Natural Fibers in Rugs and Carpets

Natural fibers used with carpet are made either by insects, animals, or even plants. The fibers that are produced by insects or animals are called protein fibers. Those that are made by plants are known as vegetable fibers. These fibers produce "natural rugs". Vegetable and protein fibers share the mutual disadvantage that they are both very absorbent and will have extended drying times when wet cleaned - which can lead to mildew, mold, shrinkage, and even dry rot.

Wool
Wool fiber is produced from the fleece of lambs or sheep. Wool for carpet is imported from countries such as England, Australia, and New Zealand. Wool was the first and considered to be the best of all carpet material.

The ability of wool to stretch up to 40% of its original length and the fact that it can be bent backward and forward more than 180,000 times without breaking makes it very resilient. Wool is the costliest material for carpet, although it is also the best you can buy.

Silk
The fiber of silk is produced by the larva of various insects known as silk worms. The silk, in continuous lengths from 300 to 1600 yards, is spun by the silk worms
to produce their cocoons. As a fiber, silk is naturally non flammable, very strong, and not affected by static charge problems - even at low humidity.

Cellulose fiber
This type of fiber is produced by plants and is normally not used as face yarns. These types will however, turn up as backing materials of tufted as as well as woven carpets.

Cotton
Cotton is a vegetable seed fiber that is produced from the cotton plant. The primary use for this fiber is for yarns woven into carpet or rugs. Cotton is resistant to alkaline solutions and becomes stronger when it is wet.

The biggest disadvantage to cotton is the fact that it is the most absorbent of all fibers and requires extended drying times after being wet cleaned. It is also easily damaged by acids, stains easily, mats down, soils quickly, and is subject to mildew, dry rot, and shrinkage.

Jute
This fiber is produced by the jute plant which grows in South America, Pakistan, and also inIndia. The stalk of the jute plant is where the longer coarse fibers are obtained, located between the outer bark and within the inner pulp.

Jute is normally used as weft yarns, across the width, in woven carpets and as a backing material in the construction of tufted carpets. Jute is an low-cost material that also serves other uses than just carpet. Like all other fibers, this one has disadvantages as well. The fiber is weak when it becomes wet and is also subject to dry rot, shrinkage, and mildew.

Sisal
The fiber of sisal is produced by the leaves of the agave plant. Sisal is very strong and primarily used for making rugs, sacking, rope, and even carpet. The fiber stains easily and is also very difficult to clean. Wet cleaning can also cause shrinkage so its best to use low moisture methods. Seagrass rugs are very similar to sisal in appearance, but not as sturdy.

Rayon
There is quite a bit of confusion about rayon and it is easy to understand why. Rayon is a synthetic fiber that is produced from natural cellulosic fibers of wood pulp or cotton. The material is put through several chemical treatments which help to turn it into a synthetic fiber.

Primarily, rayon is used for area rugs because of its silk like appearance. It can be damaged by acids, has low resistance to abrasion and is also prone to cellulose browning.