Preventing Cellulosic Browning

Cellulosic Browning — Conquer the beast

Cellulosic browning is still a feared beast at times — especially for some cleaners making trip after trip to customers’ homes trying to correct it. But true cellulosic browning is often misnamed, or at least misunderstood. Don’t confuse browning with yellowing. That’s another subject.

A natural phenomenon

Most carpets manufactured today — and even most carpets still surviving from an era long past — are synthetics. Browning problems today are typically found with area rug cleaning and aging carpets with natural fibers. For true cellulosic browning to occur, there must be cellulose fibers present. Browning is caused by lignin, and this is not found in synthetic fibers.

Lignin causes problems when it gets wet and then dries slowly. It is dissolved in water and if not dried rapidly it wicks up to the surface of the fiber, creating cellulosic browning. When cleaning natural fibers, such as cotton in area rugs or wool in area rugs with jute backings and the occasional linen, you should avoid high pH chemistry that tends to make cellulosic browning more likely. Cellulosic browning is mostly found in connection with jute backings, although not as common as it once was.

How to avoid cellulosic browning in carpet cleaning

1. Identification: Knowing what fiber you work with will tell you if there are potential problems. At the very least, you should know if you are cleaning a synthetic or a natural fiber. If natural, take steps to avoid a browning situation. A quick burn test tells you what category fiber you are facing.

2. Low pH: If you clean with an alkaline-based cleaner, especially one of the many powerful preconditioners on the market, you won’t see the effects of the chemical right away. It’s the phone call a few days later from a concerned customer clueing you in to the problem. The high pH chemistry, while the carpet was drying, activated the lignin and it wicked to the surface of the fiber. To avoid this, use a slightly acidic pH cleaner, or as close to neutral on the pH scale as you can get.

3. Low moisture: Heavy soil loads mean you use more water in the cleaning process, but you can remedy this potential problem. Give the carpet extra dry passes and use an air mover to speed-dry the carpet. This means the lignin isn’t dissolved and it stays right where it belongs – in the natural fibers instead of at the tips of them.

How to correct cellulosic browning:

1. Remove the moisture and make sure the carpet is completely clean. You don’t want to confuse soil with cellulosic browning.

2. Add a browning correction chemical (an acidic solution) to the fibers, misting not only where the browning is evident but evenly over the entire surface. You would be surprised how browning can show up after a job has passed inspection.

3. Follow manufacturer directions on the treatment.

Most browning problems are correctable.

DATA SOURCE: CMMONLINE.COM

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