Carpet Ozone Fading

Left is a carpet mill inspection photo of a closet carpet scrap lying on a five year old basement carpet that shows severe fading.

Carpet ozone fading.

Fading is usually caused either by ultraviolet light or by exposure to ozone gas. I recently inspected carpeting in two homes that exhibited the same problem. These factors include ozone fading and natural gas fading. This basement level had no windows that would allow direct sunlight to the carpet.

A specific carpet being considered for a critical installation should be tested prior to final selection. Ozone fading usually results in faded and lightened colour and many times a complete change of colour similar to fume fading. Since most carpet has very little blue the yellow and red components are usually left unaffected. There are other factors that can break down carpet dye and give your carpet a whole new although unwanted appearance.

Nor were there any ozone or fume fade sources of the required damaging magnitude present. Sometimes a carpet s fading has nothing to do with ultraviolet light. Dye stuff hue or fiber can affect fading. Before purchasing a carpet it is important to check the kind of dye material that has been used for colouration.

Carpet can be tested in laboratory fadeometers for results against fading agents. Mixing strong reducers and oxidizers together on the carpet will create a lot of heat and poisonous gas. This of course depends on the original carpet color too. Colour change can also occur when carpet is exposed to ozone emissions from heating fuels and air conditioners pesticides cleaning agents benzoyl peroxide and other household items.

Ozone prefers and attacks blue dyes first. There are other factors that can break down carpet dye and give your carpet a whole new although unwanted appearance. Steam cleaning should only be undertaken by a professional carpet cleaner. But the loss of blue causes the carpet to turn a dull orange not yellow.

Oxidation comes from ozone o3 which generally occurs in drier climates with a lot of motorized vehicles. Depending on usage carpet should be professionally steam cleaned hot water extraction every 12 18 months to revitalise your carpet and remove any oily sticky and well settled soils that cause gradual significant dulling of colours. However ozone fading is very rare in most of the usa today. This occurrence known as ozone damage is largely unexplained but appears to be more prevalent in coastal areas with a high ultra violet content.