I need some info on carpet mills and encap - thought there was some on the site but don't see it. CNA especially.

Shaw is the largest carpet manufacturer in the world. Their maintenance brochure recommends encapsulation --- scroll down to page 8... http://www.excellent-supply.com/shaw_maintenance_brochure.pdf

Here is some testing performed at Professional Testing Laboratory in Dalton Georgia. PTL is the highest authority in Dalton when it comes to carpet testing (it's the lab that does all the testing for the CRI). They tested the Cimex with Releasit and FiberPlus pads. They made 22 passes with the machine (that's right, 22 passes) and it was acceptable. Here's a link to their test results...
http://cimex-usa.com/brochures/TestResult100742.pdf

DuPont (now Koch Industries) has been at the forefront developing encapsulation. DuPont has been a key player in exploring encap technology with their Resistech program.

Several mills have also looked at encapsulation and a number of them now support the process in one manner or another. Encapsulation is gaining ground with most of the mills at this point in time. (Just remember to call it "Interim Cleaning" --- they like it to refer to it that way)










Rick Gelinas

Mohawk Commerical is now telling inspectors in their training seminars that the cimex, rotary machines of any kind are prohibited as well as any type of citrus product. I know the same thing from Tandus but... this is a little bigger company than Tandus. Just thought, Rick, you may want to be prepared to handle the influx of questions with your independent laboratory study. Or may want to inquire yourself. They are pushing CRI SOA approved products as well.

http://mikeysboard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31095&p=342392#p342392

Thanks for the info David.

That's puzzling. If the Cimex were tested at their labs on commercial carpet, they'd find that it is not damaging. As the Cimex drive deck turns clockwise the brushes turn back counter-clockwise. Hence as the machine may be thought to be "damaging" the fiber, it's also un-damaging it at the same time --- as can be seen in this illustration...


It would appear that testing is not being performed. Perhaps the assumption is being made that since the Cimex is a round machine its effect to the carpet will be like a standard rotary machine. A simple test of a Cimex on the carpet however will confirm what PTL discovered; that there's no damage to the fiber. Even after making 22 passes on a cut pile commercial carpet, the appearance was satisfactoryhttp://www.excellent-supply.com/cimex_releasit_test_results.pdf

Experience, professional testing, and lots of real world usage has proven that the Cimex will not damage any grade of commercial carpet. I think if they will take a closer look at the Cimex, they'll come to appreciate that the Cimex is unlike a rotary machine and that it will not damage any commercial product.








Rick Gelinas

This doesn't make sense to me either.
Last year I was certified by Dale Peery at Lee's Carpet a division of Mohawk (the Maintenance Specialist/Trainer) and he highly recommends even bonnet cleaning (which would include other rotaries) and has it specifically listed as part of Lee's maintenence program. We had a long discussion on this very subject.

I'm going to give him a call and will respond back with what he has to say.

Jeff Cutshall

I'd be interested to hear what he had to say as well. Keep us updated.

I spoke to Dale Perry this morning (he happened to call to get info on Releasit) and he told me that Lees carpet is the only mill that has accepted bonnet cleaning in the past. He said that Mohawk does not and that is why he started doing tests with Releasit!

Drew is correct.
I just got off the phone with Dale as well. It seems that the cylindrical type equipment is what they're going with now on Mohawk carpets. They are big believers in encapsulation though and highly recommend it.
So I guess the good news is encapsulation is getting more recognition, the bad news is we may have to be more selective where we use the cimex. How many times do we actually know which mill made the carpet we're actually cleaning? I'd still bet though if the Cimex is used correctly it wouldn't ever be an issue. But, better safe than sorry if we're concerned about a warranty issue.

Jeff C