The vast majority of carpets found in the marketplace today are typically made from synthetic polymers.
It is estimated that over 50% of carpets produced today consist of nylon, which if you weren’t aware is made from plastic - a lot of plastics, including bottles which contain soft drinks, end up being recycled and eventually become carpet.
However, you may be surprised to hear that a tiny percentage of carpets are made from woven wool nowadays, even though they are known to be easier to clean and age very well. The main reason synthetics have become so popular is because they handle heavy traffic and moisture far better than woven wools.
How is Carpet Made?
Firstly, the materials used are made into yarns before the yarns are tufted. A machine is used to complete the process of tufting and this machine typically has 12-foot rollers and in excess of 12,000 needles working away, in much the same way as a sewing machine works.
Hooks are then used to pull the yarn in order to make a loop of a specific size, which is completed in conjunction with producing pile of a specific height. The size of the piles very much depends on how shaggy the carpet should be. For example, a few decades back shag pile carpets were all the rage, although carpets nowadays are typically produced with far lower piles.
This is because we have learnt over time the lower the pile, the better a carpet stands up to traffic and the easier it is to clean.
Dyeing the Carpet
The yarn will then need to be dyed, although this can be completed before or after tufting, although if it is completed afterwards you will have far greater control and many more options.
The process of dyeing will involve initially boiling the tufted carpet in a container with water before certain chemicals and dye are added. The carpet and the solution will then boil for the next four hours. In order to add designs or patterns to the carpet it will need to go through the process of silk-screening, which is very similar to way in which t-shirts are produced.
However, there is an alternative method for adding designs, which will see the carpet rolled between embossed rollers.
The Finished Article
Once the tufting and dyeing procedures are completed the carpet will need to be bonded onto a backing material.
The carpet ends are then sewn together to produce a roll-type shape, which is probably how you are used to seeing them in carpet stores. The underside of the carpet will then need to be coated with another backing material, typically latex adhesive. This will then be loaded into another machine which will help to permanently bond the backing materials to the carpet.
The carpet will then be heated in an oven, which once again ensures that the bond becomes a permanent fixture.
Even before you see the finished article the carpet will need to be steamed, before being brushed and vacuumed, and there is even a machine that will remove any uneven tufts sticking out from the carpet – and only then is it finally ready to be shipped to warehouses and stores.
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