Why?

Is it magic? Or voodoo? Nope. Just science.

There are many ways to make carpet last longer and stay resistant to stains and dirt. One way is to coat the fibers with a clear dye I.E. Scotchgard or Stainmaster. Another is to use yarn that is water resistant like P.E.T. (Polyethylene Terephthalate) that stains are not absorbed into. Or you could use corn starch.

What? Corn starch? Yep. Here is the (non) dirt. http://www.mohawkflooring.com/assets/files/smartstrand-forever-clean.pdf

SmartStrand carpet from Mohawk is designed to be permanently stain resistant. The yarn has no dye sites that will allow stains to stick. Dye sites are areas where the surface of the yarn is dyed after the carpet is made and, like using a roller for painting your wall, not all areas are covered. This leads to raw yarn (Griege goods) that can allow stains to stick. SmartStrand yarn is not only dyed while still liquid, they use nano technology to encapsulate each fiber before it is bundled to become your carpet.

At first glance it seems that you are getting less carpet for the price. Well, doesn’t a Lamborghini cost more than a Prius? If your carpet stays clean forever and shows little or no wear so you don’t get the “uglies” , you know, untwisted yarn and matted carpet, isn’t worth more upfront? Like most major purchases we need to prorate the cost over the life of the carpet. Less uglies, less money.

Here is a link to how they make the yarn. http://www.dupont.com/products-and-services/fabrics-fibers-nonwovens/fibers/brands/dupont-sorona/articles/how-dupont-sorona-is-made.html

Basically DuPont has found they can use glucose from corn starch to produce a carbon polymer called PDO. This is mixed with micro-organisms and allowed to ferment. Ultimately  this ends up as a polymer that is chopped up into pellets and sent to a mill to be made into yarn. The process is complex but very interesting. A byproduct of the manufacture of PDO is less fossil fuels used and less pollution. Another bonus…it can be recycled into new carpet.

And I sell it!  What else can you ask for?
Give me a call and I will introduce you to Ricky The Rhino who try as he did could not permanently stain SmartStrand carpet.

 

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