Non-adhesive bonded tufted carpet and method for making the same

A tufted carpet comprising:

• face yarns;
• a primary backing fabric, said face yarns being tufted into said primary backing fabric;
• and
• a secondary backing fabric attached to said primary backing fabric without the use of an adhesive binder, wherein said primary backing fabric and said secondary backing fabric consist essentially of polypropylene fibers having essentially the same melt temperature such that substantially all adjacent fibers of said primary backing fabric and said secondary backing fabric are thermally bonded together thereby locking substantially all of said face yarns within said primary backing fabric.

A non-wet processed tufted carpet comprising face yarns, a primary backing fabric, and a secondary backing fabric, all consisting essentially of polypropylene fibers having essentially the same melt temperature, wherein the tufted carpet is produced by the method of:

• tufting said face yarns to the primary backing fabric;
• attaching the primary backing fabric to the secondary backing fabric without the use of an adhesive binder;
• and
• heating a non-wet surface of the secondary backing fabric non-adjacent to the primary backing fabric to partially melt the polypropylene fibers of the secondary backing fabric, thereby securing the face yarn to the primary backing fabric, the method being devoid of any dyeing or wet processing step subsequent to the step of tufting said face yarn to the primary backing fabric.