Best Carpet Yarn Re-visited 2

So now that we've discussed the value of wear and resilience in carpet yarn, this week we will touch on stain resistance.

Stain resistance has taken on added importance these days as family's lifestyles are getting busier and more hectic. There was a time that most family's wouldn't let you eat in the family room much less the living room. Do you remember as a kid how if you tried to take some food into the family room to watch TV while you ate, your mother would let you know about it. Food and drink just weren't allowed in carpeted rooms. Because of this, wear and resiliency were more important than stain resistance.

These days, everybody eats in the family room. They eat in the living room. And in our bedrooms. And the basement (which are mostly carpeted these days). We pretty much eat everywhere in the house. Because of this (and the resultant spillage. Yikes) carpet has to be stain resistant. What good is carpet that will wear forever if it stains up like crazy.

Scotchgard was one of the first stain protections developed. It was a topical treatment that provided a barrier between dirt, stains etc and the carpet yarn. This barrier stopped stains from penetrating into the carpet as long as you cleaned up the spill relatively fast. Dirt also cleaned off of the carpet. One of the drawbacks to this topical treatment was that after a couple of cleanings, most of the topical treatment was gone leaving the carpet yarn exposed to future spills.

Along came the built in stain protection. Stainmaster, Anso, Weardated and Scotchgard Stain Release were the top brands in built in stain protection applied to mostly nylon carpet yarns. Basically how this worked was that the yarns were treated with a fluorocarbon system. Most carpet yarns when they are extruded will have very fine pores. These pores will absorb spills and are hard to clean out. This is the idea behind hot steam extraction. Hot steam penetrates the yarn and cleans as the steam is extracted out of the yarn. The built in stain protection basically filled these tiny pores thereby creating essentially a solid yarn. This solid yarn won't absorb spills. The stain will stay on the surface of the yarn and is easily cleaned off with a good carpet cleaning solution. Most nylon yarns are treated for stain resistance in this way.

Polyester on the other hand is inherently stain resistant. PET polyester is made with recycled pop bottles. A form of plastic. This yarn is extremely hard to stain. Because of polyesters superior stain resistant properties, this yarn is starting to take market share away from nylon (the fact that polyester costs less than nylon doesn't hurt either).

Olefin yarn (used mainly in Berbers and commercial grade carpet) is also extremely stain resistant because of it's hydrophobic properties (it doesn't absorb water so it won't absorb stains). This is why olefin carpet is solution dyed (the yarns are dyed while they are still in liquid form so the color goes throughout the yarn). Not only does olefin not absorb water or stains but it also doesn't absorb the dye very well during the dying process. So the carpet mills will dye the carpet before extruding the yarn. More on solution dying later (hint: solution dyed nylon, probably the best yarn period as it combines wear ability, resilience and stain resistance in one yarn......)

Wool, since it's a natural yarn and hence porous, will absorb stains and is probably the worst yarn for stain resistance.

Rankings of carpet yarn for stain resistance

1.  Solution dyed nylon
2.  Olefin
3.  Polyester
4.  Nylon
5.  Wool

The top three are considered extremely stain resistant and will suffice for most carpet installations where stain resistance is the top priority. Next week more on solution dyed nylon.........the best carpet yarn period (in our humble opinion).

Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering

http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Best Carpet Yarn Re-visited

Best carpet yarn??

Today we explore the heat set in carpet yarn!

With the proliferation of polyester carpet yarns we want to set the record straight today about which carpet yarn is best (in our humble opinion).

While every carpet yarn has pros and cons, there is still a yarn system that we feel outperforms all others. The mainstream carpet yarns are nylon, wool, polyester, triexta (a form of polyester, more on this later) and olefin.

Nylon is still the best wearing yarn out there. It is almost impossible to wear out with normal residential wear and it has great resilience. Most carpets never wear out but they will "ugly" out. The carpet mills consider wear out as carpet fiber worn away. This can only happen with abrasive wear and is the main reason why you should clean your carpets every 12 to 18 months. To get rid of all of the dirt particles which can act like sandpaper to your carpet.

Even though nylon yarn is the hardest to wear out, it's nylon's resiliency that is it's greatest feature. Most carpet yarns are heat set. What is this? When you separate the carpet yarns in your carpet you will see that each individual yarn has been twisted. Kind of like a rope. The carpet mills have determined that the yarns are so much stronger when they are twisted together. This is great as long as they stay twisted together and this is wear nylon yarn shines and heat set comes into play.

To keep the yarns tightly twisted together, the mills have heat set the yarns. As you know, if you cut a rope that is intertwined, it will fray at the ends. The more it frays the more it starts to unwind and pretty soon your rope isn't worth anything. The same with carpet yarns. In a cut pile carpet, each yarn end (like in the rope example) is cut. So the yarn wants to unwind and fray with normal foot traffic. As they unwind and fray, the carpet starts to ugly out. It will look worn and just plain ugly. No way to fix this. You will have to replace the carpet.

Now, with heat set, the mills have "set" the twist in the yarn with heat. The higher the heat, the longer the yarn wants to stay twisted. So the higher the heat, the longer the yarn stays twisted, the longer a carpet holds up to foot traffic, the longer the carpet will look good and longer the carpet will last for you.

As you may have guessed by now, nylon yarn can withstand the highest heat levels and so will keep it's twist level longer than other yarns. If you were to set the heat level the same for a polyester carpet, the yarn would melt. So even though polyester carpet yarns are heat set, they are heat set at a lower heat level than the nylon yarns and hence will not stand up to higher foot traffic when it comes to maintaining it's look. And because nylon carpet yarn stands up better to higher wear (keeps it's look longer, doesn't ugly out as fast) it will last longer than other types of carpet. The longer a carpet wears, the longer it will last for you and the less often you will have to replace it, thus saving you money in the long haul.

So when it comes to longevity and what type of carpet will stand up best to wear and look good the longest, nylon yarn is still king of the heap.

Carpet yarn wear and resiliency rankings:
1. Nylon
2. Wool
3. Triexta
4. Polyester
5. Olefin

So if wear and resiliency are the most important factors for you when buying a new carpet then nylon should be your choice!

Next week we discuss stain resistance as another important factor in determining the best carpet yarn.




Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Hardwood Flooring and Humidity Levels

Okay, as we head deep into winter (yuck) I think it may be time to give you some tips for your hardwood flooring. Winter can be trying for your solid hardwood flooring because the humidity levels in your home tend to dip below what is optimal for hardwood flooring. As the humidity level drops your hardwood flooring will shrink as moisture is wicked out of the pores of the floor. That's when you will start seeing gaps forming in your hard wood. This is not a defect but a natural response to low humidity levels.

Keeping your home humidified is critical for the health of all the wood furnishings in your home. Items such as flooring, furniture, casings and just about anything in your home that is made with wood will benefit from correct humidity levels.

Keeping your home between 45% and 55% humidity is optimal for all wood flooring. If your home stays above 45% humidity it will prevent the wood from drying out to the extent that gaps will form. Constant changes in humidity is very hard on the wood itself.

It is a good idea to have a humidistat installed in your home if you don't have one already. You can purchase one online for about $20 to $25. Your home centers will have them also (even though I don't recommend ever going to a home center for anything. :)

Okay, nuff said about humidity levels and hard wood flooring!

Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
www.doverfloorcovering.com

Getting New Flooring Before Christmas

Well, the holidays are in full swing. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Black Friday. (Is Black Friday a National Holiday???  lol.  Probably...). Along with cooler days and nights, Christmas lights going up and mad dashes to the mall to shop, people will be trying to spruce up their homes in anticipation of visiting family members.

You may not realize this but you really only have about 2 weeks left to shop for new flooring for your home. The lead time for most new flooring is about 7 to 10 days. By the time you pick out and order the flooring, have it shipped from the manufacturer or distributor and get an appointment date for installation, it could take easily up to 2 weeks or more during the holiday season.

With this being the busiest time of year for carpet and hardwood flooring sales and installation it is not uncommon for flooring retailers to be booked out for 3 or more weeks. Let alone the fact that a lot of the most popular styles and colors that are in high demand will be out of stock which will just about insure the fact that you won't be able to have your new flooring in time for Christmas.
So, there is no time like the present if you are planning on updating your old flooring.

We've actually installed new carpet on Christmas Eve before but I wouldn't recommend it. If anything were to go wrong then there would be no time to rectify the situation before Christmas and that room would be unavailable through the holiday.

So, here's hoping everybody has a great holiday season and remembers the reason for the season...

Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://doverfloorcovering.com

A Little Something About Vinyl Flooring...

Okay, Lets talk Vinyl Flooring.....

Vinyl flooring. Is this flooring the ugly sister of all other flooring? Why would consumers buy vinyl flooring?

For the last bunch of years vinyl flooring has been losing market share to all other hard surface flooring options. Hardwood, ceramic tile and even laminate has been taking market share from the vinyl flooring segment. Until recently.....

Vinyl flooring is making a comeback! With new lifelike stunning visuals in the vinyl flooring space, vinyl flooring is not your grandmas linoleum.......far from it.  New improvements in the finish has made vinyl flooring durable, soft and very resistant to tearing, scratching and gouging.

No longer do you see the old white and black squares with the shiny finish. Now you will see realistic wood grain patterns, lifelike stone looks with matte finishes. New fiberglass backings allow vinyl to be laid without full spread adhesive so installation is becoming much easier. Less muss and fuss.

Another advantage to vinyl is the fact that overall it costs less than most all other hard surface choices. Vinyl flooring is said to have the best value in the business when it comes to hard surface flooring. Plus it is impervious to water. Vinyl flooring comes in 12 ft wide sheets and hence has less issues with seaming. You can cover a relatively large area with one sheet of vinyl flooring without having a seam. No seams means no water gets through to the subfloor underneath.

Vinyl flooring great for laundry rooms, kitchens, foyers, entry ways and mud rooms and will cost a fraction of what hard wood flooring would cost or ceramic tile.

So, to sum up, vinyl flooring has price advantages, resistance to water advantages and softness of flooring advantages. All reasons why vinyl flooring is starting to make a comeback.




Jeff Dean
Owner of Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

A Little Something About Soft Yarn In New Carpet

Soft yarn! The consumers love it. But is it the best yarn for the consumer.

First off; how it's made. The fiber manufacturers have worked with the yarn to get smaller and smaller deniers. The smaller the denier the softer the yarn. But how does it perform?

Nylon yarn is naturally a high wearing fiber. Very resilient. It will stand up to even the toughest of wear patterns. The smaller deniered yarn is still nylon but because of the inherent softness it will start to mush (is that a technical term? LOL) down and kind of pack together like snow. Because it can do this the appearance can take a hit if the denier is too small (hence softer yarn).

Also, there have been complaints industry wide of vacuuming problems with the ultra soft yarns. The fiber manufacturers and the carpet mills have gone to great lengths to educate the flooring sales people and the consumer of the requirement that ultra soft yarns require in a vacuum cleaner. Most vacuum cleaners just don't perform on ultra soft yarns because the yarns are mushing down (not matting). Matting down is quite different from mushing down. A matted carpet can be pulled up and pileated with a good vacuum cleaner whereas the same vacuum cleaner will not pull up the ultra soft yarns.

So, what about soft yarns. Overall they are a good product. Soft to the touch, resilient and high wear. Where the jury is still out is in the ultra soft yarns. They don't have the test of time on their side and with the fact that you will probably have to buy a new vacuum cleaner along with the high cost of the ultra soft carpet your initial outlay will be pretty hefty. In our opinion the ultra soft yarns are probably not worth the money you spend on them, the buying a new vacuum factor and the fact that performance is still in question, we prefer to stick with the mid deniered soft yarn systems that will give you higher performance and won't break the bank on a new high end vacuum.




Jeff Dean
Owner of Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Are Berbers Going Away?

There was a time when Berbers had a large market share in the carpet industry. Probably about 15 to 20 years ago (where does the time go?) lots of people were asking for Berber carpet. Why was this?

Well, for years consumers had been buying "trackless" carpet. This was a variation of the old plush carpets that you really don't see much anymore. Styles come and styles go and consumers were just tired of the same old thing. After all, how many different ways can you construct new carpet? Trackless carpet is called "textured" in the carpet industry. The old plushes that had a smooth, shiny finish that showed every foot print and vacuum mark were becoming passe and consumers were looking for new carpet that wouldn't show everything right after vacuuming.

So the carpet mills started making textures (trackless). Friezes became popular. Friezes are textured carpets that are really really textured.
Some people likened them to spaghetti because a heavy frieze could look like spaghetti. They didn't show foot prints or vacuum marks. Consumers loved that.

About this time, the carpet mills started to really market the Berbers. They weren't cut pile like the plushes, twists and friezes. They were different. Berbers were made in a loop construction style. This was a very high wearing style indeed! Carpets that are made in the cut pile style will wear on the tips (where the cut pile is). Because the carpet yarn was cut, then the tips would wear and fray with normal wear and tear. Berbers, on the other hand, didn't have this weakness. The top of the carpet where people walked was now a loop and hence the wear was on a the sides of the yarn, not the tips. The side of carpet yarn is almost impossible to wear through with normal residential traffic. So Berbers were very high wearing.

Also, because of the loop construction, the Berber carpet would be very resilient.  As the loops were trod upon, the loop would press down and then bounce back up when walked off. So Berbers were high wearing and resilient. Both good traits.

Some cons to Berber carpets was the fact that carpet seams would show more than on a cut pile carpet and the loops could get caught, pull and run. So why are Berber carpets going the way of the dodo bird? Well, really, I don't know......

Where once I had probably 25% of my carpet samples in the Berber style, now I probably have 5%. People are just not asking for Berbers much these days. As Berber styles get discontinued by the mills, they don't replace them with new Berber styles. So as they get discontinued, my supply of Berber samples just keeps shrinking. Now I have very few and most of them are solid color Berbers. The flecked Berbers are almost gone.

So if you want a Berber carpet, you may want to get it soon as the Berber style is slowly going away.....of course, it'll come back around in 10 years with a slightly different slant. After all, who would have thought that the shag would ever come back, eh? LOL



Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://doverfloorcovering.com

Prefinished Hardwood Flooring vs Site Finished Hardwood Flooring

Which is better. Prefinished hardwood flooring or site finished hardwood flooring? Well, there are pros and cons to both.

Prefinished hardwood flooring is a wood floor that is finished at the factory. Unfinished hardwood, whether engineered or solid hard wood, will have a urethane finish applied at a finishing facility. This urethane wear layer will be infused with aluminum oxide and UV cured. This system produces a very hard finish that is resistant to scratching and gouging.  This type of system will provide the hardest surface for a residential hardwood flooring job.

A site finished hardwood floor will consist of an unfinished solid wood floor of any wood species installed. After installation of the unfinished wood floor, the floor will be sanded down and sealed. After sealing the floor, 2 or more coats of urethane will be applied to finish the floor. One advantage to this type of system is the floor itself will be totally sealed (at least at first it will be). This keeps water from getting between the boards which can cause damage. As time goes by and seasons with varying humidity levels pass, the wood floor itself will expand and contract causing cracks between the individual boards. Now the floor is no longer totally sealed from the top and probably negates the only advantage to this type of wood floor.

Another advantage of a prefinished hardwood flooring product is that the finish is already applied and dry so you can walk all over it once its installed. A site finished product will take days to completely cure and most people will have to stay out of their house during the finishing process. This can be very inconvenient.

Lastly, unlike in the past, prefinished hardwood flooring is more cost effective. It costs less to install a prefinished product than it does to install, sand down and finish an unfinished wood floor. So overall, I would almost always recommend a prefinished wood floor over a site finished wood floor.






Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Minor Hardwood Flooring Fixes

If you have a hardwood floor then you know how it can be when you get a surface scratch, dent or chip. I would say that every hardwood floor in everybody's house will have surface scratches. Maybe a dent or two when you dropped that can of corn on your floor. Or gouged your wood floor when you dragged something across it. Maybe even a chip out of the edge of one of your planks.

Here are some easy fixes for these situations

If you have surface scratches that only scratched into the urethane surface, there really isn't much you can do short of refinishing your floor. If the scratch went through the surface and into the wood than you can purchase a wood repair kit. The wood repair kit should contain at least a couple of stain sticks, wax filler crayons and a small bottle of urethane among other items. With a small surface scratch you can try the urethane and see if that will fill it satisfactorily. If not then a refinish will probably be the only way to fix these. Remember, every wood floor will get surface scratches and is normal. I wouldn't recommend a refinish until the top wear layer is showing considerable wear (but not worn into the stain. Try to refinish before the surface wear wears into the stain layer).

With a surface scratch that has penetrated the stain layer then a stain stick will fix the problem. Just apply the stain to the deep scratch. Make sure you use a stain stick color that comes as close as possible to the color of your existing floor. This should do the trick to hide the scratch. You can apply a thin layer of urethane to the area after it dries if you want.

With gouges, you should use the wax stick. Just rub the edge of the wax stick into the gouge. Work it back and forth until the go
uge is completely filled with the wax. Then rub the surface to smooth out the wax filler until it blends in with the surface height. Again, use the correct color of wax filler so as to blend in the best.

You can also fill in chips that have occurred in the edges of the boards with the wax filler crayon. If you fill an edge chip, you will need to use the edge of a credit card (or like tool) to "form" the edges to match the rest of the individual hardwood board.

These methods will normally repair any unsightly surface issues that accrue over time in any hardwood flooring. Larger issues such as large gouges, large chips or cracked boards can be addressed.

If you have a prefinished hardwood floor than you can remove and replace individual boards. Even from the middle of the floor. A site finished product is much harder to repair. Once you replace a board with an unfinished piece of hardwood flooring then you must refinish it to match the existing floor which is very hard to make look good. In fact, most hardwood flooring refinishers will not do a repair like this because the risk of the customer being unhappy with the finished product is very high.

This is another advantage of having a prefinished hardwood flooring product installed in your home instead of a site finished hardwood product (along with the fact that a pre-finished hardwood floor has a UV cured wearlayer with aluminum oxide embedded in it which forms an extremely hard finish that you cannot achieve with a site finished hardwood flooring product).

These are the most common and easily administered fixes for hardwood flooring surface maintenance!



Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Carpet Cleaning and Maintenance Tips

I would like to provide a few tips about carpet cleaning and care. These are general tips and apply to most carpet styles. Different carpet yarns need to be cleaned with differing cleaning solutions. Check out our carpet cleaning and maintenance page.

1. Don't scrub the carpet to remove a stain. When you scrub a carpet you can unwind the carpet yarn. This will cause the carpet to look unnatural at the stained area and cause the carpet to mat quicker in the future since the integrity of the carpet yarn has been compromised. The twist level and subsequent heat set of the twist is what provides resiliency and wear ability so when you unwind the carpet tips your carpet will not wear or perform as it was designed to. So don't scrub the stain. Blot the stain.

2. Don't let the stain sit. Some people figure that they will let the stain sit and dry so it will be easier to remove. Nope. The sooner you get the stain the better. The longer a stain sits the more it can seep into the padding. Have you ever cleaned a stain and then found that it came back the next day? That's because the stain that seeped into the padding is wicking up into the carpet again and so reappears. So get that stain as soon as you can.

3. Always test a new cleaning solution on an inconspicuous area to make sure it doesn't mess up your carpet. Different carpet yarns require different cleaning methods and cleaning products. For example: solution dyed nylon carpets can be cleaned with a solution of half water and half bleach. If you were to use this carpet cleaning solution on any other types of carpet yarn it would cause large white spots. So the correct cleaning solution is important.

4. Have your carpet professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months. Most carpet mills require you to clean your carpet every 12 to 18 months to maintain the carpet warranty. Cleaning your carpet every 12 to 18 months will remove foreign particles that if not removed can actually abrade your carpet.
Sand down the fibers if you will. So professional whole room carpet cleaning is a must. Also, the steam extraction method is what most carpet mills require. Dry cleaning doesn't maintain the carpet warranty. Plus steam extraction will actually perk up the carpet yarns. Yarns that were crushed down through normal wear can be revitalized with steam extraction (depending on the carpet yarn of course).

Well, there you have it. The carpet cleaning basics. If you need more information on carpet cleaning or need a spot cleaning guide, click here.

Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Hardwood Flooring Care and Maintenance

Some hardwood flooring maintenance information and care tips from Mohawk Flooring.

Basic Hardwood Flooring Care.

Vacuum or sweep your floor regularly with a soft-bristled attachment or broom, especially in high-traffic areas. This prevents gritty dirt and particle buildup that can scratch the wood’s surface. Don’t use vacuums with a beater bar or power rotary brush head.

Use protective window coverings to block fade-causing UV rays and excessive heat from direct sunlight. Most wood types will gradually age when not covered, so it’s a good idea to rearrange rugs and furniture periodically to help it age evenly. 

Damage prevention for your hardwood floor.

• Keep pets’ nails trimmed and their paws clean. Pets can track in substances that cause scratching and stains.
• Use a humidifier during heating seasons to help reduce wood shrinkage and keep humidity between 35% and 55%.
• Wipe up spills and spots immediately with Mohawk FloorCare Essentials Hardwood & Laminate Flooring Cleaner applied directly to a clean white cloth.
• Use ice to harden tough substances like wax or chewing gum, and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper or a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the surface and wipe the area clean with a soft, slightly damp cloth.

Some Do's for hardwood flooring.

Invest in high quality floor mats and protective pads on heavy furniture for an extra layer of protection on your hardwood floors. Place floor mats at entrances and exits—they collect and trap corrosive substances that can be tracked in, like dirt, sand, oil, grit, asphalt, or even driveway sealer. Placing mats in high-traffic areas—in front of vanities, kitchen sinks, and stoves—is an effective way to reduce wear.  

Things to avoid with hardwood floors.

• Avoid walking on your hardwood floors with spiked or damage-heeled shoes.
• Resist wet-mop, damp-mop, or cleaning your hardwood with water or other liquids.
• Don’t use oil soaps, liquid or paste wax, or other household products containing lemon, citrus, or tung oil, or silicon to clean floors.
• Stay away from harsh cleaning aids like steel wool pads, any scouring pads containing metal, or scouring powders.
• Don’t use 2-in-1 cleaners that contain acrylics or urethane polish to restore gloss.

Keep your hardwood flooring looking great for years to come. Your hardwood floors will love you for it. 

 

Jeff Dean 

Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

A Little Something Different From Beaulieu.....

With all of the new products out there in the floating floor space, here's a new one. Beaulieu has entered into the hard surface market with some offerings in the luxury vinyl plank flooring space and now has introduced a new product called Core Tec One.

The evolution of floating floors has gone like this (this list mainly includes mainstream products not niche products): laminate floors that you would glue together at the seams but would still float, then laminate floors that would click together.

Another hard surface flooring segment includs luxury vinyl plank flooring. These are solid vinyl "plank" flooring that would be glued down like any other tile. The difference was the makeup of the vinyl flooring itself. Instead of being hard like VCT, vinyl plank flooring was pliable. Not stiff at all. Then came luxury vinyl plank flooring that would click together and wasn't glued down (I still have some serious concerns about this style of flooring. More on that later).

Each of these styles of hard surface flooring had their strong points and weak points. For instance: If there were some moisture concerns in the area being covered with the new flooring then you really couldn't glue down the new hard surface flooring (because the adhesive will fail in areas where there is too much moisture and hence the flooring could start to peel up, buckle or curl at the corners). A click together floor may be the best bet for these areas. I do say "may". There are other concerns with areas that have moisture than just will the floor stay down (such as mildew issues...).

So, with all that being said, Beaulieu comes out with a new product that we mentioned above. Core Tec One. This is a hybrid type flooring in that it is constructed like a laminate floor but has a top layer of luxury vinyl tile.

The advantages of this type of flooring are many:

1. Core Tec One is thick like a laminate. It has a locking system so it installs like a laminate floor. It's core is not made like laminate floor so it won't absorb water. It is considered a "waterproof" engineered floor. So you can install it in wet areas and you won't get any cupping, curling or buckling.
2. Since it is a floating floor you won't have to worry about adhesion failure (it can be installed in very wet areas)
3. With the core being thick and waterproof you don't have to worry about planks pulling apart (which is my main concern with floating, click together luxury vinyl plank flooring. The mills will tell you that the luxury vinyl plank click together floor is fine but I've seen too many vinyl click together flooring where the seams are pulling apart. Vinyl naturally expands and contracts. Just ask any vinyl siding man. They will tell you that when they install vinyl siding on a house that they can't nail it on tight because the siding needs room to expand and contract. In general, vinyl moves around so the same principal applies to solid vinyl plank flooring....). This is not a concern with Core Tec One.

So, to sum up, Core Tec One is a great floor for applications that you may normally install vinyl plank flooring. It works in areas with moisture concerns. It floats and won't pull apart. You don't need a moisture barrier with this floor. It can be installed over most any other hard surface flooring including wood floors, ceramic tile, vct, vinyl flooring, cement floors and any other structurally sound substrate.

Core Tec One. Something different. Check it out......



Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Why Shop at Home is Better

The shop at home flooring model as opposed to storefronts. Which is better?

Well, when I first started selling flooring back in 1977, there really wasn't any shop at home style of flooring store. We all worked retail hours (long hours, yikes) in a retail store format. Customers came in, picked out the flooring they liked and usually bought it. Sometimes customers would like to see the flooring in their homes (which was a really good idea) so we would take out some of their choices and see how they looked in the home. While we were there, we would measure the areas they wanted covered and inspect the job site.

When I went out on my own in 1997, I asked myself "what would be the best way to serve customers and keep my prices down?" I knew that seeing the flooring samples in the house was absolutely the best way to make the right flooring choice. Especially for colors. Colors can change shade for so many reasons. So, seeing the flooring samples in the home had to be the cornerstone of the service I would provide. Another benefit to a "Shop at Home" style of store would be low overhead. Low overhead allowed me to keep my prices down. This would save my customers money (another good thing, eh?).

One drawback to "shop at home" was the perceived idea that stores could carry a larger selection of flooring. So a "shop at home" store wouldn't be able to offer the selections that a store front could. There is a very well known company that has only 15 styles of carpet that they bring out (I won't mention any names but you know who you are......). Their selection is very limited. We here at Dover Floor Covering carry over 75 different styles of carpet, the whole Mohawk hardwood flooring line, the whole Mohawk laminate flooring line, Congoleum's vinyl and just a few (15 maybe) styles of ceramic tile (the main reason for this is that ceramic weighs so much that it weighs my van down....lol).

Another way to combat the perception that a "Shop at Home" floor covering store doesn't have the selection is to have a couple of flooring distributors on hand. There are very rare times (and it really is very rare) that we don't have a flooring selection that the customer really likes. When this happens we will visit our flooring distributors. They have every flooring selection available under the sun. They will have up to 4 times the selection of a retail flooring store! After ascertaining exactly what style, color and type of flooring our potential customer wants, we will visit our distributor and find a couple of choices that will match their preferences exactly. We will then go back out to our customers house with the new selections. This will invariably do the trick 99.5% of the time. So now we have low overhead, unlimited selections and fantastic customer service. After all, who makes house calls these days?

So if the "Shop at Home" flooring store model has the lowest overhead equating to the lowest prices (95% of the time anyways.....), unlimited selection  and unparalleled service (being in your own home where you will see the flooring in it's natural lighting and not under fluorescent lights) then we think it is the absolute best method of shopping for flooring.

Full disclosure: I worked in retail flooring for the first 20 years of my adult life in a storefront. Now I work in a "Shop at Home" retail style of flooring store. I've been in both so I feel qualified to compare the two. I chose the "Shop at Home" style of flooring store for the above reasons. I feel this type of flooring store has the most benefits to the consumer. Now that I've made that choice I guess I'm probably biased.......lol. But my reasoning is sound non the less.......



Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Formaldahyde in Laminate Flooring?

With the recent hub bub surrounding Lumber Liquidators and some of the laminate flooring they sell containing toxic amounts of formaldehyde, we are pleased to announce that the Mohawk laminate flooring that we sell at Dover Floor Covering is Carb 2 compliant.

The recent 60 Minutes expose on Lumber Liquidators exposing the toxic amounts of formaldehyde found in most of their laminate floors has caused concern in the industry regarding the safety of laminate floors. Only the floors made in China failed the Carb 2 tests. The US constructed floors passed the Carb 2 tests. As you can see by the image to the right, some of the laminate flooring has almost 7 times the legal limit of formaldehyde in their flooring.

Not all laminate floors are created equal. The old saying of "You get what you pay for" is appropriate in this situation. Some of the really low low end priced floors have always been of dubious construction. Some of these floors were sold at below our cost and you had to ask yourself "How was this possible?" Now, there are always economies of scale. The larger amounts of flooring you buy on the wholesale level will always produce a slightly lower cost structure. But this never completely explained why Lumber Liquidators prices were always "so low"!

We knew there had to be another reason explaining how they could sell laminate flooring below cost. If the expose by 60 Minutes is accurate (and we have no reason to dispute their findings) then our concerns have been justified.

Not all laminates are created equal but all of the laminate flooring that we sell here at Dover Floor Covering manufactured by Mohawk Flooring is Carb 2 compliant. No toxic amounts of formaldehyde are present in their laminate products and no laminate flooring we sell fails any Carb 2 Compliance test.

It would be safe to ask for a Carb 2 compliant fact sheet from the retail flooring company that you plan to buy your laminate flooring from. This is just smart. Be smart, be safe.

Safe laminate flooring should be a no brainer but some unscrupulous flooring companies obviously don't share this concern. We do! Purchase only Carb 2 compliant laminate flooring and only buy from flooring companies that adhere to this principle. Companies that actually care about the safety of their customers.

No more needs to be said really....








Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://doverfloorcovering.com

Floor Tile

Floor tile is a small segment of the flooring industry these days. Unlike back in the 50's and 60's where everybody put tile down in their kitchens, laundry rooms, bathrooms and basements most people these days will install wood flooring, ceramic tile, vinyl sheet flooring or even carpet depending upon the application.

Back in the day, vinyl tile was used extensively. It came in a different sizes such as: 6"x6", 9"x9" and 12"x12" tiles. Very common back then were the 9"x9" tiles and were probably vinyl asbestos.

If your home was built before 1980 and has the original floor tiles down in any room of the house then they probably contain asbestos. Especially if they were the 9"x9" variety. Most manufacturers stopped making vinyl asbestos tiles in 1978 but some continued until probably 1980. Even after that there was a lot of vinyl asbestos tile floating around in stores back rooms until the stock was finally exhausted.

Vinyl asbestos tile is not inherently dangerous. The asbestos was encapsulated into the vinyl tile itself. It cannot be released into the air (where it becomes a health risk when breathed in) unless something causes it to be released. Anything that can abrasively wear the surface of the vinyl asbestos tile can potentially release the harmful asbestos particles into the air. Normal wear and tear shouldn't be a problem. Never abrade the surface of a vinyl asbestos tile. Never clean it with steel wool or sand it for any reason as this will release the fibers into the air. Cleaning it with vinyl floor cleaners is fine and is the preferred method of cleaning. Be careful even scraping the surface of the tiles.

So if you do have vinyl asbestos tile in your home there really shouldn't be a health risk.

When the time comes to install a new floor in the room containing vinyl asbestos tile there are many options. Most companies, when they find that vinyl asbestos tiles are present on the job, will refuse to do the job until the tiles are removed. This has to do with the liabilities associated with vinyl asbestos tiles. But this is an overblown reaction to the situation. New flooring can be safely installed over vinyl asbestos tiles without any health risks whatsoever.

One option is to remove the asbestos tiles. This can be a very expensive proposition when employing a certified asbestos removal company or using a contractor that is asbestos certified.

Another option is just to go over the existing asbestos flooring. If the tile is installed on a concrete floor, such as you would find in a basement, you would just need to skim coat the surface of the asbestos tile. There are products out there designed to be applied to the surface of the asbestos tile that will allow another floor to be glued down on top. Covering the old asbestos tile is a safe and entirely satisfactory solution.

If you have asbestos tile on top of a wood substrate such as plywood, OSB or any other suitable base layer then you can install a layer of luan over the top and then the new flooring thereby sealing in the asbestos tile underneath. The old tile needn't be removed.

So there you have it. Vinyl asbestos tiles are not inherently dangerous and shouldn't be a cause of concern. Whether you are installing a new floor over the top or still using your current asbestos tile flooring, vinyl asbestos flooring is a safe and durable floor that will last decades. On the other hand, a new floor would look pretty good right about now, eh?  LOL




Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Some Stuff on Laminate Flooring.....

Laminate flooring is a hard surface flooring that has a lot of uses. You can use it in kitchens, laundry rooms, entry ways, living rooms......really any room in the house (maybe better not in full bathrooms, too much water potential).

It has a very hard surface with a melamine wear layer. Very scratch resistant and dent resistant. You can scratch a laminate flooring surface if you try hard enough (don't try this at home....lol). You can hit the floor with a hammer and not leave a mark. Whereas hardwood flooring will scratch and dent. Try hitting a hardwood floor with a hammer and see the results. Walk inside from the outside on a hardwood floor and see how the floor will in time start showing lots of scratches and wear and tear. A laminate floor will hold up better to this type of abuse than hardwood flooring.

Laminate floors have come a long way when it comes to water resistance. In the old days (maybe 20 years ago) laminate floors were very susceptible to moisture. Now most laminate floors are treated for water resistance and will stand up to water (a flood, a water leak under the sink or a washer overload will put enough water on and under the floor that you will probably still get swelling and cupping that will ruin the floor). Water resistant but not water proof, remember that.

Laminates are marketed for the DIY market. Most people that are handy can install this type of floor which can save you money. Professional installation is still the best way to go but you can still install this floor yourself. Unlike vinyl flooring or ceramic tile which are much harder for the do-it-yourselfer to do.

The visuals in laminate flooring have improved over the years also. They have a very lifelike look to them these days. Some of the older laminate styles looked unreal. They looked fake. Not so some of the newer styles. They look real and you can hardly tell some of them from the real thing.

Laminates have a niche in the flooring industry these days and can be a great addition to any home.




Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Random thoughts on carpet padding.....

Carpet padding. Carpet cushion. You know, the stuff that goes under your living room carpet. It's not just to make your carpet feel softer and cushier. Padding has a distinct function....

Carpet cushion does make your carpet feel softer and nicer. It is one of it's functions. Another function of carpet cushion is to support the wear and resilience factors of your carpet. I've heard from people for years that the pad is more important than the carpet. That as long as you get a good pad then everything will be great. In my experience, you will get a better overall job if you buy comparable pad to comparable carpet.

What I mean by this is this: if you were to buy a cheap carpet and a great pad then you will still have
carpet that will wear out in 5 years but the pad will still be good. You've overbought on your pad. The job will still only be a 5 year job. On the other hand, if you buy a great 25 year carpet and a cheap pad then the pad will not support the wear characteristics of the carpet. The carpet will wear out prematurely because the pad isn't good enough.

How does pad protect carpet? The pad acts like a shock absorber. It takes the wear off the tips of the carpet yarns. It helps cut down on abrasion from the bottom of your feet/ shoes. It helps the carpet move with each step you take so as to reduce the abrasive rubbing that you would get with no pad or cheap pad.

So a good pad is important but not more important than the quality of carpet you purchase. If you have budgeted $10.00 per sq. yard to spend on carpet and pad, then buying a $5.00 per sq. yard carpet and a $5.00 per sq. yard pad will give you a lousy carpet and a great pad. Not the correct way to spend your $10.00 per sq. yard. You would be better off spending $7.00 per sq. yard on the carpet and $3.00 per sq. yard on the pad. This combination would provide you with the best and longest lasting solution. Your pad's not a great pad but good enough in this case.

A good pad is important and you should buy a good pad with every new carpet you purchase but a good pad is not a substitute for a good quality carpet! A good pad will allow the carpet to perform in the way it was designed to perform. Lousy carpet will still be lousy even over a great carpet pad. A great carpet will be great with a good pad underneath.

Nuff said? I think so.....

Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Best Types of Flooring for Laundry Rooms......

Okay. This week we'll talk about which types of flooring will perform best in the laundry room or mud room areas.

Ceramic Tile In Laundry Room

Of course most laundry rooms and mud rooms can be areas of high wear and high moisture. Mud rooms will get the wear and tear of people traipsing in from the garage with all kinds of foreign matter on the bottoms of their shoes. Sand, grit, oily residue and all manner of contaminants. This can cause much damage to any existing floor in this area. So we would need a floor that can stand up to abrasives and high wear. Also, when coming in from outside, we can bring in water or snow depending upon the season. So this floor must be able to accept high moisture without being ruined.

Some of the best types of flooring to be used under these conditions are: ceramic tile, vinyl flooring, laminate flooring (some limitations apply) and even hardwood (probably not the best choice).

Let's take them one at a time shall we?

1. Ceramic tile: Probably the best choice. It's durable, high wearing, extremely long lasting and almost (and I said almost) indestructible. It is impervious to water, hard to scratch, won't gouge and really won't wear down either. Ceramic tile is meant to be a permanent floor. Some ceramic floors in the middle east are thousands of years old! The weakness in a ceramic floor is mainly in the grouted area. With enhancements to the grouting systems this is really no longer a weak link. Epoxy grouts resists stains and water unlike standard grouts. There are also some newer grouting systems that are easier and cheaper to use than epoxy grouts. Also, ceramic tile can chip or crack if something heavy or sharp is dropped on them. Pricing can be prohibitive too. But all in all a great choice for mud rooms.
2. Vinyl flooring: The absolute best flooring for water resistance. Because vinyl sheet

   

   Vinyl Flooring

   flooring is one solid sheet of flooring, no water will penetrate of get through the wear layer on a vinyl floor. So spill all the water on it you like because water is really no issue (now too much water can travel to the outer edges of the room and creep up under the shoe molding and penetrate into the sub flooring below which will cause issues but you would need lots of water standing for a long time for this to happen). Most new vinyl flooring is very scuff, tear and gouge resistant unlike the old vinyl flooring momma used to have. Vinyl flooring is not as tough as ceramic tile but pretty darn tough anyways. Plus, vinyl flooring will not last as long as ceramic tile but will still last for 10, 20,30 and even 40 or more years which is plenty enough for most people. Pricing is better than ceramic tile and lots of new technology in styling will give you great visuals.
3. Laminate flooring: Hard, durable, somewhat water resistant and installer friendly. Laminate

   

   No mud just laminate flooring

   flooring can take a hard hammer blow and not indent (unlike hardwood which will indent or vinyl flooring which will show the dent from the sub floor underneath or ceramic tile for that matter which will crack or shatter) but if you were to drag something sharp over the surface it will scratch. Lots of flooring salespeople will tell you that laminate flooring is almost indestructible but that just isn't the case. Laminate flooring is resistant to scratching but it will still scratch and once scratched it really can't be fixed but must be replaced at that point. The wear layer on good quality laminate flooring will last a long time (unlike cheap grades of laminate flooring). Water can also be an issue with laminate floors. They can take light water but heavy water can start to work through the sides of the boards causing swelling, warping and peaking of seams. Wood and water don't mix and laminates are made with wood byproducts. Laminate floors can be installed easily by most homeowners and easier still by professional flooring contractors.
4. Hardwood flooring: not the best choice for areas with high wear and moisture but can be

   

   See walk off mat

   serviceable if maintained correctly. Walk off mats are essential for this area. Taking off your shoes before entering the wood area itself is best. No water or very low water is also best. So if you take off your shoes, wipe your feet on the mat and keep the floor clean, wood flooring can be used here (in mud rooms not laundry rooms).

Flooring for laundry rooms is similar when it comes to flooring choices. Everything written above will apply to laundry rooms except hardwood flooring. Hardwood floors really should never be used in a laundry room because of the potential for flooding from an over flowing washing machine. This risk is not important for mud rooms but as you can imagine is critical for laundry rooms. An overflowing washing machine or laundry tub will just ruin a hardwood floor (probably a laminate floor too). So, no hardwood or laminate flooring for laundry rooms. Vinyl flooring is probably the best choice followed up with ceramic tile.

The newest hot trend in flooring is vinyl plank flooring which can be used in these areas. While it is impervious to water it does have joints between each individual plank that can allow access for water if left standing long enough. Like peel and stick tiles. They have joints every 12 inches and water can seep into them. Vinyl plank flooring is in essence just vinyl tile that is shaped differently. Instead of 12" squares they are shaped into planks (yes I know the composition of the planking is different but I said "in essence" they are the same).

And leave the rubber flooring for the gym, ok?



Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com

Some Facts About Hardwood.....

Hardwood flooring is beautiful, durable and long lasting. Most hardwood flooring is designed to last a lifetime in your home if you take care of it correctly. So, how do you take care of a hardwood floor?

First of all, hardwood flooring is a natural wood product with a wear layer on the surface. Some people think with the newer, harder finishes (aluminum oxide infused, UV cured urathanes) that are applied to the wood that they can just walk all over them without a care in the world. I don't know of any flooring (maybe concrete.....lol) that this is true of. Okay, ceramic tile is extremely tough to ruin also but we're talking about wood here.

A pre-finished hardwood floor still needs careful attention to allow it to remain beautiful for years to

Walk Off Mat

come. A walk off mat should be located at every doorway leading to the outside, whether that's a garage door, entry door or a door wall leading to the deck. Wherever dirt, sand or other abrasive materials are located that could potentially lodge into the bottom of footwear (and hence scratch the surface of any hardwood flooring), this would be the place to set a mat. Anybody coming in from the outside should be encouraged to wipe their feet on the mat before entering onto the wood flooring or better yet, to take off their shoes. Anybody who has a hardwood floor and has scratches from shoes will know what I'm talking about. Better to be safe than sorry.

Another fact about hardwood concerns the weather and changing seasons (and thereby changing

Gaps Between Boards

humidity levels). Wood flooring is still a living (kinda....lol) breathing product. It will expand and contract with differing humidity levels. I've written a blog on this in the past so I won't go into detail here but suffice it to say, wood will contract in the winter with dryer air in the home and will show tiny gaps between individual boards. This is not a defect of the flooring but is a natural reaction to lower humidity levels. The wood will expand and close the gaps when the humidity rises. Either add a humidifier to the home or wait till spring!

Swiffers Are Best For Cleaning

Another fact: wood and water don't mix! People like to keep their floors clean and spotless (at least some of us do. lol) but resist the urge to wash your floors as if they were a vinyl floor. Since hardwood flooring is being installed so ofter in kitchens these days (where we cook and drop stuff on the floor. Yikes) people will just grab their mops and have at it. Don't do it. Wood floors are not meant to have that amount of water applied to them. Just spot clean with a damp (not wet) cloth and wipe dry. If you would like to clean the whole floor then a swiffer that cleans with hydrostatic electricity works best for dirt, dust and other dry type particles. Some hardwood flooring manufacturers make a spray cleaner designed specifically for wood and laminate floors which can and should be used (ideally no water). We here at Dover Floor Covering carry Mohawk hardwood flooring and they make their own hardwood flooring cleaner. If you must use water then you would need to squeeze out the excess water from the mop and it should have no more water in it then the clothes in your washing machine after the spin cycle would have.


Another fact: Harder wood flooring will wear similar to softer hardwood flooring. Even though the

urethane finishes applied to most hardwood flooring products these days is the same or similar, differing wood species themselves are vastly different in hardness. So you may buy a Cumaru hardwood floor (which is extremely hard and dense, almost 3 times as hard as red oak) with an aluminum oxide infused, UV cured finish and it will resist surface scratching the same as the afore mentioned red oak floor. So the two hardwood floors will perform about the same when it comes to surface scratching and wear through. What you gain from a harder, denser floor like Cumaru or Brazilian Cherry is dent resistance and deep scratch resistance. The harder wood will be tougher to gouge then it's softer counter parts. Always use floor protectors under any piece of furniture to protect your hardwood flooring from surface scratches.





Jeff Dean
Dover Floor Covering
http://www.doverfloorcovering.com