Q:  I’ve heard that “SURFACES” is a huge show – covering the equivalent of about  two football fields or more?!

A:  Yes – this is probably the biggest flooring and stone show in the world.  My hotel was literally contiguous with the show building and it was still a mile from my room to enter into the showroom.  Let’s face it.  Flooring covers a lot of square footage.  This show should earn the “groundhog” award.  It is held right around that February 2 date, so the timing is good.

Biggest Insight?

Q:  Could you share your biggest take-away from this year’s Show?

A:  I was grateful to see a more keenly developed concern on the part of the manufacturers about the need for proper maintenance of their products.  They are taking the time and effort to share that necessary information with those of us involved in their products’ care.  The shift over my last visit two years ago seems to be their realization that no matter how well a product sells, if that surface is not properly maintained the result will be unhappy vendors and customers.  They understand if their carefully designed and crafted product doesn’t  hold up under “normal” routine maintenance, they will have a big problem when it looks bad in a few years.

Impact of Trends on Cleaning Surfaces

Q:  Fashion trends seem to be something that attracts decorators and architects, but these can have big effects on less ‘sexy’ industries too, such as the cleaning industry.  What trends did you notice this year?

A:  TEXTURE – everywhere I looked virtually every covering seemed to be incorporating texture more than ever this year.  Texture is showing up to make laminate and luxury vinyl tile look even more like the stone, tile or wood that they tend to emulate.  We have seen this introduced in sheet vinyl earlier and in certain ceramic tile that imitate quarry stone.

There are some very good-looking ceramic and porcelain tile coming out.  I was hard-pressed to distinguish the surface appearance of porcelain tile from real marble or other natural stone.  This makes it tricky for the cleaner.  If we know we’re dealing with porcelain, we can be more aggressive chemically with an extra soiled surface than if that material surface really is true stone.  Heaven help us (and our insurers) if we are wrong in our identification.  This is why we say “when in doubt, treat the surface as if it is the more sensitive type”.  Some of this tile has amazing effects with their painted faux stone or wood design.

Q:  Painted!  That sounds like it could be less durable?

A:  The printing is done with special inks, like those used on ceramics before they are finished with their hard, durable glaze.  This is much like we’re used to seeing on special ceramic tile.

Other Flooring Trends

Q:  Did you notice other fashion and structural trends that may impact us in the coming year?

A:  I saw a great deal of luxury vinyl tile (LVT).  This is constructed with a vinyl backing under a layer of printed pattern, then covered with a wear (finish) layer on top

Unlike laminates, it is far more tolerant of moisture in the cleaning process.  This means it is less likely to cause damage when you need to give heavily soiled floors a thorough wet-mopping.  As you may already know, this has been an ongoing issue—the ‘laminate lament’ is epidemic among custodians and house cleaners.

Anything New for Carpets?

Q:  Any tips for our friends in the carpet cleaning field ?

A:  Another major trend this year was that every major carpet mill introduced a luxuriously soft, plush carpet.  Shaw calls theirs ‘Caress’, Mohawk’s is ‘Silk’, and Beaulieu’s is called ‘Bliss’.  A major caution for these new carpets is:  the use of certain vacuums with aggressive brushes and powerful vortex systems can cause pile distortion and frayed tips.  One vender said that another problem may be stress on the vacuum – he burned his personal one out in about an hour’s use.  This is a tufted type carpet, but unusually dense.  It is made with an extremely fine dernier – up to 300 filaments comprising a thread, resulting in a dense, plush finish.  Carpet cleaning results have been positive and the carpet is expected to wear well.  The fiber(s) tend to be made of recycled material at least in part.

Wood Floors – new finishes

A:  Another trend?  More pre-finished woods coming out with oil finishes.  This is a penetrating finish versus the now-common surface or topical finish like urethanes.  Cautions?  These will be less water-resistent.  They may require cleaning with a compatible cleaner, i.e. one designated by the manufacturer.  These are emulating the desireable patina of well-oiled and aged floors.  We will see these in upper-end installations.  The inappropriate use of one manufacturer’s cleaning product on a different manufacturer’s installed product can dull or dry out the appearance of the finish of the surface.  These floors will be more prone to water-spotting than we are accustomed to seeing in surface-finished hardwoods (urethane-coated).

Q:  Are there any other cautions or information to share with your fans?

A:  All six of the vinyl manufacturers I spoke with warned that we should avoid the use of acid-side cleaners in  our maintenance of them.  Apparently the acid-pH cleaners can affect the finish on those vinyls.  Let this be a warning to those who like to clean with vinegar – vinegar does not pass the ‘green’ standard (VOCs and extreme pH) and its low pH (2.5 to 3.5) is too low for many uses, including many or most vinyl products.

A:  Another noteworthy introduction was a ‘bendable’ slate surface product.  This is a very thin slice of slate bonded to a flexible backing.  It allows a ‘real’ stone facing on a wide variety of architectural detail.  For example, this material could allow the unusual appearance of a curved column covered in slate to grace the garden tub area in a master bathroom.

WRAP-UP:  As usual, the manufacturers are bringing out innovative products and designs to attract attention and to give decorators and builders the latest look and materials.  I am trying to bring you profiles on these new materials’ care before you find out the hard way that some of them require special care, caution and attention.  I still hope to write that book entitled:  “Things I wish I had known before my decorator talked me into them!” ©2013

Photo Credit:  SURFACES.com