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Fading 3 cycles AATCC 164

This report was done for the dealer and went against the mill based upon three cycles of AATCC164, fading to oxides of nitrogen.

INSPECTOR    COMMISSIONER    CLAIMANT
PERSONS PRESENT:    Inspector & Claimant
THE CARPET
FIBER:    Nylon
ID METHOD:    Chemical
FIBER COLOR:    Gray
CONSTRUCTION:    Conventional Tuft
YARN STYLE:    Cut & Loop
SQUARE YARDAGE:    Not Given
BACK SYSTEM:    Conventional Tuft
PRIMARY BACKING:    Polypropylene
SECONDARY BACKING:    Polypropylene
INSTALLATION STATISTICS
TYPE LOCATION:    Residential
METHOD:    Stretch-In
SUBFLOOR:    Concrete Slab
AREA INSTALLED:     Livingroom, Hallway, & 2 Bedrooms
USE & MAINTENANCE STATISTICS AT THE TIME OF THE INSPECTION
LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: No
ADULTS: 2 - CHILDREN: 1 - PET(S): -1
DO THEY SMOKE?    Yes
SPOTTING AGENTS:    None
TEMPERATURE: 75.7°F - 24.2° C RH 52%
VACUUM TYPE:    Upright
VACUUM FREQUENCY:    Weekly & More
ENTRY-MATS:    Yes
SOIL:    None Noticed
HEATING TYPE:    Wall Unit - Gas
COOLING TYPE:    None
CLEANING:        Never Been Cleaned
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS REPORT
Assess the problem reported and make a determination of the responsible parties.
SITE CONDITIONS & GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
This tenant-occupied, two-bedroom, duplex is located in a residential area with other types of residential dwellings. The Pacific Ocean is approximately two miles away. Some of the claimant's furniture appeared to be expensive and heavy, in particular a large granite dining table that sat on a steel base, (approximately 1000 pounds). All of the furnishings were very tidy and extraordinarily clean.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION MADE TO THE INSPECTOR
The carpet was installed due to the age of the old carpet and a change in ownership of the duplex. Light-colored spots were noticed two or three days after the installation. At first, these spots were thought to be shadows and there is no remembrance of any accidental spills or spotting incidents. The claimant would like the problem to be fixed without replacing the carpet.
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM AREA BY THIS INSPECTOR
A 'triangular shaped' spot measuring ten inches in length and three & a half inches in depth was noticed at the carpet's edge next to the wall-gas-heater. This spot was lighter than the surrounding carpet but was still had a gray hue. The color loss was on the top half of the yarn. There was no unusual odor in this spot nor was there an unusual feel to it either. A similar color loss was also noted in front of the door to the bathroom. This spot had an irregular shape.
IN FIELD AND LABORATORY TESTING
An ultra-violet light was used to draw a reflection from substances with fluorescent dyes. Yellow reflections will come from most urine stains while 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 same compounds mentioned above, but there were no moisture readings found 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 5.6 in the non-affected areas of the carpet; 6.0 in the triangular spots near the heater; and 6.5 in the spot in front of the bathroom. This would indicate a presence of mild alkaline compound in the affected areas.
The remnant taken from the claimant was sent to Independent Testing Laboratories in Dalton, Georgia to run a fade or color lost test to oxides of nitrogen. Two cycles of AATCC 164 were requested, but three cycles were performed. The results were a '3' on gray scale, a noticeable change.
THE ISSUES
The questions that I have been asked to address are to determine what has caused the carpet to fade and who is the responsible party.
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ISSUES
Fading problems can occur when:
1. Bleaches, oxidizing agents or other chemical residues have been applied to the faceyarn
2. Sun light or in particular ultraviolet rays from the sun affect the dye
3. Oxide of nitrogen and/or sulfur and/or ozone common to the Southern California atmosphere react with carpet dye
Guidelines for determining the responsible party for fading can come from
1. Warranties information for the carpet maker
2. Applicable warranty laws, UCC for sales of goods throughout the United States and state code.
AATCC is the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists and they provide the textile wet processing industry with a communication center and a clearinghouse for new ideas and innovation in textile chemistry and color science. For more than 70 years, AATCC has worked with dyers, finishers, educators, students, chemists, mill superintendents, laboratory technicians, management executives and others who are involved with the application of chemistry to textiles. AATCC has published more than 175 test methods addressing such topics as colorfastness, staining, laundering, and electrostatics.
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.
The FLOORCOVERING DICTIONARY as defines defects:
DEFECTS - A general term that refers to some flaw in a textile product that detracts from either performance or appearance properties. In the case of a defect in material or workmanship, the manufacturer reserves the right to report or replace the carpet. An obvious defect that can be readily and easily discerned prior to, or at the time of, installation is a visible defect. A defect that is neither apparent nor visible at the time of installation but becomes apparent at a later time is a latent defect.
THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS
A change of 0.3 in pH readings is a significant indicator of some type of chemical activity, but the readings found in these spots only point to a mild alkaline detergent. A reading in the high nines would be needed to support chlorine bleach. Therefore, a water-base chemical is likely not responsible for the color loss.
Fading to sunlight has guidelines covered under FHA/HUDs Standard for carpet called UM44 where a '4' or above after two cycles or 40 hours of AATCC 16E is required to pass. This type of fading generally occurs next to windows as mentioned in the definition above. Whether this carpet would pass that type of test would have to be determined by the results from a laboratory such as Independent Testing; however, fading next to windows was not found.
Significant fading from oxides of nitrogen is evident from results of three cycles of AATCC 164, but gas fading is not mentioned in UM44. This is not to say that gas fading is not an acceptable reason for a defect in manufacturing. Thus, the issue becomes whether the carpet is performing like other products in the market place or has this gas heater caused an exceptionally high level of NOX to fade the carpet.
It has been the practice of this inspector to run two cycles of AATCC 164 to make an evaluation for who's responsibility this type of fading is. If a '4' or higher is achieved, then the mill is not responsible. However, the reported testing protocol from Independent Testing Laboratories indicates that three cycles, not two, are normally run and this inspector can find nothing to support a change on why the evaluations should be done differently on three cycles verses two. Therefore, a response from the carpet maker and/or dyehouse is required to determine their acceptability for this problem.
CONCLUSION
From a professional opinion, based upon background information, observations, and testing, the fading in the carpet in question is due to a manufacturing defect and is the manufacturer's responsibility.