subject: What Do You Know About Instinctual Fibre Carpet? [print this page] Natural fibres used with carpet are developed either by insects, animals, or even plants. The fibres that are developed by insects or animals are known as protein fibres. Those that are made through plants are known as vegetable fibres. Vegetable and protein fibres share the common disfavour that they are both very absorbent and will have extended drying times if wet cleaned - which can lead to mildew, shrinkage, and even dry rot.
Wool
Wool fibre is developed from the fleece of lamb's or sheep. Wool of carpet is imported from countries such as England, Australia, and New Zealand. Wool is the oldest and considered to be the finest of all carpet material.
The ability of wool to stretch up to 40% of its original length and the fact that it can be bent backward and forth more than 180,000 times without breaking makes it very resilient, wool is the most expensive material for carpet, while it is also the best you can buy.
Silk
The fibre of silk is made through the larva of various insects known as silk worms. The silk, in continuous lengths from 300 to 1600 yards is spun to produce the cocoons. As a fibre, silk is naturally on flammable, strong, and not impacted through static charge problems - even at low humidity.
Cellulose fibre
This type of fibre is developed by plants and normally not used as face yarns. These types will however, show up as backing materials of tufted as well as carpets that have been woven.
Cotton
Cotton is a vegetable seed fibre that is produced from the cotton plant. The primary use for this fibre is yarns woven in carpet or rugs. Cotton is resistant to alkaline solutions and becomes stronger when it is wet.
The biggest disadvantages to cotton are the fact that is the most absorbent of all fibres and requires extended drying times after being wet cleaned. It is also easily damaged through acids, stains easily, mats down, soils quickly, and is subject to mildew, dry rot, and shrinkage.
Jute
The fibre of jute is developed through the jute plant which grows in South America, Pakistan, and even in India. The stalk of the jute plant is where the longer coarse fibres are obtained, located between the outer bark and within the inner pulp.
Jute is normally used as weft yarns, across the width, in woven carpets and as a backing material in the construction of tufted carpets. Jute is an inexpensive material that also serves other uses than just carpet. Like all other fibres, this one has disadvantages as well. The fibre is weak when it becomes wet and is also subject to dry rot, shrinkage, and mildew.
Sisal
The fibre of sisal is developed by the leaves of the agave plant. Sisal is very strong and primarily used for making rugs, sacking, rope, and even carpet. The fibre stains easily and is also very difficult to clean. Wet cleaning can also cause shrinkage so it's best to use low moisture methods.
Rayon
There is quite a bit of discombobulating about rayon and it is easy to understand why. Rayon is a synthetic fibre that is produced from instinctual cellulosic fibres of wood pulp or cotton. The material is put by several chemical treatments which aid to turn it into a synthetic fibre.
Primarily, rayon is used for area rugs because of its silk like appearance. It can be damaged by acids, has low resistance to abrasion and is also prone to cellulose browning.
