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Color Loss from Nature's OrangeThis report was done for a consumer and the mill accepted the claim.THE CLAIM STATISTICS INSPECTOR WAS CONTACTED ON: 5/12/97 INSPECTOR WAS RETAINED ON: 5/12/97 DATE INSPECTED: 5/20/97 DATE WRITTEN: 9/5/97 NUMBER OF PHOTOGRAPHS: 5 PROBLEM REPORTED: Fading PROBLEM FOUND: Color Loss WAS A DIAGRAM MADE? No SAMPLES FROM INSPECTION: None Taken PERSONS PRESENT: Inspector & Claimant
THE CARPET MANUFACTURER: Shaw Industries STYLE NAME & NUMBER: Kennedy Park COLOR NAME & NUMBER: Imperial Blue FIBER/ ID METHOD: Nylon-Burn FIBER HUE: Blue CONSTRUCTION: Tufted Cut Pile YARN STYLE: Saxony SQUARE YARDAGE: 64.56 BACK SYSTEM: Conventional Tufted PRIMARY BACKING: Polypropylene SECONDARY BACKING: Polypropylene
THE INSTALLATION LOCATION TYPE: Residential DATE INSTALLED: 4/11/96 METHOD: Stretch-In CUSHION: 1/2-Inch Rebond SUBFLOOR: Concrete AREA INSTALLED: Living Room, Hallway, & 2 Bedrooms
USE & MAINTENANCE INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: Not Determined TEMPERATURE: 74°F - 23.3° C RH 31% ADULTS: 4 - CHILDREN: 3 - PET(S): 2 - Dog & Cat DO THEY SMOKE? No SPOTTING AGENTS: See Report VACUUM/FREQUENCY: Upright Daily ENTRY-MATS? Yes SOIL: Slightly Soiled HEATING TYPE: Wall Unit - Gas COOLING TYPE: Evaporation Unit CLEANING: Professional METHOD: Truckmount Steam TYPE OF CHEMICAL: Not Determined DATE LAST CLEANED: Not Recorded TREATMENTS APPLIED: None Reported
REASON FOR COMMISSION The carpet has reportedly discolored.
THE REPORT Site Conditions and Geographical Information The carpet was installed in the claimant's free standing single story house located in a residential neighborhood in the high dessert 60 miles east of down town Los Angeles. The house was owner occupied at the time of the inspection.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION MADE TO THE INSPECTOR No problems were noticed in the carpet until three months after the installation. Two days after treating a spot with Nature's Orange from NAMICO of Santa Fe, California purchased at a local HOME DEPOT, the carpet discolored. The dealer and installer of the carpet cleaned the carpet, but new spots of a similar nature appeared. A remnant was sent to the manufacturer for testing. Reportedly, the results of these tests said that the carpet was not defective.
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM AREA BY THIS INSPECTOR Circular with irregular edges and oblong spots of various sizes were noted throughout the trafficked areas. Most of these spots had poorly defined edges. All spots were lighter than the surrounding carpet. Most had a gray hue, but some spots in the master bedroom were brown. Only the tips of the yarn were discolored. The spots had no apparent change of hand or odor in the spots.
ON-LOCATION FIELD TESTING An ultra-violet light was used to draw a reflection from substances with optical brightening agents. Yellow reflection will come from most urine stains, a blue or lavender reflection from detergents. The result of this test revealed that there were no reflections. Numerous moisture tests were performed using a Delmhorst Moisture Sensor. This test would indicate the presence of moisture in the area that was being tested. It is possible for water to be locked-up in salt compounds from residue from urine and other compounds long after the affected area has dried. Any recent previous over-wetting of the carpet could also be found in the latex backing of a carpet with this device. The results of these tests revealed that there was some moisture readings near the bathroom door. Numerous pH tests were taken using a digital type pH meter and a special low moisture probe that made direct contact with the face yarns. This device is accurate to ± 0.1 and was calibrated with a laboratory testing solution immediately before these tests were made. All tests were made using distilled water with a pH of 7.0. The test results were as follows: Non-affected areas
Reading with the moisture readings
Spots where the Nature's Orange was used
Spots that occurred after the professional cleaning
There was no residue noted in any of the spots tested. A bleach test was performed using a test kit from COLOR MATCH SYSTEMS and revealed that there were no bleaching agents in the light spot. A tannin spotter from The Ramsey Chemical line was applied to the affected area. This product is a professional, acidic, spotting agent and with a ready to use pH of less than one. Its primary use is for removing coffee, teas and urine stains. If the problem reported was created by an acid, then it might become more severe with this test. If the problem was created by alkalinity, then it might reverse its severity. In addition, the presence of pH indicator dyes can be determined with this method. If a pH indicator dye were present, it would likely turn red. This product was applied to a towel and the towel was blotted on to the affected area. The result of this test revealed that there was no change in the appearance of the spots. An AATCC 164 COLORFASTNESS TO (OXIDES OF NITROGEN) was performed at Independent Textile Testing Laboratories Inc. In Dalton Georgia. The result of this test after 60 hours was a rating of 2-3.
THE ISSUE OF THIS REPORT The question that I have been asked to address is what has caused the color loss in the carpet.
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ISSUE Fading problems can occur when:
INDUSTRY STANDARDS, PRACTICES & DEFINITIONS According to the FLOOR COVERING DICTIONARY, it says this about FUME FADING:
FUME FADING - Also referred to as gas fading, this is a loss or shift in the dye color of the carpet due to attack by atmospheric contaminants. Ozone generated during thunderstorms, and oxides of nitrogen from gas furnaces and aldenydes from particleboard are the most common fading agents.
GAS FADING - A change of shade of dyed fabric caused by chemical reaction between certain disperse dyes and acid gases from fuel combustion, particularly oxides of nitrogen.
THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS
Nitric-oxide fading generally starts at the edge of the carpet and this carpet did not. Instead, the pattern fits the pattern created by common spills of bleach. However, the test results are clear that bleach was not present. The dyes in this carpet are defective based upon the nitric-oxide test. Since laboratory testing indicates that the dyes are defective and fielding testing indicates that bleach was not used on the affected area, it is reasonable to assume that ordinary carpet spot removers are the cause of the color loss and as such this carpet is hyper-sensitive to chemicals that are normally used on carpet. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that normal appearance cannot be maintained with normal maintenance.
CONCLUSION The color loss in the carpet in question was due to defects in the manufacturing based upon the results of the independent testing done on the carpet. |