As general manager of Arizona’s Servpro of Ahwatukee & South Tempe, a branch of the national fire and water cleanup and restoration company Servpro, James Cummings has a lot of experience with restoring different types of materials, including carpets. Here is Servpro’s guide to protecting your carpet from sun damage.
The Problem: Color Fading
The sun is a powerful bleaching agent. It can remove color from paintings, lawn chairs, and from your carpet. Overexposure to the sun will fade many carpet fabrics. The service life of carpet varies widely depending on conditions. In most cases, its life will range from seven to 10 years, and if it gets a lot of foot traffic, its service life will be about five years.
Almost every carpet will lighten in color, fading over time. The extent of damage depends on the location, exposure to sunlight, color, intensity, type of dye, and method of dyeing of the carpet. A carpet that has been solution-dyed (dyed during the synthetic fiber-producing process) is the least susceptible to sun fading. This is because the pigments are added to the polymer before the fibers are formed, locking in the color. Most polypropylene (olefin), many acrylics, and some polyester carpets are dyed using this method.
Lighter shades will usually fade faster than darker ones because they contain less dye. Most dyes are composed of two or more colors. If one color is affected more than the others, the fading may appear as a color change rather than a lightening of the color. For instance, a green carpet yarn is made from blue and yellow dyes. If the yellow dye is affected and the blue is not, the green carpet may appear more blue when it fades. In other cases, the colors may fade uniformly, appearing as a lighter shade of the original color. In some severe cases, the color can be completely removed and appear bleached white. The fiber itself can also deteriorate.
The Solution: Covering Your Windows
You may be able to prevent carpets from fading in sunny locations by keeping the windows covered with draperies or by treating the windows with a protective coating which filters the ultraviolet (U V) rays. If you live in an area where sunlight fading is a problem, shop carefully for your next carpet purchase.
A do-it-yourself window film insulates windows and reduces UV rays that can fade carpets. The transparent vinyl film is affixed to the inside of your window using a spray of soapy water and a squeegee. The film reflects a lot of the sun’s heat and UV rays while allowing in most of the visible light. It blocks 97% of UV rays and 70% of thermal solar energy. In the winter, it slows heat loss through the glass by 15% more than a single-pane window. The product comes in different sizes and can be cut to fit a window. It is available at Home Depot and ranges from $20 to $35. It’s also a good choice if you like to leave your drapes open during the day.
