NOTE: This article is adapted from an article by William F. Bane in the Winter 2003 Cleaning Digest™.
Pile height of true shag carpet is greater than 3/4 inch, with density not exceeding 1800.
Shag carpet was very popular in the 1970s and has started making a comeback in popularity in recent years. .
Shag carpet is nearly impossible to clean satisfactorily. Due to the large fibers of the shag carpet, cleaning up spills and messes can be difficult. Professional carpet cleaners will charge significantly more to clean shag rugs.
Shag carpet is enjoying a resurgence in the marketplace and deserves attention in training programs so consumers will have a good experience with any carpet fiber they may choose. The nostalgic urges of the baby-boom generation is bringing shag carpet back on the decorator scene. They fondly remember playing on the soft, deep, fluffy fibers when they were children.
There is a generation of carpet cleaners who do not know anything about shag carpets or that they have special cleaning requirements. Shags were partly responsible for the rapid acceptance of steam carpet cleaning in the early ’70s because they do not tolerate rotary scrubbing or rubbing methods which were popular at the time.
Wm. F. (Bill) Bane refused to part with the old shag carpet that adorned his office since 1972. He said it is a living testimonial that with proper care, shag carpeting can retain a good aesthetic appearance for more than 30 years.
When asked about his old shag carpet, Mr. Bane said, “It’s just like an old friend. I’m comfortable with it, I like its looks, the way it feels underfoot and I really don’t care about style changes. Besides that, it helps me remember that we owe shag carpet a lot because of its influence on our early business decisions about carpet cleaning and the impact those decisions made on our lives and on the entire cleaning industry.”
Mr. Bane told about the first shag carpet he cleaned in 1969. “It was an Eastman Kodel polyester which was advertised as the “Fat, Fat” carpet fiber. After I cleaned it with 180º F water, it looked more like shriveled up mop strands than “Fat, Fat” carpet fibers. That was an expensive lesson.”
“I still hear about that carpet from my wife. It was in our family room.”
Note from Don Terry:
Frieze is a cut-pile carpet style of tightly twisted yarn that gives a kinked or curled appearance to carpet pile. Each carpet tuft has two ply’s of yarn that are twisted together. Most carpet styles have 3.5 to 5 turns (twists) per inch. A Frieze may have 7-9 turns per inch and the high carpet twist level causes the carpet tuft to kink or turn back upon itself giving it a curled, highly textured, tousled, informal appearance. Sometimes Frieze carpet is called “California Shag” because it is similar to the old, ugly, hard-to-maintain shag carpets of the 1960s and 1970s.
Related Carpet Manufacture Articles:
- Carpet Styles and Textures
- Frieze Carpet Style