Olefin carpet reviews tell us that these carpets have low maintenance requirements and moreover, their low price seems luring enough. So what are olefin carpets and are they superior to carpets made from other fibers…
Most of the carpets are made from either one of these fibers: wool, cotton, acrylic, olefin, nylon or polyester. These days the use of olefin fiber in carpets is gaining popularity and constitutes about 30% of the fiber used in the U.S. carpet manufacturing firms today.
Olefin carpet fiber is relatively inexpensive synthetic fiber and is valued for its strength, durability and easy maintenance. It resists permanent stains, can be easily cleaned, has greater resistance to bleaches and sunlight fading. Olefin outdoor carpets are preferred over other carpet types because of their high resistance to mildew, moisture, shedding, staining and damage due to water.
Olefin Carpet Cleaning
Carpets are favored by most people, however, it’s the carpet cleaning part that all are extremely apprehensive about. Since Olefin carpets resist staining, cleaning them is not as difficult as in the case of carpets made with other fibers. Moreover, olefin carpet fibers dry quickly after cleaning because their low absorbent fibers allow minimum amounts of water content to seep into them.
Step 1
Vacuuming is the first step in cleaning olefin fibers. Vacuuming helps get rid of all dirt and debris. Carry out this vacuuming process every week. This will prevent dirt from staining the carpet, thereby making cleaning easier.
Step 2
Pre-spray the carpet with Traffic slam and boost all. Flex is suitable for heavily greased carpets. Allow the pre-spray to work on the carpet for 15 minutes. These encapsulation pre-sprays will prevent ugly spots and lines from recurring.
Step 3
To neutralize the high pH pre-spray, use an encapsulation rinse, which has anti-soiling and anti-wicking properties, thus, will prevent the carpet from turning yellow due to wicking. One can use the hot water extract with Fab-set as the rinsing agent.
Step 4
To dry the carpet as soon as possible you can use an air mover. Then apply a fabric protector onto the carpet to prevent easy staining.
Olefin carpets usually turn brown after steam cleaning. This happens because the soil from the surface of the fibers sink inwards by a process called wicking. To prevent the dirt from seeping into the inner regions of the carpet, it is important to carry out thorough pre-vacuuming before the extraction process.
Disadvantages of Olefin Carpets
Just like how every coin has two sides, every product has its pros and cons. Olefin carpets have poor resilience, which conduces to crushing. Thus, their attractiveness is short-lived. Its color choices are limited, as it has a different dyeing method. Moreover, although olefin fibers resist water, they love oil and absorb oil easily. Once oil gets onto the carpet, it can be an exasperating time to try to get it off.
There is also the danger of olefin carpet fibers fusing to each other, if heavy pieces of furniture are dragged on top of it. This happens because of its low melting point. Thus, one needs to be careful not to drag heavy objects on the carpet. Its flammability rating is also lower than nylon, which is another disadvantage. Olefin carpets are definitely not suitable for schools, airports, banks or any other busy environment. However, they are wonderful for family rooms, artificial sport turfs, golf rooms, etc.
Although these carpets have their share of disadvantages, the key here is to buy properly constructed olefin fibers. Cut pile olefin are not suitable for carpets and will crush easily. Thus, make sure you buy a carpet that is properly constructed. Favorable pricing and its low staining, easy maintenance factors are what causes people to be lured more and more to it.