Pooling and Pile Crush

Pooling-Pile Reversal

Pooling/ pile reversal is sometimes referred to as water marking, due to the puddle like appearance of the surface pile. Pooling occurs in plush style carpet when areas of the carpet change pile direction. The light and dark shading is the result of shading of the face fiber due to the pile reversal.

Pile Crushing in Traffic Lanes

Pile crushing occurs when carpet tufts bend and compress. Pile crush is commonly found in the high use areas of the installation.

According to the International Standards (ISO)  crushing is defined as a loss of pile thickness of a textile floor covering under the action of static or dynamic loads. A static load would be concentrated pressure from something like a couch, chair or table.  Dynamic loads are marked by motion, such as foot traffic.

Crushing may or may not be correctable, depending on the resiliency characteristics of the fiber and the carpet construction.

Crushed fibers will have a tendency to appear lighter in color than non-trafficked areas due to the difference in light reflection from the greater surface area of the sides of the crushed fibers compared to the vertically oriented fibers.

Crushing is often accompanied by soiling.