Carpets with surfactant-stabilized emulsion polymer carpet binders for improved processability

Disclosed are improved carpet products made using certain types of coating compositions to secure carpet fibers to a carpet backing or substrates and/or to secure one or more carpet scrims or other layers to carpet backing. The coating compositions, which can be in the form of either precoating or skip coating compositions, are made from latex binder emulsions based on interpolymers emulsion polymerized from vinyl esters, ethylene, and a multifunctional cross-linking co-monomer such as an unsaturated silane. Such emulsions are also stabilized with surfactant emulsifiers but are substantially free of protective colloid stabilizers. The multifunctional co-monomer alters interpolymer molecular weight, branching and/or flow properties such that films formed from such interpolymers exhibit relatively low elongation values. When the emulsion binder exhibits such non-elongating film-forming characteristics, the carpet coating composition made from such binders can be easily processed without build-up on carpet processing apparatus. Such binder emulsions which are stabilized substantially only with surfactant emulsifiers, and not with protective colloids, also have excellent compatibility with other coating composition components.