Smartstrand Carpet
Mohawk’s Smartstrand carpet with DuPont's Sorona polymer is one of the greenest, most stain resistant carpets produced to date. As we’ve said throughout the site, no carpet is completely stain proof. There are simply different stain protections available that offer varying degrees of protection. Mohawk’s Smartstrand is one of the most stain resistant carpets that we’ve ever worked with. It also offers a limited lifetime stain resistance warranty which is unheard of in the industry today.
Smartstrand carpet is made from corn residue. Bio-PDO, the key ingredient in Dupont’s Sonora polymer is produced from corn sugar as opposed to petroleum which normal nylon is made from. According to the Mohawk website 37% of Sonora is made from renewable sources, which obviously is fantastic for the environment. The polymer requires 30% less energy to produce than nylon which equates to roughly one gallon of gasoline saved for every seven yards of carpet produced.
The carpet also helps combat greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that 63% less greenhouse gas emissions are produced when manufacturing Smartstrand carpet as compared to regular nylon. My crazy recycling obsessed sister would approve!
As we’ve said before no carpet is totally stain proof, but Smartstrand may be your best bet. According to the Mohawk website stains such as red wine, mustard, and cool-aid may be removed with just a little warm water and detergent. We’ve also heard that Smartstrand is resistant to bleach, which if true is astounding.
The stain protection in Smartstrand carpet is built into the actual fiber so you'll never need to replace it. Like Stainmaster, it never washes off and you never have to replace it after steam cleaning. Unlike stain protections that are sprayed onto the carpet, Smartstrand never loses its resistance to spills and stains.
Considering all of the good qualities of Smartstrand, there must be some sort of drawback right? A carpet this tough and resistant to stains must feel about as soft as sandpaper I bet you’re guessing? Amazingly, Smartstrand carpet has a uniquely soft feel that we’ve never encountered before. Cut piles manufactured with Smartstrand are exquisitely soft, having an almost silk like feel.
If you’re shopping for carpet, we definitely recommend checking out some samples at your local store. You may even want to test the stain resistance of the samples if they’ll allow it. It would be interesting to see exactly how resistance the new fiber is to bleach.
And the best thing about Mohawk’s Smartstrand carpet? Because it’s made from corn, when you’re done with it you can butter it up and eat it! Yummy! (Editor: That was a bad joke. DO NOT attempt to eat Smartstrand Carpet or any carpet for that matter, unless it’s made out of chocolate).