[BRSL]

Hi guys

Ive just been out and quoted for a local rowing club, it's not alot of carpet 70sqm of 80/20 wool / nylon but under inspection and lifting a corner I could see the print of the carpet reversed on the backing, ive always been inclined to believe this to be a BW

It's years old not alot of pile left, amazingly no seams blown and seriouslys dirty so am going to HWE as the last guy has done for a while with TM and he's not got the best rep

Any ideas

James

[Gavin Reardon]

Hi James

If a carpet has got 80 % wool in it then the chances of it srinking are small. carpet will only shrink if over wet and water gets to a jute backing! This is why B/w shrink as they are  made from plastic! and backing are jute! hope this helps

Regards Gavin

[John_Flynn]

B/W is 100% Sympathetic!!!

Have you not thought that it could be a 'WILTON'

[John Kelly]

James

Probably a genuine Wilton, 100% or 80/20. As well as looking at the back you need to do a burn test to establish the pile. Just pull a few tufts out and burn with a lighter. Wool smells like burnt hair, Polyprop (Belgian) like burning tar or plastic.
As you state there is very little pile left this is a problem as the water will have a higher chance of wetting the backing. I would either lightly spray and extract or bonnet clean.

[Doug Holloway]

James ,

You are right that not all carpets where you can see the pattern in the backing are BW's and most can be cleaned without problems.

Another way of determining wool or wool mix from Polypropylene is to wet a little with your cleaning solution .
PP will not wet out very well whereas wool will soak up water.

Another clue is the feel , PP is harsh and will cause a lot of friction , wool is much more gentle.

As John says the burn test will produce differing results but becomes less clear on mixes as the plastic part will melt.

Lots of potential problems can be spottted by checking how well fitted a carpet is , has it come away particularly near rads, doors etc.I have seen BW's which have shrunk due to heat , general relaxation and have never seen water!

Always be attentive if you are not sure , a carpet which is going to shrink will start to go within a few minutes.Don't start in the middle , find an inconspicous place , clean a little watch , wait.

Cheers

Doug

[BRSL]

Thanks Guys

It's deninatly a wool carpet as I had to do a burn test as I couldent tell from looking at it, and is some kind of willton as the weft bends both ways, were correct me if im wrong a axminister will not, but I was always led to believe that only BW's have the print on the back or is this wrong  

James

[BRSL]

Thanks Doug

Thats cleared it up a bit, wasnt to afraid of the cleaning bit as I said, it's been cleaned in the past loads by a guy that I know doesnt know how to do a dry stroke and it's survived to my diss beleif  but you can never know enough on carpet construction just in case

James

[the red carpet]

for future reference i think you will find all patterned b/w's you will see the print from the back, but not all b/w's are patterned, and i think im right in saying if you look at the back of a b/w it will have thin cotton strands running through it.

I shrank one just before christmas, but luckily it went back yesterday with ease, i got a carpet fitter in and he just kicked it back on with a knee kicker took him 2 minutes.

[robert stubbs]

Polypropylene does not absorb water so floats.Next time put a fibre in a glass  of water to see if it floats.


 Regards Rob

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Rob,

Good call about PP floating.

Many fibres will float on plain water due to the surface tension so it's worth putting some detergent in.

Ah but PP will still float because it has a specific gravity of 0.9 , compared with 1.0 for water.

Nylon is about1.1 so it will sink

Cheers

Doug

[BRSL]

Thanks guys

this is what this site is about learning something new each day, thanks guys and Rob nice point, never tried it but will, and your bang on Danial the print might not be there on a plain carpet but doesnt mean it aint.

Cheers again James

Main point just because it has a patern doent mean it's BW and never new that all BW's were man made fibres or have I missed the point

[gort]

If you are unsure about the carpet and it shrinking especially since it is very dirty, you can pin it down at the edges to make suer it does not move.