Quick tip - Carpet Shading and Pile Reversal

Carpet shading
Cut pile carpets often display a characteristic called shading. This is when there appears to be patches of different coloured carpet after vacuuming or in areas that have been walked on. These variations are caused by little changes in the way that the pile is sitting in relation to other fibres. This phenomenon is simply the result of a trick of light. The sides of fibres reflect more light that the tips of the fibre, so when the carpet pile is ‘lying’ they will seem to create a light pile.

Solution
Shading is just a temporary condition and can be reversed by vacuuming in a common direction or carpet brushing. Your Drytron professional will brush your carpet when they complete their clean.

Carpet pile reversal
Pile reversal is the result of the carpet pile being ‘trained’ to lie in a particular direction that is opposite to the rest of the carpet. This is generally caused by regular traffic flow on your carpet. For instance, if the regular pattern of walking on a high traffic area is to turn to the right, then the carpet pile will continually sit to the left. Over time this lean to the left will become ingrained and hard to remove with vacuuming or even brushing.

Solution
Unfortunately, this is the normal wear and tear of the carpet. You can of course use runners and rugs in some super high traffic spots to reduce the effect on your permanent carpet. Regular vacuuming and maintenance cleans will also remove the sharp debris in the carpet that cuts the carpet fibre and makes it more susceptible to pile training.

For more great tips visit www.drytron.com.au. Of course, if you need to get the carpet cleaning experts in to get your carpet, upholstery and rugs looking their best, simply give us a call in the Drytron Customer Care Centre on 13 12 50.