Sorry to report but after 2 yrs, I finally found a rug that failed a colour fast test with Releasit DS, Punch, as well Procyon regular carpet. The only thing that worked was Scot's Foamdry 2x. Surprises never thought possible, sad day

I am posting this because it is the very first time, Releasit has failed so others should remember due dilligence and keep colour fast testing.
yup done right, did it twice with both the Releasit, once with the Procyon, and three times with the Scot's. Clean white cloths and separate areas, each time.
Both the Red and Orange colours were coming off.

dye lock works great for rug bleeds

Color bleed on NYLON is practically impossible, that is unless the dye process was flawed.

Nylon fiber is dyed with one of three methods.

Method 1, the dye is introduced to clear fiber called greige goods in a vat of hot dye. The clear fiber picks up the dye in microscopic dye sites. This method is less costly, produces a wider variety of color choice options, and is less stable color since the color is introduced to the exterior surface of the fiber. This is the most common method for dying nylon.

Method 2, the dye is included in the batch of nylon before it is extruded. Thus the extruded fiber contains the color inside the fiber. This method is more costly, produces fewer color choice options, and has the most stable color since the color is within the fiber.

Method 3, the dye is printed onto the woven carpet or rug, much like an inkjet printer squirts dye onto a piece of paper. This method makes it possible to create an infinite variety of design options and color choices, and is less stable color since the color is introduced to the exterior surface of the fiber.

ALL OF THE PROPER METHODS listed above for dying nylon would NOT PERMIT color loss or color shift using a near-neutral pH detergent such as Releasit. So how did color migration occur? It would appear that the manufacturer has obviously added additional red dye to the fiber after it was manufactured to add more sizzle or pop from the vibrant red color. This would account for its inability to retain red.

On a side note, red is the least stable color in the color spectrum, so it is always the one that's most likely to bleed first. This brings up an important point --- always test for color fastness whenever there's even a remote chance it might bleed (i.e. bright reds). And as David mentioned above, "Dye Lock" works great to prevent bleeding.



P.S. Many rugs are imported from India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and throughout Asia. Many of the rugs that are exported from these countries are put together by poor peasants in sweat-shops. So it's impossible to know exactly how they may have dyed a piece. How did they dye it? What dyes were used?. They could have dyed the piece with beet juice for all we know. So once again, this underscores the need to test for color fastness first (even if we assume there won't be a problem).







Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

I totally agree with what Rick said.

I also know that many rugs bleed with Releasit. Some bleed worse than others. Sometimes when they bleed just a little bit it is ok to clean them as long as they dry fast. A synthetic rug like that I would have probably not tested only because we have cleaned hundreds of those with Releasit and never had a problem.

Also, when testing a rug a good rule of thumb is to leave the testing solution on the rug for as long as the rug will be wet when cleaning.

At the bottom is two pictures of ustesting rugs. We use white paper towels and set something on top of it so that it stays in contact with the surface of the rug. Wait til it dries and then see if it is a bleeder.

Kevin Pearson

PS You can view our webcam that overlooks our rug cleaning plant anytime at www.pearsoncarpetcare.com and then click webcam.