Fiber Selection

 

The esthetics and performance of carpet is similar to the fabric in your clothing. The type of fiber used, the construction of the cloth, and the color all play a role in the styling, cost, and performance of that garment.


All carpet yarn is manufactured from a Staple or Continuous Filament (BCF) fiber.

Staple fiber is a series of short, 6 to 7 inches in length, strings spun together to form one continuous filament. Several of these are twisted together to form a strand of yarn.

BCF fiber is a continuous filament manufactured as one long string. These are twisted and heatset together to form a strand of yarn. Both of these processes create yarns that produce carpet products with distinctly different looks and characteristics.

 

Description of Common Carpet Fibers

Nylon
The most frequently used carpet fiber, highly desirable due to its exceptional
durability, versatility, and reasonable pricing. It can be dyed in an endless variety of colors and made into numerous styles and textures. Nylon is commonly used in residential and commercial applications.
Branded Nylon
Brand name fiber such as DuPont Stainmaster®, Solutia WearDated®,and Honeywell Anso® usually indicates additional yarn testing and/or additional soil and stain treatments have been added.
Polyester
Used in residential and a few commercial applications, polyester has good color clarity, colorfastness, and resistance to water-soluble stains. All of Mohawk's polyester yarn comes from our state-of-the-art plastic bottle recycling facility. This "food-grade" PET Polyester fiber is considered to be better quality than "carpet-grade" polyester fiber.
Polypropylene
Also known as Olefin, this fiber resists fading, generates low levels of static electricity, is favorably priced, and can be engineered in outdoor applications. Due to its manufacturing process, polypropylene inherently resists stains. When used in specific carpet constructions, this yarn will perform as well as most resilient fibers.
Wool
The most expensive of the fibers listed here, it is a natural fiber with moderate soiland stain resistance. Durable, luxurious "hand", reduced visible soil due to fine, light-scattering characteristics.

 

Fiber Performance in Carpet

  Nylon(filament) Nylon (staple) Olefin(filament) Polyester(staple) Wool (staple)
Durability Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent
Resiliance Excellent Excellent Fair Fair Excellent
Stain Resistance Very Good Very Good Excellent Very Good Very Good
Soil Resistance Very Good Very Good Fair Very Good Very Good
Cleaning Very Good Very Good Very Good Good Very Good
Available Colors Excellent Excellent Fair Very Good Fair
Pilling & Fuzzing Excellent Fair Very Good Fair Fair
Resistance to Household Cleaners Very Good Very Good Excellent Very Good Good

* assuming nylon is treated with a stain resistant chemical.

** assuming treatment with a soil resistant chemical.
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