What's Best Material for Carpet Runner in Wheelchair Users Home?

[quad...@optonline.net]

Hi,
I need to replace a 27" x 10' runner in my apartment as my old one is
shot. It held together pretty well considering I paid only a few
dollars a foot at Home Depot yrs ago. I use a heavy power wheelchair
and so need something sturdy w/a rubber backing. I saw the runners
listed below but on the 1st onelisted many reviews complained of lint
etc sticking to it and that even with a vacuum it was hard to clean
and recommend getting a neuteral color. Problem with that is the
runner is by my front door and my chairs tires can get very dirty
(even greasy) when I go out.

I'm wondering which of these runners do you feel would be least prone
to attracting lint, dirt etc. and is easiest to clean? To me the
second listed looks a little less fuzzy than the other and therefore
may not track as much lint? It also looks stronger.

Thanks in advance for all the info you can provide!

http://www.amazon.com/Skid-resistant-Carpet-Runner-Black-Choose/dp/B005CJXFKQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


http://www.amazon.com/Herco-Indoor-Outdoor-Carpet-Runner/dp/B00C7CAAG8/ref=sr_1_5?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1395430422&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Carpet-Runner-Black-Choose/dp/B004EZLXQW/ref=pd_sim_sbs_etk_hg_fd__4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1AMEQ3R5H0MP9110R52T

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 3/22/2014 6:15 PM, quad...@optonline.net wrote:

>
> I'm wondering which of these runners do you feel would be least prone
> to attracting lint, dirt etc. and is easiest to clean? To me the
> second listed looks a little less fuzzy than the other and therefore
> may not track as much lint? It also looks stronger.
>

I cannot answer your question, but haae a couple of my own Do you need
a runner or is there a better floor covering? I'm thinking that vinyl
sheet goods, ceramic tile, laminate, engineered hardwood, could be a
better choice and are easy to clean with a damp sponge mop.

[nestork]

Quadzila:

I like to think I know a little bit about carpet.

I looked at all three runners you linked to, and from what I can see,
they're all pretty well the same thing. The only difference is that one
of them (the one from House, Home and More) has a ribbed texture going
lenghtwise, and I don't see any advantage in that except under extremely
wet conditions.

You see, there are only three kinds of plastic used to make carpet
fiber:
1. Nylon
2. Polyester, and
3. Olefin

Olefin is the least expensive of the three, and it's typically what's
used to make inexpensive "disposable" carpets. All three of the runners
you linked to are made of Olefin fiber.

Nylon is the strongest fiber, so if you can find a carpet runner in
nylon, it'll be the longest lasting, but it'll probably also be the most
expensive.

The advantage to Olefin is that it's highly water and UV resistant,
which is why it's used to make indoor/outdoor carpet. Also, Olefin
fiber cannot by dyed by conventional dying techniques. It gets it's
colour from tiny coloured particles (called "pigments") that are added
to the plastic before drawing it into a fiber. So, these coloured
pigments are suspended inside the fiber very much like raisins in raisin
bread. As a result, you can use bleach straight out of the jug on
olefin fiber carpets without harming the carpet. The carpet doesn't get
"bleached" because the source of it's colour is encased in Olefin
plastic and therefore never comes into contact with the bleach. Olefin
fiber is also the most naturally resistant to water based stains. It is
more prone to oil based stains, like cooking oil or even engine oil, but
all of these can be easily removed from Olefin fiber carpeting by just
wetting them down with mineral spirits and vaccuuming out the soiled
mineral spirits with a wet/dry vaccuum cleaner.

The only stain that I've ever encountered that will stain an Olefin
carpet is candle wax dye. You see, some candles are made from pigmented
wax, where the wax has tiny coloured particles mixed into it. Other
candle waxes are dyed. If you spill molten candle wax on your carpet,
if the colour comes out with the wax, then it was pigmented wax.
However, if you remove the wax and the coloured stain remains behind,
then that is dye. But, that dye can be removed by using bleach right
out of the jug on the stain without affecting the carpet (or, in this
case, runner) at all.

As I say, all three links are showing Olefin runners that are very much
the same. So, if it was me, I would work out which one is the cheapest
when you add in taxes and shipping and everything else, and just go with
that one.

Also, because you can use bleach to remove otherwise impossible stains
from Olefin carpet fiber, you don't need to buy black. Certainly, black
hides dirt the best, but if you're wanting a lighter colour of runner, I
wouldn't hesitate to get a red, green or blue runner because if they're
all Olefin, they will all be unaffected by bleach, and equally
cleanable.

Nylon is a stonger fiber than Olefin, so a nylon runner would last you
longer, but normal nylon is more susceptable to water based stains. If
you want a nylon fiber that's made the same way as Olefin fiber (with
the pigments suspended in the fiber like raisins in raisin bread) make
sure the nylon fiber the runner is made with is "solution dyed" nylon.

Get the cheapest one, because from what I can see, the differences are
tiny compared to the similarities.




--
nestork

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

Lucite sheeting..