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Below are descriptions of common carpet issues and how to deal with them!

Sprouts: If your carpet shows parouts, don’t worry, it isn’t growing. With cut pile carpet, small tufts or sprouts can stick up above the surface. Don’t pull them. Clip them off with scissors.

Snags: Pulling or snagging can occur when a sharp object like a loose shoe nail or a child’s toy hooks on the fibers. Don’t pull the snag. Clip off with scissors.

Dents: Remove a dent by stroking it with the edges of a coin. You can also use a hair dryer (hot air) or a steam iron very lightly to raise the dented area while you tug up ward on the tufts.
CAUTION: DON’T LET THE IRON TOUCH THE CARPET.

Crushed Pile: Vacuum regularly with “beater bar” type vacuum, or use a plastic or wooden carpet rake to restore matted down pile.

Burns: Should your carpet endure a burn, remove the tops of the darkened, burned fibers with a curved fingernail scissors. If the burn is extensive, your carpet may require patching or replacement.

Shedding: Some shedding is common in new carpet with cut pile. The loose fibers are easily removed through regular vacuuming and in no way affect carpet quality. This condition will diminish after a few weeks or months depending on vacuuming frequency.

Footprints: All cut pile carpets show footprints. This is not a defect. It is much more prevalent on deep pile carpet made from bright fiber. To minimize footprints, you might want to choose a very dense low pile carpet made from Solutia’s mid luster nylon.

Piling: Sometimes certain types of carpet, or heavy traffic, can create little balls of tangled fibers and lint. Just pull them off by hand or clip them with scissors.

This information is from the Wear-Dated consumer website.

February started off with an homage to Surfaces, the premier flooring showcase and trade show held annually in Las Vegas.

First, we started off with an overview of Surfaces. Here we talked about the presence of design elements, color themes and upcoming posts on the different products shown at the show.

Then came a breakdown of trends in hardwood, tile, carpet and area rugs.Later in the month we presented an overview of the company Wicanders and their line of products and a post on how to use the hot trends of 2009.

In the middle of the month came a report on Tuftex of California. They were not at Surfaces and choose to have their own regional shows in which I was invited to participate.

Every month (or longer) we present a reader poll to get your opinion on a particular topic. Included this month is a recap of the results of a poll on laminate flooring.

To round the month out, we finished up with some industry news on ThermoSofts Warm Step radiant heat system.

A lot of February was dedicated to Surfaces, the trends presented and the products shown at the show.

In the month of March we will get back to more answers to the questions you have asked as well as what’s new in the industry. If you have any topics that you would like to see more information on, please just leave a comment!

Thanks for your subscriptions, your interest and your loyalty to Floor Talk!

Earlier this month we talked about the color trends shown a Surfaces and what’s hot for 2009, Among the colors that were shown were greens, blues, oranges neutrals and warm earthy colors. Here are some tips on where you can use these colors in your home. You can make big changes like changing out the floors or you can make small temporary changes like changing out accessories.

• Choose hardwoods that are warm, rich and earthy in color. If you are considering changing hardwoods, keep these trends in mind
• Choose carpets in warm neutrals or these colors with lots of texture
• Use area rugs on top of those hardwoods that have greens, blues and rich oranges for accent color
• Use accent pullows on the sofa that have these colors
• Change out lamp shades to incorporate these colors
• Change out bedding or using accent pillows on bedding
• Use colorful candles

You can go overboard by using too many of these tips and hints – use these tips wisely! If you decide to make smaller accessory changes you don’t have to make a huge investment to have the current trends represented in your home. Give some of these a try and see  how you like being a trendsetter!

Tuftex, a division of Shaw Industries is color…style fashion. In a word lifestyle. Call it California or simply casual elegance its a lifestyle that appeals to your senses. Fair and warm, open, airy, and sunny. Tuftex creates colors, textures, and images that are in harmony with this lifestyle. This lifestyle is the essence of their fashion, the inspiration for their colors. It is the Tuftex style unobtrusive, soft, casual, elegant, and a complement to the scenic beauty of its surroundings.

Their new 2009 introductions are in keeping with California lifestyles. There are 18 exciting new product offerings………soft, sink your feet into friezes, luxurious patterns in both solid colors and subtle tonal effects, unique patterned loops and of course and uptown California shag with a lot of pizazz!

Some facts from Tuftex:

• Tuftex uniqely offers 3 tone heathered products that have been the top sellers for the past 5 years. Style names include Travertino and Cararra.
• For the past 3 years, patterns are the only category to grow 30%.
• In the pattern category, a product called Crystal Visions is the #3 seller overall.
• All Tuftex products are available in their custom rug program.

Look for a specific Tuftex display called Pattern Destination that offers tri-tone patterns, a combination of heathers and patterns that have never been done before in all different price points.

No wonder their motto for 2009 is “Creating The Trend”!

In case you missed the posts on each category of trends from Surfaces – here’s a recap!

Overall

This year there was a significant presence of design and high style with the new introductions. I was concerned with the state of the economy that the product offerings would be safer and more subtle choices. This was definitely not the case!

The color theme seemed to be along the warmer, darker and richer shades. This applies to every category of flooring, more than likely because more and more homes are using mixed types of flooring and they all need to coordinate!

Hardwood

In the up and coming months there are going to be hardwood  styles that are going to change the direction of hardwood floors.  Floors at the show showed higher sheen levels with some that you could almost see your reflection in. These finishes will give rooms and design schemes a totally new look and feel.

The majority of the hardwood colors shown were darker and richer shades. Color shades seen resembled coffee  colors, rich furniture colors and warm spices.

Wider boards are still popular although many narrower boards are still being shown.

There were styles of hardwood shown that were clean, crisp and elegant as well raw, rustic and anything but refined. There seemed to be more options for different design styles than ever before.

Tile

It seemed like almost everyone had tiles that were linear in shape. Shapes ranged from 1×6 to 18×24 and every size in between. Installation examples were shown of these linear tiles used as a stand alone product as well as accents to standard shaped tiles. Some installation patterns used these linear tiles to create stripe effects.

There were introductions of tiles with higher sheen levels than the past couple of years. Mirrored finishes, crystal tiles and polished metals were prevalent. These higher sheens were shown in mosaics and even large format floor tiles. Some of the mosaics were mixed with high polished tiles and unpolished tiles. Finishes like rust and bronze verde took the stage for the patinas.

There will always be beige/neutral tiles out there because there is a place for them, but this year there were many offerings of gorgeous tiles with high ranges of color. The color shades were rich and warm. The shades were mixed between the field tiles and the listellos and decorative tiles so neutral tiles could be used with bolder accents and vice-versa.

Tile sizes ranged from micro mosaics 5/8″×5/8″ to 24″×24″. The interesting thing was to see the mixes of the different sizes. Larger format tiles were mixed with micro and mini sized tiles where in the past we have seen more standard size tiles mixed with smaller sizes that were closer in size to the standard size tiles.

Like hardwood styles, there was something offered for everyone. From rustic natural stone to high polished crystal tiles no design group was left out this year. Look for tiles that are irregularly shaped and formed, bright colors to bold colors to dull, rich and muted colors – something for every style. With the variation in sizes, shapes and colors more design options are possible. Emser tile also reported that the chiseled edge tiles are regaining popularity and are offered at excellent price points and mosaic tiles ares still popular.

Carpet

The carpet shown at Surfaces 2009 this year was a different showing than last year. This year there were not just an abundance of carpet styles and colors, but choices seemed to be quality choices rather than just quantity.

The primary colors that were used for displays were neutrals, but the colors that were shown were wonderful. Oranges, greens, blues, grays and earthy shades of brown took center stage. The oranges and blues were muted and rich. The greens were light and lively. The browns were earthy, coffee insprired and looked like great candidates for hiding traffic! Along those same lines, there were some beautiful heathered products that have more range of color than I think we are all used to seeing in once piece of carpet.

Like other products shown there were patterns that were outstanding. Look for linear patterns, grid patterns and texture on texture patterns. Look for patterns that are not just floral, but floral with a textured background. I think you will be excited about the upcoming releases!

Area Rugs

Talk about texture! Area rugs this year are all about texture. Not just texture, like thick yarns, but texture like felt discs and sculpted carpets. From conservative to comtemporary to outrageous, Surfaces had it all.

The area rug selections compliment the trends in hardwood and other hard surfaces so well it will make you want to remodel just to get a piece of these trends. Your feet are sure in for a treat when walking on all of the textures and soft yarns.