Carpet Flame Proofing
- Thread starteranshu
- Start date
Would it be easier / cheaper to buy an IFR rug once you got to the states? Most Bix Box department / home goods stores sell them. If you look at the manufacturer's label, you should be able to find non-flammable compliance labels.
From the Carpet & Rug Insitute: https://www.carpet-rug.org/Documents/Technical_Bulletins/Flammability_Carpet_Safety.pdf
2.0 The Pill Test 2.1 The first situation described above is addressed by the Flammable Fabrics Act, which is administered by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. The standard, CPSC FF 1-70, covers both carpet and large rugs. A similar standard, FF 2-70, addresses rugs of less than 24 square feet. 2.2 All carpet and rugs manufactured, imported or introduced into commerce in the United States, must meet the acceptance criteria of FF1-70, or in the case of small rugs, FF 2-70. The same test is used for both standards. 2.3 In this test no more than one out of eight specimens may burn a distance of three inches from the point of ignition. The eight 9-inch square specimens, which have been dried in an oven, are subjected to a flame from a standard igniting source, a methenamine tablet. The tablet or “pill,” (hence the “pill test”) is placed in the center of the specimen and ignited with a match. If the flame spreads more than three inches from the point of the ignition, the specimen fails. If more than one of the eight fails, the carpet cannot be legally sold. The burden of compliance rests with the carpet manufacturer. The flammability of imported products must be certified by the foreign manufacturer and the importer unless the Consumer Public Safety Commission (CPSC) exempts one or the other of the responsibility. 2.4 Small rugs regulated under FF2-70 that do not meet the criteria may be permanently labeled “Flammable: (Fails U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission Standard FF 2-70)” and entered into commerce.
5.0 Summary
[...]
5.4 The above tests are sometimes referred to by other designations, but the test is the same. The “pill test” may sometimes be referred to as ASTM D2859. Other designations for the flooring panel test are ASTM E648 and NFPA 253. The NBS Smoke Density test is designated as ASTM E-662 and NFPA 258.
From the Carpet & Rug Insitute: https://www.carpet-rug.org/Documents/Technical_Bulletins/Flammability_Carpet_Safety.pdf
2.0 The Pill Test 2.1 The first situation described above is addressed by the Flammable Fabrics Act, which is administered by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. The standard, CPSC FF 1-70, covers both carpet and large rugs. A similar standard, FF 2-70, addresses rugs of less than 24 square feet. 2.2 All carpet and rugs manufactured, imported or introduced into commerce in the United States, must meet the acceptance criteria of FF1-70, or in the case of small rugs, FF 2-70. The same test is used for both standards. 2.3 In this test no more than one out of eight specimens may burn a distance of three inches from the point of ignition. The eight 9-inch square specimens, which have been dried in an oven, are subjected to a flame from a standard igniting source, a methenamine tablet. The tablet or “pill,” (hence the “pill test”) is placed in the center of the specimen and ignited with a match. If the flame spreads more than three inches from the point of the ignition, the specimen fails. If more than one of the eight fails, the carpet cannot be legally sold. The burden of compliance rests with the carpet manufacturer. The flammability of imported products must be certified by the foreign manufacturer and the importer unless the Consumer Public Safety Commission (CPSC) exempts one or the other of the responsibility. 2.4 Small rugs regulated under FF2-70 that do not meet the criteria may be permanently labeled “Flammable: (Fails U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission Standard FF 2-70)” and entered into commerce.
5.0 Summary
[...]
5.4 The above tests are sometimes referred to by other designations, but the test is the same. The “pill test” may sometimes be referred to as ASTM D2859. Other designations for the flooring panel test are ASTM E648 and NFPA 253. The NBS Smoke Density test is designated as ASTM E-662 and NFPA 258.
I haven't used Rosco's delicate fabrics formula, but my understanding is that it is for very lightweight or fine weaves that would have their hand altered too much by the regular natural or synthetic formulas. Not such a big deal for a rug, I would imagine.
The things I would worry most about are:
How might the chemical weaken the fibers? Is this an old handmade rug, or an new handmade rug?
How do you effectively apply the flame retardant without soaking the rug too much-- will dyes run or will it shrink? In my days as a props master I saw some beautiful and old wool rugs soaked, stained and otherwise abused and they were remarkably resilient. I would probably just start by spraying a very light coat, and if that seems to be alright then apply progressively heavier coats until satisfied with the saturation. Sometimes people spray from the back side only to keep the front/top from getting ugly, but you still have to saturate the material either way.
Other thing is, if it is wool then you have a naturally flame retardant material. Good enough for FDNY et al, maybe not, but I guess I don't really know.
If this is a really special rug and it will be suffering a tour, maybe it would be worth taking to a rug conservator to have it mounted on a backing that could stabilize and protect it.
The things I would worry most about are:
How might the chemical weaken the fibers? Is this an old handmade rug, or an new handmade rug?
How do you effectively apply the flame retardant without soaking the rug too much-- will dyes run or will it shrink? In my days as a props master I saw some beautiful and old wool rugs soaked, stained and otherwise abused and they were remarkably resilient. I would probably just start by spraying a very light coat, and if that seems to be alright then apply progressively heavier coats until satisfied with the saturation. Sometimes people spray from the back side only to keep the front/top from getting ugly, but you still have to saturate the material either way.
Other thing is, if it is wool then you have a naturally flame retardant material. Good enough for FDNY et al, maybe not, but I guess I don't really know.
If this is a really special rug and it will be suffering a tour, maybe it would be worth taking to a rug conservator to have it mounted on a backing that could stabilize and protect it.
Similar threads
