Why Do Carpets Need Protective Treatments?

Protective treatments increase the carpet’s resistance to conditions that affect its color and texture, namely soiling and staining. There are two different types of protective treatments: soil resistant and stain release treatments.

Soil resistant treatments provide a lower surface energy to carpet fibers, which resists the penetration of dirt and soil. Dirt particles are less likely to “attach” to the carpet fibers. Without these treatments, soil accumulates on carpet, and becomes more difficult to remove with a vacuum, resulting in a dirtier carpet (color change) and greater wear (texture change) due to dirt abrading the carpet fibers.

Stain release treatments help to prevent spills from changing the color of the carpet. Without these treatments, certain fibers can absorb food dyes and cleaning can be very difficult.

What Are Scotchgard Protective Treatments and How Do They Work?

There are two kinds of mill-applied Scotchgard protective treatments. Scotchgard Protector is a treatment specially designed to provide soil resistance. The treatment works by creating an invisible coating on each carpet fiber that keeps dirt and soil from imbedding or absorbing into the fibers. When carpet is treated with Scotchgard protector, dirt remains on the surface and vacuuming is more effective. It also reduces fiber wear from soil abrasion.

The second type of mill-applied Scotchgard protective treatment, Scotchgard Protector and Stain Release, provides a barrier to food stains and is applied along with the soil resistant treatment. Untreated carpets can stain because the fibers contain open areas that attract food dyes. Scotchgard stain release acts as an invisible barrier that will not allow these dyes to attach to the open areas of the fibers. This means that most food dyes cannot find a place to stain and can be cleaned up easily.

How Are Protective Treatments Applied?

Protective treatments are applied to the carpet during manufacturing by either incorporating them into the dyeing process, or post-treating the already dyed carpet. The protective treatments are applied using a foam, spray or immersion process to ensure uniform distribution. In all cases, the treatments are distributed throughout the fiber bundles, then heat bonded to surround each individual fiber for more durable, lasting protection.

Source: Floor Daily Paul Johnson