[TonyMarti]

A friend of mine has recently had new carpets fitted-approx 150sq mtrs, the carpet suppliers offered to protect the carpet with a 'Teflon' product. He's a bit concerned (putting it politely!) on whether the work was carried out correctly. He raised the following points.
1. The carpet wasn't vaccd before spraying so balls of new pile was lying on the carpet surface.
2. He couldn't smell any trace of solvent-I'm not sure if 'Teflon' based protectant is water or solvent based.
3.Furniture/tools not removed prior or during application.
4.It appears what he describes as a 'garden spray' was used to apply the product, and the guy was cagey about letting them see the sprayer before starting work saying 'it was in the back of the van somewhere'
5.No guarantee or info leaflets provided.

I've told him to try & find out exactly what the product was, & to apply a few drops of water & do a comparison check between treated & untreated areas.
Any thoughts or advice appreciated-I'll be honsest he's only just mentioned this so I've not had chance to check the carpet etc.
Cheers Tony

[calmore]

Lack of odour isn't really a problem, Prochem's Fluroseal product is described as odourless for example.

Lack of pre-vac would be a definite cause for concern though, I would have thought.

[the red carpet]

The garden type sprayer's not really a concern, as long as it goes down it should work.

Not much odour on the protector i use, so wouldnt really concern me.

No guarantee is usual, any info leaflets i would have thought would have been at time of sale not after.

I wouldnt feel the need to vac a new carpet myself, (rightly or wrongly) but would if there was balls of new pile sitting on it or at the least pick them of.

Furniture and tools not moved, is poor and means a percentage of the carpet is not protected, on that point i would ask for another application or refund.

[calmore]

Wouldn't a protector tend to seal dirt/dust etc to the fibres if it were not vacced first?

[woodman]

In answer to your question Tony, the carpet has not been protected properly, what did he pay for the 'service'.

The carpet should be thoroughly vacuumed first to remove as much dry soil as possible even of new carpet, where as you state pile shedding has occurred.

The product quoted 'Teflon' I assume was Du-Ponts as that is their registered trade mark for the product.If they have quoted use of this product but not in fact used it then they can be sued.AS no paper work was left this would be hard to prove though unless mystery shopped.

Teflon Du Pont is a multi purpose fluroseal which is water based with hardly any noticeable odour which if used is why your friend could not smell anything.
There is a solvent based product for upholstery,silks and tapestries,they almost certainly would not have this as its more expensive.

A garden spray is not the approved method of application as the amount laid down would  be to heavy due to nozzle size and pressure not being sufficient which could result in damage to carpet over a period of time such as rapid soiling (seems strange I know,but over application will attract soil to sticky pile) yellowing and possible shrinkage.

If furniture and tools were not moved then they should not have charged full price and should have queried this at the time.

You have every right to ask what product was used and proof of its usage you can also request MSD sheets which they have to supply if asked.

My gut feeling is that all is not what it should be and your friend has been probably ripped off.

[TonyMarti]

Cheers, my thoughts exactly, I was under the impression that protective products had to be applied under pressure for fulll penatration of the fibres. I agree with all the other points. Sorry if I appear not to be well informed on the subject it's that I've never had cause  to protect carpets before-mainly because I haven't been trained or attended any courses so I don't push what I dont't know.
Have a good Xmas
Regards  tony

[TonyMarti]

Oh forgot to add he's been billed up to £600, approx £4.00 M2

Regards  Tony

[fresh floors]

A garden spray is not the approved method of application as the amount laid down would  be to heavy due to nozzle size and pressure not being sufficient which could result in damage to carpet over a period of time such as rapid soiling (seems strange I know,but over application will attract soil to sticky pile) yellowing and possible shrinkage.

How can over spraying of carpet protector cause shrinkage? this is not right, in fact, it is laughable      

[woodman]

 
Over apply water based protector on a BW or Natural floor covering such as Sisal,Jute sea grass etc and there is a distinct possibility it could shrink and thats no laughing matter :

[will01]

I never guarantee protective treatment as there are too many grey areas in which I believe the customer could call you back under your so called guarantee (ie.. a christmas orgy with loads of strippers, 3 donkeys a dwarf, 300 ltrs of vodka, 40 crates of Stella and 350 mince pies!!)
I did toy with a written guarantee in the past stating that "Everyday wear and tear was not covered and that the carpet would dirty again eventually through day to day living". However some peoples idear of wear and tear and day to day living are very different (Ie you could be a farmer or you could be an office worker) so I now just give my customers the Prochem leaflet which gives them general advice on the upkeep of their carpet and explains how the protection works.

Im not an expert on this but I do believe that nationwide chain stores do offer a guarantee with their suites (don't know about carpets) but this can be very expensive as it covers things like cigarette burns, accidental spillage etc... and can end up with the customer getting a new suite.
Anyway there must be a helluva lot of smallprint.

Merry xmas btw!!

[gwrightson]

will dont really think , its a" guarrantee " as such more of an insurance policy that they sell you 

I read the terms and conditions of a local , reputable carpet supplier,
yes , they do sell protector as an extra at £4.00 a sq yd  , yes the manufacter does send a cleaner if any accidents occur, but, the limitations are vast and then it all gets down to the nitty gritty , they are infact really selling an insurance policy   I would guess most people would have their own insurance already which covers accidents, "mine certainly does" so really in my veiw the custy is paying twice
  Geoff

[calmore]

a christmas orgy with loads of strippers, 3 donkeys a dwarf, 300 ltrs of vodka, 40 crates of Stella and 350 mince pies

I think I went to that party!