RAYON RUGS… “Difficult” Would Be the Diplomatic Term

The Thread

Unraveling the Mysteries of Fibers, Fabrics and Floor Coverings

RAYON RUGS… “Difficult” Would Be The Diplomatic Term

A soft floor covering is between wool and olefin, At Home In The Bath generally described as either a offering average stain Rayon has long been popular “rug” or as “carpet” resistance and moderate for one type of rug in (“carpeting”), with some resiliency. particular: bath mats. Rayon occasional overlap between is very soft under foot, it is the terms. Rugs are So, where does rayon fit into extremely absorbent and – distinguished from carpet by the mix? above all – it is inexpensive. the fact that they are not For an item like a bath mat usually affixed to the floor in a that gets very casual use and permanent installation. is replaced as often as every two or three years, rayon is a Because rayon is found more good fit. often as a rug fiber than as carpet, this article will focus on The problems begin when 100% rayon rugs. As you rayon is transitioned into uses would expect, the majority of that are more demanding…like the comments and concerns rayon rugs that receive daily mentioned here will also be traffic soils and stains. true of rayon used in wall-to- wall carpet and rayon used as an accent fiber. Problems Abound We think of rayon as cotton’s poor relation. It’s a cellulosic No Perfect Fibers One Fiber, Many Names! fiber, so it shares a few of Many different fibers are used In our experience, no other cotton’s better qualities (e.g., in the manufacturing of rugs. fiber shows up on labels under soft hand and resistance to The most popular for many more different names than static). But rayon is a man- years have been nylon, olefin rayon. Some names are made cellulosic, meaning and wool. While none of them obvious. Viscose describes some of its properties are quite is perfect, each of these fibers the most common process different from cotton. has inherent qualities that used to manufacture rayon. make them suitable for use in Others are more vague. Faux Poor Strength. Cotton actually floor coverings. Olefin, for Silk is rayon. Art Silk (short for gets stronger when it is wet. example, is resistant to a wide artificial silk) and ART CYLK Rayon, however, loses range of stains. Wool is the are also rayon. At least one strength. In fact, rayon can benchmark for resiliency (the manufacturer uses a brand lose up to 50% of its tensile ability to recover from name, calling their rayon strength when it gets wet. crushing). Nylon properties Luxcelle. Many different This means that when rayon tend to fall somewhere names, all the same fiber. rugs are cleaned (either spot

Superior Service, Smart Solutions

Fiber-Seal Systems  Dallas  Texas  214.333.9400  www.FiberSeal.com

cleaning or overall cleaning), some manufacturers of rayon upholstery fabrics or vertical greater caution must be used. rugs. fabrics, tend to share similar characteristics. Shading. Rayon is very Poor Cleaning Results. lustrous, with the result that Generally speaking, rayon The “sensitivities” of rayon in differences in pile orientation rugs are difficult to clean. As pile constructions such as can mean areas that appear with any other fabric or floor chenille and velvet are well lighter or darker. This problem covering, dry cleaning is documented. For the most is often referred to as pile simply not very effective on the part, the potential problems, distortion. Wet shoes, a small range of stains and traffic soils especially pile distortion and spill or a pet accident can all that are most commonly found water-based cleaning issues, result in this type of shading in the home. Wet cleaning, are exactly the same. problem. using appropriate detergents followed by thorough rinsing, is When a rayon rug needs spot the most effective Need Help With Rug And cleaning, it can be method…and also the most Carpet Protection Or complicated. Water-based problematic for rayon rugs. Cleaning? cleaners tend to flatten the Your local Fiber-Seal Service pile, causing noticeable Normal wet cleaning Center is ready to help and distortion that can be VERY procedures will inevitably just a click away. difficult to correct. cause flattening of the pile. This effect can be somewhat Poor Resiliency. Rayon is one corrected by gently grooming Click Here of the least resilient of all the pile upright as it dries, but For fibers. Crushing and matting the overall look of the pile will Locations in traffic areas is very never be “new” again. common. Complicating this situation is the fact that http://fiberseal.com/locations/ aggressive vacuuming (with a Sound Familiar? brush head) is specifically Pile fabrics of the same fiber, recommended against by whether floor coverings,