How is Carpet Made?

What is carpet made of? How is it made? Knowing your carpet or rug’s construction can help you understand its care needs and understand best use. While there are thousands of choices on the market, each with their own colors, patterns, and textures, most carpet is made in roughly the same process.

Materials:

Most carpet today is made of synthetic fibers for the color fastness, durability, and ease of procuration. The primary fiber of carpet is nylon, which commonly lasts 10-15 years and of the synthetic fibers, is the most durable. Polyester is also common and can last 7-12 years, it’s enjoyed for its softness and ability to resist stains, but lacks the same durability in high traffic areas as nylon. Olefin (or polypropylene) is the carpet fiber of choice in commercial and outdoor settings, it can last 5-10 years and of the synthetic fibers, it is the least durable and amongst the lowest cost fiber one can get. 

Natural fibers are also available for carpet fibers, however, they are quite expensive. Generally this fiber would be wool. Wool carpets may be called “berber” and often have an off-white, cream, grey, black, many other neutral and earthy colors, or slightly multicolored carpet (specks of neutrals/ earthy tones) naturally. Most berber comes from New Zealand, Argentina, and the UK, but the name originates from North African shepherds, who were called the Berbers. Wool is a less durable carpet fiber, and homes with children and/or pets would likely find their expensive berber carpets damaged much more quickly than homes without either. However, wool carpets do clean and age well if cared for. 

Weaving the Carpet Fibers

The first step to making carpet is called tufting. This is the process of weaving fibers into a backing material, such as woven polypropylene, with a large machine called a tufting machine. The tufting machine has hundreds to thousands of needles to pull yarn through the backing material, this process may look similar to a blend knitting or crochet and sewing with the needles piercing the backing material and hooks grabbing the fibers to hold the newly made loops in place. These loops are called “loop pile”, cutting the loops creates “cut pile” construction. A computer will direct the tufting machine which loops to cut (if any) and at what height to create different textures and patterns within the carpet, creating many options for customers to choose from. 

Dyeing the Newly Made Carpet

Sometimes, carpet fibers are dyed before tufting, this simply named pre-dying. Other times, carpet is dyed post tufting, “carpet dyeing”. Beck or batch dyeing sews the ends of the carpet together and runs the carpet through a vat of dye for many hours in a belt motion. Continuous dyeing is similar to Beck dyeing, but includes additional steps like spraying and painting dye directly onto the carpet for multicolor and pattern designs. Screen printing is also used, silk screens bear the desired colors and patterns and then transfer those colors and patterns to the carpet. The screen printing process could happen once or many times for desired effect. 

Sealing the Carpet Fibers and Shipping Off

To conclude the carpet manufacturing process, the now woven and dyed carpet fibers are sealed to the primary and secondary backing. This seal is usually latex, and is applied to the back of the backing, then those backings are squeezed in a heated press. Before the final inspection, the new carpet is sheared to remove any imperfections. After it passes color and other manufacturing measures of uniformity and quality, the carpet is rolled up, wrapped in plastic, and shipped out to stores and customers. 

Chem‑Dry

Your local Chem‑Dry is here to help and equipped with both the technology and experience to clean your carpets, rugs, and upholstery to perfection. Chem-Dry is a highly rated, industry leader featured in the Franchise 500 for over 40 years in a row due to our commitment to excellent cleanings and customer service. Our carpet cleaning solutions work effectively even on the toughest odors and stains, but are gentle for you, your workplace, and family. If you’re happy with your experience and results, leave us a Google review! We love to hear your feedback and share with our community. 

Book your carpet, rug, or upholstery cleaning service online today! Proudly serving Bangor, La Crosse WI and surrounding areas!

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