Care

Press, 6 April 1981, Page 11

Care

Carpet will repay a little care with added years of wear and good appearance. A floor should be sanded if necessary to provide a flat surface for the carpet and a good quality underfelt provides further protection against rapid wear. Brown paper under the iindcrfelt prevents anv upward draughts which would carry dust through the floorboards One characteristic of new carpet is that, it fluffs. All that is happening, is the shedding of short lengths of wool fibres which do not reach the base of the carpet. As much as possible of this fluff should be left in the pile to help the felting process which increases the lasting qualities. Too vigorous scrubbing with the vacuum cleaner in Ihe early months will result jn unnecessary loss of wool but a light run over each week in the direction of the pile is necessary to remove grit and dust while it is still on the surface. Grit is the chief enemy of carpets. If it is allowed to

get down to the base of the pile, it will wear away at the fibres. literally cutting through the pile. For this reason, regular vacuuming lengthens carnet life. Cut-pile, carpets heavily trampled are likely to show ■'shading” in time. Wear flattens, the tufts to a greater slant and the sides of the yarn reflect more light than the cut ends. A help in reducing this effect is to lay the carpet so the pile leans away from the light. To clean ’off spots and stains, use a very small amount of either dry-clean-ing fluid or a soapless detergent.