When you have carpet installed in your home you usually set up the room so that it is comfortable to live in. Your living space has couches, sofas, pianos, tables and rugs to make the house a home. The carpet often suffers from high traffic areas. This is because the areas that are covered with furniture create a natural path that people will walk on. The areas of the carpet that are exposed will take on more wear and tear as well as dirt and spills. The problem really only exists when you try and move the room around and rearrange the furniture. The carpets can start to look bad when you move the furniture so you need to be sure that the carpets are cleaned often. You can’t just clean the carpet that is exposed but you need to also clean under the furniture as well. That way you can keep the color of the carpet uniform. Although this is a problem, it is not the only problem when you leave large pieces of furniture and rugs on your carpet. You might move these items to find that the carpet has turned a shade of yellow. This is called phenolic yellowing and can actually happen to any textile that includes your carpets.
D&M Carpet Cleaning outlines what phenolic yellowing is, how it can affect Your Carpet and how to prevent it.
What Causes Yellow Carpet Discoloration Under Furniture?
When you have carpet installed you most likely don’t check in on the chemical compounds that are in it. The problem is that there is a particular compound that is to blame for the yellowing. The compound that is found in some carpets is called butylhydroxyltoluene or BHT. This needs to have the chance to breathe so that it can dissipate in the air. It does not cause a problem when it is in the air but when it is stifled under a piece of furniture or rug it is called off gassing. The off gassing causes a reaction to the carpet fibers. It then causes the carpet to turn yellow. The problem is that the yellowing is often only found out when you try and move the room around.
Can You Stop & Reverse Phenolic Yellowing?
If the carpet has BHT in it or the glue or padding it will need to breathe. This can happen from the carpeting or can even be a part of the actual rug. The furniture that is in the room will need to be moved off the carpet. Then you need to have the carpets cleaned professionally. This will give the carpet time to breath and the BHT will be able to release in the air. Not only are you allowing the carpet time to breathe but you are having them cleaned in the process. The yellowing is actually a chemical reaction and once it happens you can’t wash it off. There is no way to strip the yellow away and get it back to the carpet color that is was. There are two options when dealing with severe phenolic yellowing in your carpets. One is to have the carpets dyed to a new color or two, have the carpets replaced.
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D&M Carpet Cleaning can meet all your carpet cleaning needs. Call us to help extend the life of your carpets and help prevent premature carpet replacement today!
