[gwrightson]

can any of you wiser guys help me with this little teaser?
i quoted for a job today lounge, d/r, 2 b/rooms .
h/s/l   is covered in brand new carpet 80/20 mix ,very proud of it she was, so i mentioned ,had she had it protected?
oh no she replied the carpet shop told me its not really reccommended to stain protect carpeys  i scratched my head ,and asked if they give a reason , why not . as she had inquired about protector .
no reason given , but what she did say that a preivious carpet supplier had also told her the same thing 
any one tell me why "completly baffled" is it that they just dont do protector? should i get my self down to the shops in question and tell them the benifits, and my services
  all opinions  gratfully recieved
geoff

[strakercleaning]

Maybe they hope she will ruin it and buy new carpets 
Possibly 100% wool and feel that its own inbuilt resistance will last until first clean  :

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi Geoff

This is a statement I often come across myself. There is a school of thought amongst some retailers that a good quality wool carpet doesn't require protection as the wool itself offers a good level of soil and stain resistance. But if questioned further, they often don't know why, it's just one of those stock answers passed down through generations. Some feel that the lanolin in wool offers this resistance but, IMO, the amount present would not normally be beneficial for this purpose. Obviously, a retailer may have experiences, whether anecdotal or actual, where an inappropriately applied protector has caused damage to the yarn or dye system.

Speaking to colleagues, it has been suggested that even Woolsafe have felt that a protector doesn't offer much in the way of benefits for wool, but that this position may be softening. Whether this is for real world reasons or whether for commercial I don't know. I'll bring it up next time I speak to Paul Bakker.

From my own perspective and experiences, I feel that wool from the Landing  of a house downwards benefits from being protected. I certainly wouldn't be without it on my own carpets. Bedrooms are often open to discussion, dependant upon the type of use the room gets.

Safe and happy protecting
Ken

[woodman]

There is a school of thought amonst retailers that applying protectors can shrink carpets, over application will attract dirt and that in some cases some totally inapropriate protectors are applied (True).For instance silicone based protectors which will void a warranty on a 5th generation carpet and will cause rapid soiling.

For an 80/20 there should be no problem in the application of protectors, the salesman overstepped the mark with his knowledge on the subject and gave her the wrong information :

Unfortunately most carpet salesmen that I have come across have little or no knowledge on the subject of cleaning and protectors although the paying customer will often take their word over yours.

I recommend  the customer to just look at the information supplied on the back of the carpet samples in the shop where it will inform them about the benefits of regular cleaning,shading etc most salesmen don't bother doing this themselves but feel qualified to tell the customer about when and how she should have her carpets cleaned.

makes my blood boil

[Dynafoam]

Ken & Trevor have said just about all.

I would only add that if the removal of more lanolin could be achieved cheaply enough then the minute percentage that remains after processing would not be there. Indeed if more lanolin remained in a carpet the the soiling rate of a new carpet would likely be  more rapid due to the greater oil content.

[gwrightson]

thanks for answering the crux of the question,
now do you think with a little education , and persuasion
it would be worth while offering my services, protecting,
bearing in mind they would want commision etc. i presume,
does any body else have this relationship with carpet outlets
geoff

[strakercleaning]

I think that is what i meant

[Ian Gourlay]

Dereck might remember this better than me as he was Kilroy with the Mike.

But during the Talk on Trading Standards at Carpex. There was a Gentleman from The Carpet Foundation who said he represented Carpet Manufactures who said that they had grave reservation about protection treatments and if applied to a new carpet it could invalidate the guarantee,

I was silinced with amazement.

I was hoping that someone from the carpet cleaning industry would challenge him on what is for some a lucrative add on.

[Dave_Lee]

I often hear clients state, " Wool cleans itself". To which I always reply "Yes it does, Whilst it still attached to the sheep."
I doubt theres any Lanolin left at all after all the washiong, bleaching dying and other processes wool goes goes through before it ends up in a carpet and Ive always found that protector makes for a  positive benefit.
Dave.

[Derek]

Ian

I wasn't in the seminar room with David Witefoot from the Carpet Foundation...I was playing 'Kilroy' next door.

The same thing happened with various furniture manufacturers and this was simply a way of shifting any responsibility of a problem to 'the last person to touch it' syndrome...this responsibility also covered faulty materials...  "well it must have been the protector"!

What a get out !!!!

Derek