Pooling in Residence for Consumer
This report resulted in a new carpet for customer who commissioned report.
THE CLAIM STATISTICS
NUMBER OF PHOTOGRAPHS:
PROBLEM REPORTED: Snake Like Lines
PROBLEM FOUND: Pooling
WAS A DIAGRAM MADE?: No
SAMPLES FROM INSPECTION: None Taken
PERSONS PRESENT: Inspector & Claimant
FIBER HUE: See Report
CONSTRUCTION: Tufted Cut Pile
YARN STYLE: Saxony Plush
SQUARE YARDAGE: 152.67
BACK SYSTEM: Conventional Tufted
PRIMARY BACKING: Polypropylene
SECONDARY BACKING: Action Back
THE INSTALLATION
LOCATION TYPE: Residential
DATE INSTALLED: 5/12//97
METHOD: Stretch-In
CUSHION: 1/2 Inch Rebond 7 Lb./Cu. Ft.
SUBFLOOR: Concrete
AREA INSTALLED: Living-Room, Dining-Room, Hall-way & 3 Bedrooms
USE & MAINTENANCE INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION
LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: None Reported
TEMPERATURE: 69°F - 20.5° C RH 62%
ADULTS: 1 - CHILDREN: 1 - PET(S): 0
DO THEY SMOKE? No
SPOTTING AGENTS: Spot Shot
VACUUM/FREQUENCY: Kirby Upright - Heritage
Twice Weekly
ENTRY-MATS? Yes
SOIL: None Noticed
HEATING TYPE: Forced Air Gas
COOLING TYPE: Central - Electric
CLEANING: Never Been Cleaned
REASON FOR COMMISSION
To determine what recourse is possible concerning water mark or ‘pooling’ in the carpets in question.
THE REPORT
Site Conditions and Geographical Information
This is a free standing single story, owner occupied house located in a residential neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. Condition of property was very good.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION MADE TO THE INSPECTOR
The carpet was installed as part of a remodeling effort. Three months after the installation serpentine lines were noticed, that had not been noticed on previous carpets. An inspection was commissioned by the mill to Stan Fisher who noted the problem was pooling.
According to the dealer, the carpet came was from same style, but two different colors, and installed at different times. The lighter hue was installed in the master-bedroom. Furthermore he adds that he has never experienced ‘pooling’ in his many years of experience and had no information that he could pass on to the consumer about a propensity of the carpet to suffer pooling.
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM AREA BY THIS INSPECTOR
Dark serpentine lines were readily noticeable in the trafficked areas throughout the installation and traveled across the seams and varied when viewed in different directions. Their appearance was like rivers of mud that had dried leaving their residue. In the master-bedroom, the lines formed a border around a lighter section of the carpet that looked like pools of wet carpet.
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ON-LOCATION FIELD TESTING
An inspection lamp used for close physical inspection of the lines revealed that the lines were borders where the nap had reversed itself. This reversal caused the light to strike the fiber at different angles giving the carpet dark and light appearances.
A Pile Direction Test was done using a piece of paper and a pencil. The test confirmed the pile reversal.
THE QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN ASKED TO BE EXAMINED
1. What is pooling?
2. What can a consumer do once they discover their carpet is affected with pooling?
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ISSUE
Guidelines for evaluating these issues is found in a large assortment of trade journals and industry publication which can be furnished upon request. Some text is listed below.
INDUSTRY STANDARDS & DEFINITIONS
According to the IICRC REFERENCE GUIDE FOR INSPECTION OF TEXTILE FLOORCOVERINGS within the glossary of term the following definition is given:
pile reversal - Abrupt changes in pile lay, generally encountered along the edges of traffic lanes or seams.
pooling - A form of pile reversal in which the direction of the pile’s orientation changes abruptly at narrow, serpentine interfaces, usually located in or adjacent to trafficked areas. The cause of this condition has not yet been determined.
watermarking - A slight re-orientation of fibers in dense pile carpet, which creates irregular light/dark contrast in the pile and makes the carpet look "wet." Water marking is characteristic of densely tufted or woven pile designs, and is not usually considered a defect. No specific cause or permanent corrective solution has been discover for watermarking.
According to a study done by the CRI, on pooling they say this:
After a dense cut pile carpet is placed into service, some areas may start to appear to be lighter or darker in color. If the dyed yarns from these areas are compared with the original color, no change of color will be detected. These areas of perceived change may be in traffic or heavily used areas or in areas which receive only a small amount of use. The areas may be as small as a coin, or they may be very large. Normally, the extremities of the areas are rounded, and the rows of tufts between the two areas stand almost erect.
THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS
Pooling is a permanent change in the pile directions of which there are no lasting corrections. The forces that create it have no consensus of the cause, but two common factors are:
1. it does happen more often on plush, dense pile carpet
2. it is location specific.
The previous carpet was of a less dense type and did not have a problem. However, tests have been performed replacing the carpeting in areas where this condition has occurred and the results have been the same. For that reason it is not considered a manufacturing defect, but there would be a less likely chance of occurrence with less plush or with a loop-pile carpet. Previous experience in this dwelling supports this notion.
A practice of some carpet mills in the past has been to allow for a one time replacement. The state of Arizona determined that this was a manufacturing defect, for a while. According to the Song-Beverly Implied Warranty Act, a product sold without an expressed warranty is expected or implied that it will perform to a reasonable standard. The difficulty is in determining what is considered reasonable and that is beyond the scope of this inspection report.
CONCLUSION
1. Pooling is a permanent pile reversal with no consensus as to the cause and of which there is no responsible party.
2. Pooling might be prevented from happening with a loop-pile-carpet. Attempts at correcting existing pooling are only temporary.