The present invention relates to a textile floor covering with a reduced susceptibility to staining.

Staining of textile floor covering has all sorts of causes. Non-limitative examples are coffee, wine, ketchup, soup, mud, oil and shoe polish deposited on textile floor covering. These substances, which are substantially moist during the unintentional staining of the textile floor covering, comprise chromophores which can discolour the textile floor covering fibres. Such usually local and irregular discolourations of the piles of the textile floor covering are perceived as irritating and, particularly when they can be or have been only partially removed, this shortens the lifespan of the textile floor covering. Staining in textile floor covering may therefore result in commercial damage. Known solutions are application in the pile mass of textile floor covering fibres which are difficult to discolour, such as the polyester family of polymers. Another already known option is to apply stain-resisting chemicals to and in the fibres of the pile mass.

Drawbacks of the already known method for reducing staining are however that most nylon yarn substitutes used for this purpose are more susceptible to wear than nylon. The stain-resi ting chemicals are only partially effective, can wear away, and complicate recycling of textile floor covering.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to at least partially obviate the above stated drawbacks or to provide a worthwhile alternative to the prior art.

The present invention proposes for this purpose a textile floor covering, comprising a connecting main structure such as a fabric, a knotted structure or a primary backing, characterized in that the connecting main structure is provided at least on a side directed upward during use with a moisture-absorbing material.

In an embodiment the connecting main structure comprises a fabric or a knotted structure manufactured from a mixture of moisture-absorbing yarn and non-moisture- absorbing yarn. The invention also proposes for this purpose a textile floor covering comprising a primary backing through which piles are tufted using a yarn and which is provided on a first side with a finish such as a secondary backing, characterized in that the primary backing comprises a moisture-absorbing material on a second side opposite the first side.

The moisture-absorbing material can be arranged on the primary backing before or after the tufting process, can comprise a separate layer, wherein the piles are in effect tufted through two carriers, or the primary backing itself can consist of a moisture-absorbing material.

A suitable material for arranging on the tuft substrate to increase the moisture absorbency thereof is a polyester microfibre. A suitable material from which to manufacture the tuft substrate in order to obtain a high moisture absorbency is a blend consisting of polyester fibre and polyester microfibre.

If a liquid gets onto the textile floor covering it will spread over the textile floor covering, whereby the liquid comes into contact with the moisture-absorbing material which then absorbs the liquid, including the chromophores present therein. The liquid available for discolouring the pile mass hereby decreases, whereby the stain is less likely to form and the textile floor covering becomes more stain-resistant. A liquid generally spreads in a textile floor covering through foot traffic and gravitational force. In standard textile floor covering without moisture-absorbing layer this is a phenomenon which always occurs and causes a stain to become larger. There is always gravitational force, and spread of the stain is made even worse by foot traffic. The present invention however makes use of the capillary action of the moisture- absorbing material. The ISO-standardized moisture application test specifies that 20 ml of moisture has to be arranged on a circle with a diameter of 6 cm, or a liquid height equal to 7 mm. This is higher than the pile height of textile floor covering, and the yarn lies wholly below the liquid level. A realistic layer thickness of the moisture-absorbing material is 1 mm; the moisture initially introduced into the 6 cm circle then has to be spread over a circle with a diameter of 15 cm. The capillary action of the moisture- absorbing material has been found highly suitable for this purpose.

The capillary action can for instance be enhanced by applying a fraction of very fine fibres in the moisture-absorbing material or applying a moisture-absorbing material with a surface area which can be very easily moistened. If the moisture-absorbing material has a very great capillary action, the absorbed moisture is then distributed over a large mass of moisture-absorbing material and the moisture absorption capacity is high in the case of incidental local moisture deposition.

The invention can be extended by making use of liquid-repellent pile fibres or fibre coatings, whereby the deposited liquid has less grip on the pile mass and is taken up into the moisture-absorbing material more quickly. If use is made of pile fibres or fibre coatings which distribute moisture effectively over the fibre surface, there are then a large number of transport paths through which the liquid can reach the moisture- absorbing material.

Due to evaporation the liquid content in the moisture-absorbing material will decrease so that only chromophores, which cannot evaporate, are left. Because the moisture- absorbing material dries out after a time, it can be used again to absorb moisture.

Through the absorption of non-evaporating colouring agents the colour of the liquid- absorbing material becomes increasingly darker, unless the liquid- absorbing material already has a dark colour. It is not inconceivable for an additional substance to be added in order to deactivate or chemically degrade the absorbed chromophores, for instance a catalyst which degrades or at least neutralizes the chromophore groups, such as titanium dioxide which has a bleaching effect through light activation. Bleaching earth also has a similar effect. It is also possible to bind the chromophores in the moisture-absorbing layer. Use can be made for this purpose of active carbon encapsulated in the moisture- absorbing layer.

Saturation and overs aturation occur if more water is added to the moisture-absorbing layer than it can absorb, for instance if the textile floor covering tiles are immersed in a tank of water. In the case of oversaturation there is still the possibility of the chromophores diffusing out of the moisture-absorbing layer and staining the pile mass. It is therefore favourable to remove the chromophores from the moisture-absorbing layer, for instance by adding additional clean water, after which the diluted coloured solution is removed by means of mixing, for instance by suctioning away the oversaturated coloured water or absorbing it with dry paper.

Example 1

Tuft substrate is provided with a moisture-absorbing microfibre layer. The moisture- absorbing microfibre consists of a sheet of super-absorbent polyester microfibre with a mass of a minimum of 100 and preferably 120 or more grams per square metre. This double-layer tuft substrate is tufted with a nylon pile mass. A textile floor covering surface with a high moisture-absorbing capacity is hereby obtained. During testing of the textile floor covering in accordance with ISO 13750: 2000 it is observed that the coffee stain is spread over the whole tile, while the pile mass colours only slightly. There is hereby a great decrease in the staining resulting from coffee spilled on the textile floor covering.

Example 2 Tuft substrate is provided with a moisture-absorbing layer. The moisture-absorbing layer consists of a sheet of viscose fibre with a mass of 150 gram per square metre. This double-layer tuft substrate is tufted with a nylon pile mass. A textile floor covering surface with a high moisture-absorbing capacity is hereby obtained. In tests on the textile floor covering in accordance with ISO 13750: 2000 there is a great decrease in the staining resulting from acid food colours.