Warranties & Product Claims

By: Joanne Bednar, Lab & Quality Manager

A warranty is an obligation or guarantee that a product or service is as it is factually stated. That being said, what does Amerimulch warranty?

We can factually state that every batch Amerimulch produces is quality checked to be in compliance with quality specifications. The QC (quality control) acceptable ranges for these quality parameters [pH, viscosity-initial and final, wpg (weight per gallon), percent solids, D.E. color measurement and color strength] have been established by color for every product that is shipped to ensure lot-to-lot consistency day after day and, year after year. If all the quality checks do NOT fall within specified ranges the product does NOT ship.

What else can be stated as fact? Synthetic iron oxides, which are what we use to produce our products are rated as having “excellent” light fastness. These pigments are used because of their high performance characteristics. Their Blue Wool Scale rating is between seven and eight with eight being the highest rating (excellent). We have an internal Blue Wool Scale test underway for every one of our colorants.

We do not make any claims or guarantees regarding our product performance on the color-enriched mulch, because we do not control the production process of coloring the mulch, nor can we control the mulch substrate that is used. We cannot factually state what the source of the mulch substrate is, what the moisture content is, the age of the substrate, the color of the substrate or if the wood fiber contains any mold spores; all variables that impact the consistency of the end product.

If you want to make your own product guarantee we can assist you as we have for other customers. We use accelerated weathering testing which is equivalent to 18 to 24 months of outdoor exposure. The results of our past testing showed that increased use rates resulted in less color loss than any of the additive packages used to improve color stability because the wood fiber material breaks down long before the colorant.

For the best coloring results we recommend:

• Mix prior to use
• Do not freeze
• Reduce percentage of fines (meaning ¼” or less)
• Use fresh wood for red and aged wood for brown and black

We can factually state that we will continue to work with our customers, earning their business and supporting them however we can.