In this article we are going to go over
a number of common carpet problems.

These common problems will not be related to
stains, spots, or things of that nature. But, instead,
will be more related to the problems you might encounter after carpet has been immediately installed; or problems that crop up after some initial use.

Some of these "common carpet problems" are fairly normal and will go away after awhile; while others are far more serious and might not ever be able to be corrected.

So Let's Start With The Carpet Immediately After It Has Been Installed

Roll Crush - This is a problem that can be, at times, very difficult to fix. Roll crush is when the fibers of a carpet have been "crushed", or flattened, by the weight of the carpet when it is rolled up.

Roll crush most often happens when other rolls of carpet are placed on a roll of carpet. It is usually not the weight of the roll of the carpet that has been damaged that causes the problem; but the weight of the rolls of carpet that have been placed on the damaged roll.

Roll crush is not a manufacturing flaw, but a storage flaw.

Can roll crush be fixed? Yes, most of the time it can. Usually installing the carpet, having it stretched properly, and then cleaned using hot water extraction (HWE) will solve roll crush. Just allowing the carpet to adjust to it's new environment (specifically humidity levels) can make roll crush just magically disappear.

But not always.

With severe cases of roll crush there might not be anything that can fix it; so the carpet would need to be replaced.

Carpet Sprouts - This is basically where a tuft, or two, will rise above the
normal height of the pile. This is not considered a manufacturing defect but
something that just occasionally happens.

There are a LOT of fiber tuffs in carpet and the occasional tuft "rising" to a different height is not unusual.

How are carpet sprouts taken care of?

Pretty simple! Just cut them off at the height of the pile. NEVER EVER, and we mean EVER, pull on a carpet sprout that is a loop. That could lead to a very serious problem in pulling out a whole row of fibers on a loop carpet.

If you have larger areas that seem to be sprouting it would probably be a good idea to call in a carpet inspector and see what the problem might be. A few tufts sprouting is one thing - but larger areas with a lot of sprouting is another.

Carpet Shedding - This is basically what it sounds like. The carpet sheds some fibers.

These are loose fibers in the carpet tuft; and this is also fairly normal unless you start to see areas of your carpet become noticeably "thinner".

You will most often see carpet shedding during vacuuming. In fact, your vacuum cleaner bag, or container, might end up full of carpet fibers after each vacuuming when you first have your carpet installed.

Carpet shedding will gradually go away; and after six months to a year you should see very little "shedding" of the carpet. But remember, just like lint from your clothes that you find in a dryer, carpet fibers are just that - they are fiber. So some small amounts of carpet fiber are going to end up in your vacuum even years later.

Corn Rowing - We almost did not put this "common problem" into this article because it is a bit hard to explain.

But, basically, corn rowing is where a row of fibers seem to stand up higher right next to other rows of fibers that are "crushed down." This leads to the appearance of rows of higher fibers. This is also not considered a manufacturing defect - although some would argue that.

What causes corn rowing? The fibers that are "matted or crushed down" don't have the density around them to stand up to the stresses of foot traffic. So they do not hold each other up, or keep each row of fibers erect.

Why don't they have the density around them when other rows of fibers do? That is a good question that we really do not have the answer to. This is why some people believe that corn rowing is a manufacturing defect.

Either way, corn rowing is a big problem because it looks bad. On top of that there is not much, if anything, that can be done about it.

Carpet Yellowing - BHT Yellowing. This is a much more common problem than most realize. What exactly is carpet yellowing? It is basically where the carpet turns a light shade of yellow. You most often see this under furniture and area rugs that are placed on carpet.

BHT stands for Butylated hydroxy touluene. This is a preservative that is used in many plastics, that is used in many plastics, although you do not see it as much now-a-days.

When you see carpet yellowing under furniture and rugs it is because that area of the carpet has not been allowed to breathe properly. This causes a reaction from the backing or padding of a carpet that reacts negatively to the protectors in a carpet.

With other types of yellowing in carpet it is because of cleaning solutions that are used that react poorly to the carpet protector. Either way, yellowing can ugly a carpet out extremely fast.

What can be done about yellowing? Sometimes a lot can be done. Citric acid, the same citric acid found in many soft drinks, can actually be used to reverse yellowing in a carpet and in many cases the yellowing is completely
removed.

But there are also times when yellowing will not budge from a carpet no matter what you try to remove it.

If you have any yellowing in your carpet (that is not wanted) then you should call a good carpet cleaner.

Do not try to take care of this yourself; as you could easily make the situation worse or cause secondary problems.

Well there you have five carpet problems that many people have never heard of, although they might have seen these issues. If you have any of these carpet problems give us a call. We will be happy to take a look at your carpet
and let you know what we can do to fix them - if they can be fixed.