedures so you can ask appropriate questions of the people you might hire. Among the requirements: All furniture must be removed first, the carpet needs to be pulled loose from tack strips and the job must include use of a power stretcher.”

Thanks to the Washington Post for telling its readers about some of the consumer information that can be found on the Carpet and Rug Institute website. CRI has many more technical bulletins – not all of them are for consumers, but many are, such as cleaning and maintenance and indoor air quality info, and how to install carpet over heated floors, among others. You can review those by clicking on this link to CRI's Carpet and Rug Industry Technical Bulletins & Technical Papers.

~ Bethany

Carpet Cleaning Facts for Retailers, Consumers

Clean Your Carpet and You've Got Savings Covered

The Facts about Carpet Cleaning and Maintenance for Dealers and Consumers

This is the 9th in a series of 18 articles designed to share some of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) best online assets – a collection of downloadable fact sheets. Developed as easy-to-use, one-page position statements, the CRI Fact Sheets cover four main carpet-related topic areas: Indoor Air Quality, Asthma and Allergy, Cleaning Products, and Environmental Sustainability.

Each of these topics is addressed from the perspective of various market segments: carpet dealers and consumers; architects, designers and builders; school administrators and facility managers, and healthcare administrators and facility managers. There are also separate fact sheets explaining CRI’s Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality and Seal of Approval carpet cleaning standards – 18 fact sheets in all.

The fact sheet on cleaning products for carpet dealers and consumers begins,

"It’s a simple idea: Take care of your carpet and it will take care of you. Not only does it look great and offer health and safety benefits, properly maintained carpet offers a host of savings opportunities. Research proves that over time, no other flooring option offers you as much chance to clean up." It continues:

What You Should Know about Carpet Cleaning and Maintenance for Retailers and Consumers.

• Carpet is cost effective. In fact, it can be 65 percent less expensive to maintain than hard surface flooring. While buying and installing hard surface flooring appears less expensive than carpet in the short run, the true cost of labor, supplies, and equipment over an average 22-year lifespan makes carpet a more cost-effective choice.

• Hard surface floors require 2 1/2 times more cleaning than carpet annually, increasing maintenance time and impacting limited human resources. Hard surface cleaning supplies are also nearly seven times more expensive than carpet cleaning supplies.

• To preserve the life of your carpet, clean it with supplies that have the CRI Seal of Approval. CRI created the Seal of Approval program to help customers identify carpet cleaning products that clean effectively without harming the carpet. For a list of these products, click on Seal of Approval at carpet-rug.org.

• The CRI Seal of Approval is especially important because independent testing shows that many cleaning detergents and spot removers clean no better than water. Worse, they can leave a sticky residue that attracts soil at a faster rate. There are also big differences in the soil removal capability among vacuums and extractors.

• Vacuuming is the single most effective means of keeping carpet clean; 90 to 95% of all dry soil by weight can be removed from carpet by following a routine schedule. Choose vacuums that bear the CRI Seal of Approval for assurance of effective soil removal and good air quality.

• Carpet also requires periodic deep extraction cleaning. Seal of Approval deep cleaning extractors and systems (equipment and solutions) effectively remove soil and also recover most of the water or solution from the carpet.

CRI wants to be known not just as the science-based source of information about carpet, but as the first stop for any and all questions about this useful floor covering.

Click on this link to see the complete list of Carpet and Rug Institute Downloadable Fact Sheets.

Next – The facts about cleaning products for architects, designers and builders.

~Bethany

Carpet City Rotary Club Recognizes Community Spirit: Werner Braun

Young Dalton Carpet City Rotary Club Essay Winner Recognized for Community Spirit

In his March, 4, 2011 column titled "Club doing good for the community" for The Dalton Daily Citizen,  Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braun congratulates the winner of the first-annual Carpet City Rotary Club Essay Contest.

“As a Rotarian, I’ve been thinking on how our local Rotary Club could make a broader audience aware of the Rotary and all that it does for the community. We decided on an essay contest. Eighth-grade language arts students prepared an essay on the theme, ‘What the Rotary ‘Four-Way Test’ Means to Me.’

What is Rotary’s Four-Way Test? It is a tool all Rotary members use to remain accountable for everything they think, say or do. The test reads, “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

All the applicants wrote impressive essays — I was personally impressed by the candid tales from such young people about truthfulness, honesty and fair play in their everyday lives. I couldn’t state the importance of the “four-way test” better than our winner, Lauryn Little did:

“The first thing you know about truth is that it is unchangeable; it is ageless and constant, you can never take it back. Truth does not vary or shift; it’s a piece of reality that will always be there. It is always good to be truthful to one another.”

The top three entries won personalized certificates, tickets to Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park, and a marble desk plaque engraved with the Four-Way Test.

Seeing Lauryn grin from ear to ear made me think back to why the Rotary means so much to me. My family emigrated to the U.S. from Germany and through this move we were able to realize the American dream. For years, I looked for ways to pay back — and in the end, Rotary’s motto, Service above Self, articulated what I was looking for.”

Thanks, Werner.

~Bethany

Carpet Recycling Stories Keep Rolling In

It seems that lately, I am hearing more and more about carpet recycling and landfill diversion (even for me – and I hear about it a lot). From Ford Motor Company making cylinder head covers for some of their engines out of nylon recovered from carpet, (see Ford Puts Recycled Carpet 'Under the Hood') to the items I mention later in this blog post, carpet recycling is in the news.

The surge in carpet recycling information started as I was getting ready to attend the Carpet America Recovery Effort’s Annual Meeting. I always enjoy this meeting – the interesting people, good company, and fascinating information about the different ways businesses and academia are finding to use material derived from post-consumer carpet researchers. [I shared some of what I learned at that meeting in Carpet Recycling Diverts 2 Billion Pounds Since 2002].

Given the interest and the stories, I thought you might enjoy several items of good news for carpet recycling and diversion.

The Carpet Recyclers of La Mirada, California reports it has reached a milestone. Since beginning operations in 2009, the company has collected and recycled 100 million pounds of post-consumer carpet.

According to the company’s press release, the amount of carpet recycled has kept 95,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and saved 9.8 million gallons of oil.

The recovered material was used to make products such as automobile parts and building materials, and recycled back to make new carpet fiber and carpet pad. The firm said it is on track to recycle over 60 million pounds of carpet in 2011. It also said it has created 60 new green jobs in California and expects that number to increase to 150 by the end of the year.

Larry Fink, President of The Carpet Recyclers, credits the influence of AB 2398, California’s new carpet stewardship law, for the surge in interest and participation. [See FloorDaily Carpet Recyclers Hits 100M Pound Mark.]

ReSource Members Divert 7 Million Pounds of Carpet

In other news, ReSource Commercial Flooring Network (See related blog post Resource Members Join CARE Aligned Dealer Program) said that its members diverted more than 7 million pounds of carpet waste from landfills in 2010, bringing the network's total to more than 15.5 million pounds since the organization began reporting its efforts in 2008.

Through ReSource’s recycling initiative, Ecollect, ReSource members promote sustainable business practices throughout their locations through recycling, reuse, donation and waste to energy. ReSource represents 64 commercial flooring dealers at 97 locations across the U.S.

Are there any carpet recyclers out there who aren’t part of the Carpet America Recovery Effort? If so, we need to know about you and hear what you have been doing!

~Bethany

Healthcare and Carpet, Asthma, Allergy Facts

Clearing the Air About Carpet and Health.

~The Facts about Carpet and Asthma and Allergy for Healthcare Administrators and Facility Managers

This is the 8th in a series of 18 articles designed to share some of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) best online assets – a collection of downloadable fact sheets. Developed as easy-to-use, one-page position statements, the CRI Fact Sheets cover four main carpet-related topic areas: Indoor Air Quality, Asthma and Allergy, Cleaning Products, and Environmental Sustainability.

Each of these topics is addressed from the perspective of various market segments: carpet dealers and consumers; architects, designers and builders; school administrators and facility managers, and healthcare administrators and facility managers. There are also separate fact sheets explaining CRI’s Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality and Seal of Approval carpet cleaning standards – 18 fact sheets in all.

The fact sheet on asthma and allergy facts for Healthcare Administrators and Facility Managers begins,

“Despite the perception, here is the reality when it comes to carpet and asthma and allergy symptoms: Research shows that carpet is better at controlling allergens and better at reducing symptoms than other flooring alternatives. The facts are there. Now we need a healthy dose of the truth.” It continues:

What You Should Know About Indoor Air Quality for Healthcare Administrators and Facility Managers 

• There is no scientific study linking the rise of allergy and asthma to the use of carpet. Indeed, several studies actually disprove any correlation.

• A 15-year Swedish study found no link between carpet usage and the incidence of allergy or asthma. In fact, when carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70 percent, allergy reactions in the general population increased by 30 percent.

• Also, an 18-nation study of nearly 20,000 people found a statistical relationship between carpeted bedrooms and reduced asthma symptoms and bronchial responsiveness.

• A possible explanation: carpet acts like a filter, trapping allergens away from the breathing zone so they can be removed through proper vacuuming and deep cleaning extraction. For best results removing pollutants trapped in carpet, use CRI Seal of Approval vacuums and CRI Seal of Approval cleaning products and systems. Find out more at carpet-rug.org.

• Since properly maintained carpets do not exacerbate allergy and asthma –and may even reduce symptoms –you should feel comfortable recommending carpet for healthcare facilities.

CRI wants to be known not just as the science-based source of information about carpet, but as the first stop for any and all questions about this useful floor covering.

Click on this link to see the complete list of Carpet and Rug Institute Downloadable Fact Sheets.

Next – The facts about cleaning products for retailers and consumers.

~Bethany

Carpet Cleaning & XRF Technology: Werner Braun

Research Validated CRI’s Testing Technology for Carpet Cleaning

~Werner Braun article documents validity of XRF Technology used by Carpet and Rug Institute Seal of Approval program

In his March, 10, 2011 column titled "XRF technology improves carpet cleaning" for The Dalton Daily Citizen, Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braun  celebrates the publication of a study that adds credibility to the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval testing program for carpet cleaning products and equipment.

The article appears in the March-April edition of AATCC Review, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. AATCC is the world’s leading not-for-profit association serving textile professionals since 1921.

Titled, “X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy Method Development for Quantitative Evaluation of Carpet Cleaning Technology”, the article is authored by G.H. Asbury of Professional Testing Laboratories and R.F. Shannon of KeyMaster Technologies, Inc.

The seven page article examines the processes used to test and verify the removal of soil from carpet using X-ray fluoroscopy equipment. The paper concludes that XRF measurement is a reliable means of quantifying the amount of test material removed from carpet during cleaning. Werner comments:

“For CRI to be as effective as it can possibly be, it is imperative we have the credibility of sound scientific data backing up all we say and do.

We had a problem measuring soil in carpet, and in turn struggled to measure how much of that soil was removed from a carpet during the cleaning process. There are all sorts of cleaning systems out there that make a carpet look clean, but in reality, were doing a poor job of actually cleaning it.

By incorporating the XRF technology into our SOA program, we are now able to measure the exact amount of soil removed from the carpet being cleaned. Unfortunately, some of the people cleaning the carpets didn’t exactly like the idea of having that kind of information readily available, so they tried to poke holes in the very XRF technology that caused Michael Berry, PhD, former deputy director of the National Center for Environmental Assessment of the EPA, to say “is the first scientific approach to quantifying carpet cleanliness that I will stand behind 100 percent.”

Obviously, we are thrilled for Gary Asbury and all his hard work to get the peer-reviewed article published.

Gary says that, for someone in the textile industry to have an article published in the Journal of the AATCC is, “the same as a doctor getting a research article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.”

To CRI’s end, we are even more excited about what it means for our own badge of honor: credibility. And that’s a value you can’t put a price on.”

Thank you, Werner.

~Bethany

Carpet Recycling Diverts 2 Billion Pounds Since 2002

Carpet America Recovery Effort: Carpet Recycling is Hot Trend With Two billion pounds of carpet diverted from landfills since 2002

You often hear people talk about how their jobs require them to “wear different hats”. Well, one of my favorite parts of my job begins when I swap my CRI hat for the one given to me by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE).

Since 2002, CARE has been in existence to promote carpet recycling by finding new and better ways to recover the nylon and other materials that are used to make carpet, and, perhaps more importantly, developing new uses for the recovered material.

The group is making real progress. At its ninth Annual Conference held recently, CARE reported that in 2010, CARE members diverted 338 million pounds of carpet from the landfill – an increase of 9 percent over 2009.

Another milestone: in 2010, CARE members surpassed two billion pounds of carpet diverted from landfills since the organization’s founding in 2002. This is impressive, especially given the fact that it took six years for CARE members to divert the first billion pounds, but only three years to hit the two billion pound mark. Under CARE’s leadership, carpet recycling in the U.S has increased by 490%. Not bad.

More impressive numbers: of the carpet diverted, more than 271 million pounds were recycled back into carpet and other consumer products.

Matt Spieler wrote a great article in Floor Covering News on the meeting titled CARE: Industry passes 2 billion pound mark in diverting carpet – here’s an excerpt:

“Frank Hurd, CARE’s chairman said as a result of the efforts by the organization and the entrepreneurs involved in the effort, ‘CARE is doing things now that I didn’t think were possible when we started in 2002. For the first time, we are now recycling more post- consumer carpet into the plastic resins market. This is a market we expect to continue to grow.’

Beyond the products and applications mentioned at the conference, he pointed to the act of shearing the face fiber from carpet as an example of how technology has taken the initiative to new heights. ‘No one thought shearing carpet could be economically feasible. Now we have several members who are really making a difference with it.’

What makes the progress more impressive, Hurd added, is the fact ‘we are doing this in such tough economic times. It is a real credit to the entrepreneurs, who are the backbone of CARE, that we continue to make progress.’”

Details of the conference are on CARE’s website as well as all of the CARE 2011 conference presentations.

Congratulations, CARE!

~Bethany

Carpet, Asthma, Allergy, School Administrators, Facility Managers

Better Education Starts With Healthier Students

~ The Facts about Carpet and Asthma and Allergy for School Administrators and Facility Managers

This is the 7th in a series of 18 articles designed to share some of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) best online assets – a collection of downloadable fact sheets. Developed as easy-to-use, one-page position statements, the CRI Fact Sheets cover four main carpet-related topic areas: Indoor Air Quality, Asthma and Allergy, Cleaning Products, and Environmental Sustainability.

Each of these topics is addressed from the perspective of various market segments: carpet dealers and consumers; architects, designers and builders; school administrators and facility managers, and healthcare administrators and facility managers. There are also separate fact sheets explaining CRI’s Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality and Seal of Approval carpet cleaning standards – 18 fact sheets in all.

The fact sheet on asthma and allergy facts for School Administrators and Facility Managers begins,

“To learn the most, students need to be at their best. Research has shown that carpet in educational institutions can reduce the asthma and allergy symptoms of their students and staff. So, not only is your educational facility a great place to learn, it also becomes a better place to breathe.” It continues:

What You Should Know about Indoor Air Quality for School Administrators and Facility Managers 

• There is no scientific study linking the rise of allergy and asthma to the use of carpet. Indeed, several studies actually disprove any correlation.

• A 15-year Swedish study found no link between carpet usage and the incidence of allergy or asthma. In fact, when carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70 percent, allergy reactions in the general population increased by 30 percent.

• Also, an 18-nation study of nearly 20,000 people found a statistical relationship between carpeted bedrooms and reduced asthma symptoms and bronchial responsiveness.

• A possible explanation: carpet acts like a filter, trapping allergens away from the breathing zone so they can be removed through proper vacuuming and deep cleaning extraction. For best results removing pollutants trapped in carpet, use CRI Seal of Approval vacuums and CRI Seal of Approval cleaning products and systems. Find out more at carpet-rug.org.

• One more point: A 2003 study of more than 4,600 school children in New Jersey found that having carpet in a child’s bedroom was associated with fewer missed school days and less need for asthma medication. If carpet is effective at home, it will be effective at school as well.

CRI wants to be known not just as the science-based source of information about carpet, but as the first stop for any and all questions about this useful floor covering.

See the complete list of Carpet and Rug Institute Downloadable Fact Sheets.

Next – The facts about carpet, asthma and allergies for healthcare administrators and facility managers.

~Bethany

Carpet Industry Meets With Washington DC Legislators

Speaking Up: Carpet Industry Airs Views in Washington, DC

In his March 17, 2011 column, titled "You can still bend the ear of a congressman" for the Dalton Daily Citizen, Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) president Werner Braun discusses his recent trip with a delegation from the carpet industry and North Georgia region to meet with legislators in Washington, DC.

Attracting the largest delegation in the seven-year history of the event, CRI’s Annual Capitol Hill Visits and Salute to the Georgia Delegation Legislative Reception took place March 8 and 9, 2011, in Washington, DC. In a day and a half of back-to-back meetings, the group of eleven participants, working in two teams, met with a total of 25 Congressional representatives and staff from Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina, to discuss issues of interest to the carpet industry and the North Georgia region.

Local participants included: Werner Braun, Frank Hurd and Jennifer Mendez, CRI; Rick Hooper, Shaw Industries; Joe Foye, Mohawk; Larry Cook, Beaulieu; Peter Bailey, J &J; Brian Anderson, Dalton/Whitfield Chamber of Commerce, Noel Black, Georgia Power, and Jeremy Stroop, Carpet America Recovery Effort.

The Georgia group was joined by Maryland small-business owner Patrick Royster, whose company, Carpet Repair Services of Germantown, Maryland, participates in CRI’s Seal of Approval carpet cleaning certification program as a Service Provider.

Participants discussed with lawmakers the need for increased consistency in legislation and a unified energy policy that would enable companies to formulate long-term financial plans.

“We made it clear that the future success and growth of the carpet industry depend on the housing market. We suffer as an industry because residential sales are directly related to and impacted by a lower housing market.

On energy, we discussed the need to create a comprehensive, national energy strategy that embraces an “all of the above” approach to energy policy. And on extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws at the state level, we discussed our concern about the trend in states to enact EPR legislation for products other than hazardous materials (adding more tax on the consumer).

And as consumers and business people, the group made all of our legislators keenly aware of the issues that are affecting the carpet industry. Even though the world is always changing — just like the issues we take to Washington each year — we still have a Congress which will take time to listen to the people they represent. Over the years, we’ve developed relationships with many and we are continuing to build on those.

I hope that is one thing that never changes.”

Thank you, Werner,

Bethany

Ford Puts Recycled Carpet 'Under the Hood'

Revved Up Recycling – Ford Puts Carpet Under the Hood, So to Speak

One growing use for the nylon recovered from post-consumer carpet is to reprocess it back into nylon resins for the plastics industry.

The Ford Motor Company announced recently that it is using an engineered resin made out of 100% recycled nylon from post-consumer carpets to make the cylinder head covers on its Ford Escape, Fusion, Mustang and F-150 model vehicles.

This is not the first time an automobile manufacturer has used resins derived from post-consumer carpet to make molded plastic parts for under the hood, but this latest announcement gained a lot of attention. And why not? According to Ford, it saved 430,000 gallons of oil by recycling old carpet into these new materials – that’s enough carpet diverted from landfills to carpet 154 football fields.

According to a press release from Ford, the recycled nylon resin is called EcoLon, and it is produced by Wellman Engineering Resins, an American-owned and operated company based in South Carolina.

Read the story that ran in USA Today. It's titled Ford recycles enough old carpet to cover 154 gridirons.

~Bethany

Image credit: USA Today DRIVEon

Carpet, Asthma & Allergy for Architects, Designers, Builders

Carpet. A Blueprint For Better Health.

~The Facts about Carpet and Asthma and Allergy for Architects, Designers and Builders

This is the 6th fact sheet in a series of 18 articles designed to share some of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) best online assets – a collection of downloadable fact sheets. Developed as easy-to-use, one-page position statements, the CRI Fact Sheets cover four main carpet-related topic areas: Indoor Air Quality, Asthma and Allergy, Cleaning Products, and Environmental Sustainability.

Each of these topics is addressed from the perspective of various market segments: carpet dealers and consumers; architects, designers and builders; school administrators and facility managers, and healthcare administrators and facility managers. There are also separate fact sheets explaining CRI’s Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality and Seal of Approval carpet cleaning standards – 18 fact sheets in all.

The fact sheet on asthma and allergy facts for Architects, Designers and Builders begins,

“Despite the perception, here is the reality when it comes to carpet and asthma and allergy symptoms: Research shows that carpet is better at controlling allergens and better at reducing symptoms than other flooring alternatives. The facts are there. Now it’s time to build our case.” It continues:

What You Should Know

• A 15-year Swedish study found no link between carpet usage and the incidence of allergy or asthma. In fact, when carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70 percent, allergy reactions in the general population increased by 30 percent.

• Also, an 18-nation study of nearly 20,000 people found a statistical relationship between carpeted bedrooms and reduced asthma symptoms and bronchial responsiveness

• A possible explanation: carpet acts like a filter, trapping allergens away from the breathing zone so they can be removed through proper vacuuming and deep cleaning extraction. For best results removing pollutants trapped in carpet, use CRI Seal of Approval vacuums and CRI Seal of Approval cleaning products and systems. Find out more at carpet-rug.org.

• Since properly maintained carpets do not exacerbate allergy and asthma – and may even reduce symptoms – you should feel comfortable recommending carpet for green building projects.

CRI wants to be known not just as the science-based source of information about carpet, but as the first stop for any and all questions about this useful floor covering.

See the complete list of Carpet and Rug Institute Downloadable Fact Sheets.

Next – The facts about carpet, asthma and allergies for school administrators and facility managers.

~Bethany

2011 Manufacturing Summit Spotlights Carpet: Werner Braun

We Can Make It in America: 2011 Manufacturing Summit Spotlights Carpet ~ Highlights America's vision for manufacturing

In his March, 25, 2011 column titled "Summit to Highlight America's Vision for Manufacturing"
for The Dalton Daily Citizen, Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braun discusses the upcoming Manufacturing Summit to be held in Dalton May 19, 2011 from 1-6pm at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center.

The summit, which is sponsored by Congressman Tom Graves and Dalton mayor David Pennington, seeks to bring focus on manufacturing’s contribution to U.S. economy.

The summit will feature leaders from business, manufacturing, education and the government, and will include Congressman Graves and Mayor Pennington along with Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal; Tom Fanning, CEO and chairman of Southern Power; Bud Peterson, president of Georgia Tech; Don Cope, president of Dalton Utilities; Paul Bowers, chief operating officer of Georgia Power; Norman G. Holmes, president of Southern Natural Gas; and Robert P. Johnston, CEO of MEAG Power.

As a featured guest, oilman and financier T. Boone Pickens will speak as well on America’s need for energy independence.

“At the Carpet and Rug Institute, one of the things we’ve been robust in proclaiming over the years is the fact that our industry is one of the last bastions of American manufacturing left. It’s something our industry leaders say with pride and I personally share this pride by reiterating that “The comfortable piece of carpet underneath your feet was made right here in America.”

Werner states in the article, “As the economy continues to consume our daily lives, such as the rising gas prices which in turn raise the cost on most of the items we buy these days, it is nice to know that our message about carpet and American manufacturing is starting to resonate in high places.”

The National Manufacturing Summit is open to senior-level manufacturing executives or their designated representatives. Space is limited to the first 1,000 people who register.

Registration is available at http://www.mfg2011summit.com/.

Thank you, Werner

~Bethany

Specifying Carpet For Schools: Patterns, Backing Materials, Adhesives

For All the Right Reasons, Carpet is a Great Choice for Schools - Part 3

~ Advice for architects, specifiers and builders on using color and pattern and choosing the right backing material when specifying carpet for schools. Plus, information about the new generation of pre-applied adhesives.

This is the third and the final installment in this blog series that has included excerpts from an article that appeared in the March, 2011 edition of the business journal, Commercial Building Products. 

Written by Keith Gray, director of technical marketing for Carpet and Rug Institute member the Mohawk Group, the article gives a comprehensive overview of the benefits carpet offers to schools.

Titled, “These Factors Drive School Carpet Success,” the article describes how “carpet is a better choice for schools than most commonly used flooring materials.” Earlier blog posts - see Carpet, Great Flooring Choice for Schools and Carpet Offers Comfort, Safety in Schools - looked at carpet’s contributions to sustainability, health, comfort and safety, and acoustic performance. Today: advice for specifying carpet.

“Achieving A+ specification

Beyond being specialists in all of the topics addressed above, those specifying carpets in schools must know what they need to discuss with the flooring consultant. What is the image they want to portray? How important are acoustics, durability, maintainability, health, safety, and comfort underfoot? This knowledge plays a critical role in choosing the best color, pattern, and backing system. Additional factors to consider include:

• Colors and patterns. Colors and patterns are more than just aesthetic accessories. They are also performance features. For example, high-traffic, administrative-office areas are served well with multi-colored carpeting because it hides those inevitable stains that can't always be treated right away. In settings such as schools with large windows where the threat of stains and fading from sunlight run high, look for manufacturers that incorporate protectants into the carpet fiber during the manufacturing process.

• Backings. Choosing the appropriate backing system is critical to providing long-term high performance. Carpeting in high-traffic areas, such as school hallways, should have a backing that offers lifetime performance warranties covering edge ravel, delamination, and tuft-bind loss. An appropriate backing/fiber combination also can provide cushioning properties for people prone to foot pain, such as teachers. Moisture-prone areas, such as foyers, cafeterias, and school sick bays, require backings that ensure tuft-bind integrity and delamination protection, even in wet conditions. Walk-off tile, used at points of entry, can offer a flexible, maintainable solution to protect the carpet.

• Adhesives. Wasteful glue buckets, messy transfer papers, inefficient downtime, and costly procedures can create a sticky situation with traditional carpet adhesives. Fortunately, several new technologies-from pre-applied adhesives to adhesives that enable carpet to be installed directly over existing flooring-can make installation a breeze.

Installers can even skip the step of applying adhesive altogether by choosing a carpet tile that features a pre-applied adhesive. Since the adhesive is part of the carpet construction and applied during manufacturing, off-gassing and waste is eliminated as these tiles can be picked up and put down repeatedly without losing adhesion.

Considering all of the facts about carpet and schools, it is clear why progressive school systems prefer carpet. Today, carpet is the choice for education flooring. The advantages it offers over other options are numerous, from health and safety benefits to underfoot comfort for teachers and students alike. As carpet-and the research behind it-continues to evolve, it will offer even greater benefit to the education environment, teachers and students alike.”

Read the entire article titled “These Factors Drive School Carpet Success,” by clicking on this link.

~Bethany

Image courtesy of The Mohawk Group