A burn test on a carpet sample produces a blue flame at the base with an orange tip, a celery-like smell, and a hard gray-brown bead. The fiber is most likely:
Fiber Identification
Question · Easy
Which carpet fiber is alkaline-sensitive and limited to a cleaning solution pH range of roughly 5 to 8?
Which synthetic carpet fiber is solution-dyed (color is locked into the polymer rather than added after extrusion) and is therefore highly resistant to bleach and dye stains?
Question · Medium
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A field test reveals a fiber that melts and curls away from a flame, produces sooty black smoke, and leaves a hard tan bead. Which fiber is this?
Which carpet fiber is best described as oleophilic — meaning it has a natural attraction for oily and greasy soils?
A burn test produces a soft, black, crumbling ash and a smell similar to burnt hair, with a flame that self-extinguishes. The fiber is:
Which carpet fiber has the best resilience — the ability to recover from compression and traffic flattening?
When a sample fiber dissolves in 5% sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) at room temperature, the fiber is most likely:
Question · Hard
Which fiber is known for soft hand, excellent stain resistance to water-based spills, but poor performance against oily soils?
Which two carpet fibers together account for the vast majority of the residential US carpet market?
Nylon takes which class of dyes during manufacturing, allowing acid-based dye-stain removers to extract many discoloration spills?
What is the primary visual difference between nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 in finished carpet?
Wool carpet should NOT be subjected to which of the following cleaning chemistries?
Which two synthetic fibers are most likely to wick oily stains back to the carpet surface after extraction?
Which fiber has the LOWEST melting point and is therefore most susceptible to friction-melt damage from rotary equipment?
Which carpet fiber has the BEST inherent stain resistance to water-based food and beverage spills before any topical treatment is applied?
A wool-blend rug shows the burn-test characteristics of two different fibers in the same yarn. The most likely composition is:
A solubility test in glacial acetic acid is most useful for distinguishing which two fibers?
What percentage of the US wall-to-wall carpet market is produced using the tufted construction method?
Carpet Construction
Which two terms refer to woven carpet constructions in which yarn is interlaced with backing on a loom?
Carpet density is best defined as:
Twist level in a cut-pile carpet refers to:
In a tufted carpet, what is the role of the secondary backing?
Which carpet style is constructed entirely of uncut loops with a smooth, low-profile surface — and is the most common style in heavy-traffic commercial environments?
Needle-punched carpet is constructed by:
Face weight, sometimes called pile weight, is expressed in:
Frieze (twist) carpet differs from standard plush primarily because:
Which carpet construction has loops of two or more different heights to create a sculpted pattern (sometimes called multi-level loop)?
Gauge in tufted carpet refers to:
Which of the following is NOT a typical face-fiber specification when comparing two carpets at purchase?
Saxony is a style of:
Approximately what percentage of soil in a typical residential carpet is dry, particulate (vacuumable) soil?
Soil Types
Sugars, salts, and dye-based food spills are typically classified as:
Cooking oil, butter, and body oils are classified as which type of soil?
Coffee, tea, and red wine staining are best classified as:
Blood, urine, milk, egg, and other animal-derived spills are categorized as:
Why is vacuuming considered the single most important maintenance step for carpet?
Why does hot water make a blood stain harder to remove from carpet?
Dye stains from Kool-Aid, mustard, or ink typically respond best to:
What is the primary reason fine grit and sand are so damaging to carpet pile?
Resoiling — when a carpet appears to get dirty more quickly after professional cleaning — is most commonly caused by:
Yellow staining around the perimeter of rooms — particularly near baseboards — is most likely caused by:
Greasy or oily soils binding to polyester carpet are difficult to remove primarily because:
Which soil-removal mechanism is responsible for lifting and rinsing solvent-soluble (oily) soils during hot water extraction?
Pet urine stains in carpet are particularly problematic because they contain multiple components that require different chemistries. The protein component requires:
Soot from a candle, fireplace, or small fire deposit on carpet is best removed by which initial step?
Per ANSI/IICRC S100, hot water extraction (HWE) is recognized primarily as a:
Cleaning Methods
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