Manufacturer Gives America "License To Spill," Challenging Consumers To Stain Its Carpet

DALTON, Ga., June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mohawk is a glutton for punishment. More accurately, America's largest flooring manufacturer has put its SmartStrand carpet through some of the most punishing tests imaginable. It's all to prove that while this innovative carpet may be exceptionally soft, it's incredibly tough to stain.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130610/NY29258-a)
(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130610/NY29258-b)

In 2009, Mohawk installed SmartStrand in a rhinoceros enclosure at the Birmingham Zoo. After two brutal weeks, the carpet was cleaned using hot water extraction and normal maintenance to reveal a carpet as sparkling as the day it was installed. The following year, the company added six African elephants and three camels to the challenge; the carpet again emerged victorious. But this year, consumers are invited to dish out the dirt with the rollout of an experiential challenge, "License to Spill."

"A 'License To Spill Mobile' has been taking SmartStrand to various food festivals across the country where hundreds of people are able to spill everything from ketchup and baked beans to chocolate and soy sauce, and then watch as it comes clean with just water," explained Elise Demboski, vice president of creative services for Mohawk Industries. "I love watching peoples' amazement as tough stains just disappear."

One such stunned consumer, Pam Wattenbarger, told her followers at TheThriftyThings.com, "My jaw dropped as I watched drops of water wash away red wine stains on the light-colored carpet; how unheard of and impressive!" Wattenbarger had attended the Atlanta Dogwood Festival in April, which was one of the "License to Spill" stops. Also visited so far have been Boston, Hilton Head, Chicago and Philadelphia, with stops planned for the fall in New York, Denver, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

According to Demboski, not only is SmartStrand remarkably stain-resistant and extremely soft to the touch, it also is eco-friendly, constructed of DuPont™ Sorona®, a fiber system produced, in part, from rapidly renewable plant-based resources. "Most people expect to sacrifice key benefits when they purchase a sustainable product," she said. "It's just the opposite with SmartStrand. We've been able to measurably improve the qualities while delivering a carpet that's environmentally responsible."

You can follow the tour by visiting MohawkFlooring.com/licensetospill. Photos, videos, and stories can be found on Mohawk Flooring's Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Instagram and YouTube accounts.           

More information about Mohawk's SmartStrand family of carpets is available on www.MohawkFlooring.com or www.facebook.com/mohawkflooring. 

SOURCE Mohawk Flooring