Almost every carpet will lighten in color or fade over a period of time. The extent of the damage depends on: the location, exposure, color, intensity, and type of dye, and method of dyeing. A rug that has been solution-dyed (or producer-colored) is least susceptible to sunfading. The pigments are added to the polymer before the fibers are formed, locking in the color. Most polypropylene (olefin), many acrylics, and some polyester and nylon rugs are dyed using this method.
Lighter shades will usually fade more quickly than darker shades because they contain less dye. Most dyes are composed of two or more colors. If one color is affected more than the others, the fading may appear as a color change rather than a lightening of the color. For example, a green carpet yarn is made from blue and yellow dyes. If the yellow dye is affected and the blue is not, the green rug may be turning more blue. In other instances the colors may fade uniformly, appearing as a lighter shade of the original color. In severe cases the color may be completely removed and can appear to be "bleached" white. The fiber itself can also deteriorate.
You may able to prevent carpet from fading in sunny locations by keeping the windows covered with draperies or by treating the windows with a UV cover (tint) to filter the ultra violet rays. If you live in an area where sunlight fading is a problem, shop carefully for your next rug.
Very often, this problem can be solved by moving your rugs around the house every six months or so. If you want the rug to stay put, just turn it around so the area that is exposed to sunlight is moved and levelled out. It's always good practive to move your rugs around the house if you can so that they get a change of placement, wear and UV exposure - tactics such as these could extend the life of your rugs by years.
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