Fades from artificial lighting
This report was commissioned by the cleaning company and showed the fluorescent lighting to be the cause of fading.
CONTACTED ON: 6/26/00
RETAINED ON: 7/5/00
DATE INSPECTED: 7/6/00
DATE WRITTEN: 8/23/00
PHOTOGRAPHS: 4
PROBLEM REPORTED: Fading
PROBLEM FOUND: Fading
SAMPLES: Carpet
PERSONS PRESENT: Inspector, Commissioner, & Claimant
THE CARPET
MANUFACTURER: Bentley Carpet Mills
STYLE NAME & NUMBER: Firenze
COLOR NAME & NUMBER: Color Beck Dyed
NUMBER on BACKING: Not Applicable
FIBER: Nylon
ID METHOD: According To Commissioner
FIBER COLOR: Multi-Color
CONSTRUCTION: Conventional Tuft
YARN STYLE: Cut & Loop
SQUARE YARDAGE: See Report
BACK SYSTEM: Conventional Tuft
PRIMARY BACKING: Polypropylene
SECONDARY BACKING: Polypropylene
INSTALLATION STATISTICS
TYPE LOCATION: Commercial
TYPE OF BUSINESS: High Rise Office Building
DATE INSTALLED: 6/98
METHOD: Double Glue Down
SUBFLOOR: Concrete Slab
AREA INSTALLED: 7th, 8th, 15th, 16th, 19th Floors
USE & MAINTENANCE STATISTICS AT THE TIME OF THE INSPECTION
LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: N/A
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 200 - 225
TEMPERATURE: 77.0°F - 25° C RH 46%
VACUUM TYPE: Professional Service
VACUUM FREQUENCY: Nightly
ENTRY-MATS: In the Downstairs Lobby
SOIL: None Noticed
HEATING TYPE: Not Determined
COOLING TYPE: Not Determined
CLEANING: Never Been Cleaned
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS REPORT
Assess the problem reported and make a determination of the responsible parties.
Site Conditions and Geographical Information
The carpet inspected was in an 18 story office building, (the 13th floor was not designated as such), located just off the I-405 Freeway in the coastal flat lands of Southern Orange County. The age of this building was approximately 10 years and its condition and furnishings appeared to be very good.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION MADE TO THE INSPECTOR
Bentley Carpet style called "Firenze" was installed by the commission of this report on the 7th, 8th, 15th, 16th, 19th floors of this facility and in one other office located in the city of Chicago. In the Irvine office, it was installed as part of the moving in process and all 813 square yards of Firenze on the 19th floor came from the same roll. Usage on the 19th floor has reportedly been very light.
In the past few weeks prior to this inspection, a color loss was noticed on the 19th floor in this Irvine office. This loss of color has been from wall-to-wall in certain areas, but not in others. Reportedly, no professional cleaning has been started yet and there has been no need for cleaning due to the light usage. In addition, small dark spots in the faceyarn have been noticed at both locations.
An inspection commissioned by Bentley Carpet Mills was made after this inspection in which lighting was suspected as the cause of the fading. Fluorescent bulbs in on the 19th and 7th floors were found the same and reportedly, laboratory testing has been done on an installed section from 19th floor. Reportedly, at the time of the writing of this report, Bentley Carpet Mills has been unwilling to share the results of the testing.
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM AREA BY THIS INSPECTOR
This inspector was first directed to the 19th floor where carpet in the elevator lobby
was not faded. Upon entering the hallway on the East Side of this floor, a significant
amount of color loss was noted in the hallways. However, carpet covebase and offices in
this same area were not faded. Both the offices and covebase were of the same carpet. In
addition, carpet was not faded under plastic chair mats, (reference picture number three),
and this chair mat was located in the hallway area. No fading was noted on the other
floors.
IN FIELD AND LABORATORY TESTING
An inspection lamp was used for closer evaluation. This high intensity lamp is equipped with a 500-watt halogen bulb and the result indicated that fading had occurred in the affected areas.
An ultra-violet light was used to draw a reflection from substances with fluorescent dyes. Yellow reflections will come from most urine stains while a blue or lavender reflections will come from inappropriate detergents. The results of this test revealed that there were no reflections.
Numerous moisture tests were performed using a Delmhorst Moisture Sensor that would indicate the presence of moisture locked-up in some compounds mentioned above, but there were no moisture readings either.
Numerous pH tests were taken using a digital type pH meter with a low moisture probe that made direct contact with the faceyarns. All tests were made using distilled water with a pH of 7.0. The test results were between 5.5 to 5.6 in both discolored and non-affected areas indicating no significant compounds between the affected and non-affected areas. readings like this are below the normal pH readings of just soil and are common to residues left from manufacturing.
A Paint Oil & Grease Remover from the Ramsey Company was applied to the dark spots and they were removed after blotting them with a cotton towel.
AATCC 129 COLORFASTNESS TO OZONE was performed at Independent Textile Testing in Dalton Georgia on a remnant taken from a different roll, but of the style carpet from the same mill. The result of this test after 40 hours was rated at '5', no change in appearance.
THE ISSUE
The question that I have been asked to address is what has caused the carpet to fade.
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ISSUE
Fading problems can occur from:
1. Bleaches, oxidizing agents or other chemical
2. Oxide of nitrogen and/or sulfur and/or ozone
3. Ultraviolet light rays
INDUSTRY STANDARDS & DEFINITIONS
According to the FLOOR COVERING DICTIONARY, it says this about fading:
FADING - Loss of color. Caused by actinic radiation such as sunlight or artificial light, atmospheric gases including ozone, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulphide, cleaning and bleaching chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite, and other household and industrial products, chlorine chemicals or swimming pools, and other factors. Commercial installations in areas where such exposures occur require extreme care in selection of colorfast carpet. All carpet will fade under certain conditions. The greatest sun fade potential is a Southwest exposure while the least is a Northwest or North exposure. Unprotected carpet, those in front of windows without drapes, in a Southwest exposure can show very noticeable color loss after as little as 6 months. Examples: A brown carpet will fade to light green in ,areas where it receives direct sunlight because the color component most severely affected is red. A green carpet will fade to yellow because color component most affected by the direct sunlight is blue.
According to the FEDERAL HOUSING AUTHORITY standard for carpet, UM 44D in Table 1 Minimum Carpet Requirements and Test Methods for Colorfastness to light (xenon arc) Gray Scale rating), The Value, Minimum is 4 (after 40 AATCC fading units). The Test Method is AATCC 16E2.
THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS
FADING DUE TO A LIQUID APPLIED TO THE CARPET - The ultraviolet light, moisture, and pH tests all suggest that there has not been an unusual aqueous solution applied to this carpet. However, these tests do not rule other substances such as formaldehyde and pesticides, which are on the dry-solvent side and can cause color loss. Both of these substances would be unlikely culprits because formaldehyde causes red dye to fade and has been eliminated from wood products due to California Proposition 65; while pesticides are not normally used in commercial high-rises and when they are found, there is a color loss next to outside walls. Thus, the pH tests indicate that there is no difference in readings between the faded and unaffected areas. This would give support to an environmental condition such as ozone or oxides of nitrogen and/or ultraviolet light. Readings in the range found are indicative of acid residues from manufacturing dyeing. The actual dye method was unknown at the time of this writing.
FADING DUE TO GASES - When ozone causes a fading situation, it generally takes place uniformly except where the carpet is not exposed to the atmosphere. However, for this to be the cause of fading, the affected carpet needs to be of a different dye lot compared to the same sent.
Fading to oxides of nitrogen is another possibility and the appropriate laboratory test for this would be AATCC 164 NO2. Normally when this gas is the culprit, there is a loss of color next to baseboards; therefore, NO2 fading is less suspicious than ozone fading in this case.
FADING DUE TO LIGHT - Ultraviolet rays normally come from sunlight, but some fluorescent bulbs cover a wide spectrum that could cause fading. From a professional opinion, whether the ultraviolet rays are excessive enough to cause fading on most carpets or cause fading only on a defective carpets would depend on how well they do in 40 hours of AATCC 16E testing. Results less than a '4' on a Gray Scale would indicate a manufacturing responsible; results above '4' and including '4' could indicate a responsibility towards the claimant and/or light manufacturer. This professional opinion of '4' being the passing mark of this test is based upon FHA/HUD's UM44 standard for government financed housing. Some carpet mills hold in-house standards that less than '4' as acceptable; however, it should be noted that it is within most carpet manufacturer's ability to make nylon carpet that will not fade under 40 hours of laboratory testing for nearly all common environmental conditions. An example of this is the AATCC 129 COLORFASTNESS TO OZONE testing done on sample of Bentley Carpet style called "Firenze" taken from a different roll other than the one used on the 19th floor. A possible second example could be the 7th floor carpet, also from a different roll, that was reportedly exposed to the same lighting conditions.
The dark spots that were found in both locations are most likely related to a tar like substance. Their irregular shape would indicate that they are not related to manufacturing. The best proposal on where they came from based upon the background information would be from the installation. A likely scenario could be that one of the installer's tool trays had something on it. Removal with any dry solvent product should be easy.
CONCLUSION
From a professional opinion based upon background information, observations, and field-testing done at the time of the inspection, the fading in the carpet in question has been due to environmental conditions. Forty hours of AATCC 16E testing is recommended on an installed section of the 19th floor.