The
introduction of Dupont Stainmaster® in 1986 was simply the biggest
event in history to impact the carpet industry. Stainmaster propelled
the carpet industry into big business. Stainmaster1 was a breakthrough
in carpet stain protection. Prior to 1986, Scotchgard® soil treatment
was the best hope for repelling carpet stains. The Scotchgard®
principal worked in the same manner in which a Teflon® frying pan
worked.
Find out how a STAINMASTER® carpet goes from fiber to floor covering.
Here's an overview of the steps involved in carpet construction.
Bulked Continuous Filament (BCF)
Continuous
strands of nylon are formed into yarn. They are also texturized to
increase their bulk and to change from straight into kinked or curled
fibers. This increases the "bulk" of the final carpet and makes the
twist in yarns more permanent producing better wear resistance. And
because BCF (Bulked Continuous Filament) fiber is one continuous strand
of fiber, it will not shed loose fibers like staple fibers will,
causing the owner to constantly vacuum to remove them.
Twist
Each carpet fiber is twisted
around more fibers to produce a yarn for the carpet pile that is more
wear resistant. The tighter the twist, the more the carpet will resist
crushing, matting and changes in texture.
Heat Setting
After the fiber is
twisted, it is treated with heat to lock in the twist. The result:
carpet fibers that won't easily unravel or crush under heavy foot
traffic.
Tufting
The heat-set fiber is fed
through needles and then stitched or tufted into the primary carpet
backing. The density of a carpet is determined by how much yarn is used
and how close the tufts are to one another.
Dyeing
The tufted carpet is saturated with liquid dye then treated with a solution to set the color.
Protectant
The dyed carpet is now
saturated with a unique soil and stain resistant coating engineered to
bond specifically with STAINMASTER® 6,6 nylon. While other fibers are
protected by a stain resistant treatment as well, their treatment must
be re-applied after every cleaning while STAINMASTER® protection is
guaranteed to last for years without reapplication. The result is a
carpet that has the long lasting ability to repel dirt and resist
stains.