Nature of Area Rugs

Carpet, tile, and other types of floor coverings not only serve an important basic function in buildings, but their decorative qualities also contribute to the appeal of the buildings. Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers lay floor coverings in homes, offices, hospitals, stores, restaurants, and many other types of buildings. Tile also may be installed on walls and ceilings.

Before installing carpet, carpet installers first inspect the surface to be covered to determine its condition and, if necessary, correct any imperfections that could show through the carpet or cause the carpet to wear unevenly. They measure the area to be carpeted and plan the layout, keeping in mind expected traffic patterns and placement of seams for best appearance and maximum wear.

Carpet Maintenance

Frequent and good maintenance is the key to a long lasting and good-looking carpet. Commercial areas with heavy traffic should be vacuumed daily, with equipment that has powerful suction and an enclosed HEPA filtration bag. Every 6-12 months, the carpet should be extraction cleaned, preferably by hot water or steam. Some methods such as dry foam or dry extraction use chemicals that can emit fumes and cause indoor air quality problems. Clean up spills immediately to prevent stains and fungal growth.

Carpet should not be installed near entrance doors or areas where moisture and organic matter can contaminate them. Walk-off mats at entrances should be installed or that portion of carpet should be cleaned more often than less trafficked carpet. Carpet fibers are an excellent medium for dust mites and microbial agents, especially if the carpet becomes wet and cannot be properly dried. Carpet can be purchased treated with antimicrobial agents that resist the growth of microorganisms.

Indoor Air Quality and Carpet Installation

Ensure that your new carpet meets indoor air quality standards. The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has an Indoor Air Quality Carpet Testing Green Label which sets carpet standards. Adhering to the CRI standards is recommended, but requiring the CRI Label in specs may eliminate certain carpet manufacturers such as Collins & Aikman which may exceed CRI standards, but do not use the CRI Label.

Several manufacturers, including Milliken, Interface, Bentley Prince Street, Mohawk, Shaw, and Collins & Aikmen have either committed to entirely PVC-free manufacturing or produced PVC-free carpet backing.

Carpet can be a major source of indoor air contamination. The adhesives used to install carpets and the latex rubber used by some manufacturers to adhere face fibers to backing materials generate volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Carpets also cover large surfaces within an interior environment and can provide “sinks” for the absorption of VOCs from other sources. Installing carpets in strict accordance with CRI guidelines, as well as additional measures such as requiring suppliers to unroll and air-out carpets in the warehouse before bringing them into the building, will minimize the risks of indoor air quality problems resulting from the carpet. Tests indicate that carpet emissions will dissipate within 48 to 72 hours with proper ventilation.

Commercial carpets can be installed with water based, low VOC adhesives, or the products can be purchased with preapplied adhesive. Carpet tiles allow for the replacement of individual tiles when they are soiled or damaged, but the production of tiles may require more bonding agents than broadloom. A variety of adhesives are included in the CRI Green Label program; water-based adhesives are available from the distributors listed below. Rubber-based recycled padding is commonly used and can outgas. Recycled padding made from recycled carpet fibers may be more suitable for environmentally sensitive persons. Carpet cushion is tested in the CRI program and a variety of cushion products qualify to carry the CRI Green Label.

Quality Area Rugs Education and Training

Informal training for carpet installers often is sponsored by individual contractors. Workers start as helpers, and begin with simple assignments, such as installing stripping and padding, or helping to stretch newly installed carpet. With experience, helpers take on more difficult assignments, such as measuring, cutting, and fitting.

Tile and marble setters also learn their craft mostly through on-the-job training. They start by helping carry materials and learning about the tools of the trade. They then learn to prepare the subsurface for tile or marble. As they progress, they learn to cut the tile and marble to fit the job. They also learn to apply grout and sealants used in finishing the materials to give it its final appearance. Apprenticeship programs and some contractor-sponsored programs provide comprehensive training in all phases of the tilesetting and floor layer trades.

Other floor layers also learn on the job and begin by learning how to use the tools of the trade. They next learn to prepare surfaces to receive flooring. As they progress, they learn to cut and install the various floor coverings.

RUG Refinement Model

The aim of the "RUG Refinement" is to improve the ability of the existing RUG-III classification system to explain non-therapy ancillary (NTA) costs. The Urban Institute re-examined prior efforts by Abt Associates (2000) and Dr. Brant Fries (2003) using data from our 2001 analysis files and replicated and validated the research. Under this approach, the existing RUG-III classification system continues to be used while adding categories that account for beneficiaries who receive both extensive medical services and rehabilitation, i.e. the medically complex. See download section below for the final report by the Urban Institute, Options for Improving Medicare Payment for SNFs (March 2007), which discusses the refinement analyses. The download section below also contains tables showing the updated RUG-53 unadjusted case-mix indices and the updated 2001 distribution of days for the RUG-44 and RUG-53 models.

Council finds quality furniture a new home

Islington Council's new furniture reuse collection service picks up good quality household furniture that residents no longer want and gives charities the opportunity to put it to good use.

Thanks to this new scheme, Charities MORPH and HomeStore can now collect a range of good quality furniture such as wardrobes, display units, chests of drawers, three-piece suites and double beds from street properties up and down the borough. The charities then pass on low cost furniture to people who need it.

Lucy Watt, executive member for environment, said "This new doorstep reuse collection service is making it easier for local people to put their old furniture to good use. This innovative scheme is one of the first in London to offer local people a reuse collection from their doorstep and I'm delighted that Islington Council is once again at the forefront of developing new ways for residents to reduce their waste."

The purpose of these collections is to reuse items that still have a use that would otherwise have gone to landfill. It is estimated that of the 3.2 million households in London the number of furniture items thrown out each year that may be re-usable is approximately 800,000.
The scheme has been launched in the north of Islington and new areas will be added to the scheme throughout the next few months. All street properties in Islington will be offered a collection by the end of the project.

John Fleming of Morph "We are really pleased to be working closely with Islington Council because it gives a fantastic chance to get Islington residents aware of the need to reuse. We take furniture and household items and sell them through our shops to the general public and those on low incomes whilst training the unemployed and disadvantaged through those same outlets giving them skills to seek full time employment. By working closely together we can ensure less waste is sent to landfill sites which makes sense for the environment and more people are helped in the process."

The reuse charities also provide training and work experience for young people who are long term unemployed and living in the borough. The programme provides training in transport, distribution, warehousing and office administration under the supervision of trained staff. This training encourages socially excluded groups to attain labour market skills while running a furniture service for low-income families.

Richard Featherstone, Regional Development Manager, London Community Recycling Network "Furniture reuse is going to be the most important solution to reducing bulky waste in future. That's because so many of the materials in bulky waste are not recyclable. We like working with Islington Council because they have foresight and the will to find new ways of dealing with waste".

Make Your Home Glossom Adding Quality Area Rugs

Other than wasting energy by turning on the heat and toting around your down covers, did you know that adding rugs into your home will help keep your house warm? It’s true, especially if you’re one of the many who happen to have hardwood floors. Sure hardwood floors are beautiful and all, but that’s probably what you’re not thinking once winter hits. Adding rugs in the main areas of your home that get the most traffic will help keep your little toes warm while protecting your floors. OK, so you could wear socks and not have any rugs, but why risk slipping on those darn floors and hurting yourself? Consider this: having a rug is like ensuring that you won’t hurt yourself as bad; if you happen to slip and fall it won’t hurt as much as landing straight on your hardwood floors! Really, what’ve you got to lose other than the cold? Plus, having a rug will really add a warm mood to your home.

Rules for protect Area Rugs

Wall-to-wall carpeting, most large area rugs and any rug with foam backing should be discarded if flooded with contaminated water. Except for valuable rugs, the time and expense of professional cleaning generally is not worth the effort or the health risk.
If you are determined to salvage carpeting soaked with contaminated water, consult a professional cleaning company that services carpets at its own cleaning and drying facilities. A steam cleaning (hot-water extraction) method is preferable.
A wall-to-wall carpet soaked by clean rainwater can be salvaged. Have it professionally cleaned or clean it using the directions below.
Throw rugs usually can be cleaned adequately in a washing machine.