[james roffey]

When i attended the NCCA course we were all told the dreaded Belgian Wilton horror stories etc and were shown an example of one and how to identify one to check the reverse and see if the pattern is repeated on the underside, my question is, this implies that these type of carpets are all patterned and this is how i have approached these carpets i had one last week an axminster type pattern pulled the carpet up same underneath proceeded with caution, i dry cleaned it with enviro dri came out very well but this doubt crept into my head and i thought i would ask you all.

[Dave Whittaker]

True BWs are polyprop face fibre on a jute backing & Axminsters are wool .......so a burn/float test should suffice if in doubt.

As for the pattern showing through to the back, on a BW the pattern is alot more pronounced on the underside compared to an Axminster which might appear more faded in comparison.

[Dave_Lee]

True BWs are polyprop face fibre on a jute backing & Axminsters are wool .......so a burn/float test should suffice if in doubt.

As for the pattern showing through to the back, on a BW the pattern is alot more pronounced on the underside compared to an Axminster which might appear more faded in comparison.

Most Axminsters are 80/20 Wool/Nylon, although there are still a few Acrylic ones around which were very popular 25 - 30 years ago. Axminster doesnt relates to the type of pile/fibre content, but the type of loom the carpet is woven on.
Dave.

[markpowell]

Check the backing on every polyprop carpet, as some BW are now plain, if the jute weft shots run in both directions overlapping each other then its a BW. SimplezMark

[derek west]

forget the term belgium wilton.

if you can see jute intertwined with cotton on the reverse of a carpet, its a woven carpet and its a shrinker,( regardless of wether its patterned or not) you then need to test the face fibre with a burn test to see if its wool or man made. if its wool then you should be okay as long as you don't overwet. if its man made then you need to seriously know what your doing.

derek

[richy27]

some good common sense advice there from both derek and mark

[Dave Whittaker]

True BWs are polyprop face fibre on a jute backing & Axminsters are wool .......so a burn/float test should suffice if in doubt.

As for the pattern showing through to the back, on a BW the pattern is alot more pronounced on the underside compared to an Axminster which might appear more faded in comparison.

Most Axminsters are 80/20 Wool/Nylon, although there are still a few Acrylic ones around which were very popular 25 - 30 years ago. Axminster doesnt relates to the type of pile/fibre content, but the type of loom the carpet is woven on.
Dave.

I know all that Dave........just trying to keep it concise :

[Jim_77]

You don't see ANY of the face yarn on an axminster when you look at the back, due to the way they're constructed

Imagine you have a bunch of tubes and put then together in two layers.  They will be in a kind of triangle pattern if you look at a cross section.  That's how the weft shots are in an axminster (there are variations on this) around which the yarn is woven to create the tufts.

With an axminster, the yarn is woven around the top layer, the bottom layers pull tight together so you don't see through.

Just to complicate things further

[Dave Whittaker]

Just to simplify things

On older Axminsters you CAN clearly see the pattern on the back of the carpet.

Considering the lifespan of this type of carpet, Axminsters with visible patterns on the backing are still very common indeed.

[Hilton]

  
 Just do a burn test if unsure, fast and simple.

[markpowell]

 
 Just do a burn test if unsure, fast and simple.

Float test would be better

[chrisjohn]

There's no need to worry with BW's as long as you follow the steps most of the guys have mentioned.Do your burn and float test.Check the backing.Make sure the carpet is fitted correctly.When it comes to cleaning the carpet,dont blast too much water into it,and finish off with multiple dry passes.Do these simple things and you should have no problems.

Chris

[fenman]

Low moisture cleaning.
Never worry about shrinkage again.

[Ian Gourlay]

I walked today

For £15 it was not worth the risk

 

[Thackley Cleaning Services]

Can I just confirm that it is ok to clean a polypropylene fibre on a woven jute backing using HWE as long as you dont overwet and carry out extra vacuum passes on the cleaned areas ?

thanks

[richy27]

I dont think you can answer the question " can i wet clean them or not"   it depends on every individual situation eg is it well fitted, general condition if its in a bad state then making a correct assesment of the end result due to the lack of moisture you can use. Customer expectation i could go on. I have cleaned a few but walked on most no point in taking any risks. I carry some host sponges so there is alwys the option for the custy.

[derek west]

Can I just confirm that it is ok to clean a polypropylene fibre on a woven jute backing using HWE as long as you dont overwet and carry out extra vacuum passes on the cleaned areas ?

thanks

no its not okay, i would walk, its not worth the hastle.

but if your confident and the carpet is double grippered and you have air movers and maybe some heavy furniture holding it down the why not. be careful of the door plate?

derek

ps.... a lot of guys on here will say, "dereks talkin b0llox, ive done millions with no problems" well if they cover any shrinkage costs for you then listen to them. you have been warned.

pps... i'm not saying it will deffo shrink. but the odds are  in shrinkage favour.

[gwrightson]

Derick is talking bollo**s 

his words

anybody thinking of taking up c/cleaning would run a mike and find a job stacking shelves if you take too much notice of the scarmongering, " perhaps that is the idea "

Derick do you really believe a polyprop is that difficult to clean ?

It is not, providing you are sensible , come on we have all cleaned loads of them with out a problem. that doesnt mean to say we can go in guns blazing but a little common and u wont go far wrong.
Stop trying to frighten the life  out of newbies.

Geoff

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Derek is talking Michael ballacks.

I clean loads infact today I cleaned one it was grotty and I cleaned it and dried it (to touch anyway)

Bloody good carpet cleaner named Shaun

[JS2]

But as stated, the Dry clean did the job, so no risk of shrinkage doing this in similar situations.

Pete (JS2)