Carpet & Rug Facts
Texture
The texture of a carpet will play an integral role in determining how it will perform. Here are some common residential carpet textures.
Textured Saxony - This texture is often called "trackless", and it is the most popular style in today's carpet market. It offers a solid color surface like a velvet, but with a rougher finish that helps to minimize sweeper marks and footprints.
Berber - Berbers are in high demand lately. The looped construction offers exceptional durability, and a unique look. Many berbers are patterned, which can give a high styled look not available with most other textures.
Velvet - Sometimes referred to as a "plush", velvets are smooth finished carpets with a rich, velvety look. They are most suited, although not exclusive, to formal areas such as living rooms, and dining rooms.
Freize© - Pronounced "fra-zay", these carpets feature a high twist level and loose pile that creates a rough, shaggy look. The twist level provides durability, while the looser pile provides comfort. This carpet is a popular compromise between the two.
Shag (Cut And Loop) - These carpets are often called "sculptures", because of the pattern formed in the face of the carpet by the looped areas. Cut and loops provide a casual setting, and are usually found in family rooms and rec-rooms.
Shag (Multi-colored Saxony) - Gaining in popularity, these carpets are often referred to as "tweeds". They offer the smoother surface of a textured saxony, with the multicolored look often associated with cut and loops.
Fiber Type
Here is a listing of the most popular residential carpet fibers, along with some notes about their performance characteristics:
Nylon - By far the most popular of all carpet fibers, nylon accounts for over 55% of all carpets made today. It's high abrasion resistance, resiliency, and receptiveness to dyeing, make nylon the most versatile of all carpet fibers. The major weakness of the nylon fiber is that it is easily stained, and prone to fading. Most nylon carpets today feature a stain resistance treatment to help prevent this. Nylon is available in both staple and continuous filament forms.
Polyester - Although not as inherently resilient as nylon, polyester offers an exceptional value. Less costly to produce, polyester carpeting is usually significantly heavier than similarly priced nylon carpets,and will perform well if used in a properly constructed carpet. Polyester is used in about 7% of all carpets, and it's market share is growing by leaps and bounds. Polyester is primarily available in staple form, however continuous filament polyester is slowly coming to market.
Polypropylene - 37% of carpeting today is made of polypropylene, (a.k.a. olefin). The polypropylene fibers most remarkable characteristic is that it is hydrophobic, and is nearly impossible to stain. In fact, you could pour bleach onto a 100% polypropylene carpet* and it would not discolor. Polypropylene is not as resilient as nylon, but like polyester, will perform well in a properly constructed carpet. Polypropylene fiber used in carpeting is always continuous filament.
Wool - There was a time when wool was the fiber of choice for carpeting, but now it accounts for only 1% of current carpet production. While wool carpet is costly, it's luxury and longevity are unsurpassed. Wool is a natural product and is therefore only available in staple form.
*Pouring bleach, or any other harsh chemical onto your carpeting could damage the carpet backing, and is not advised.
Construction
Here are some notes about carpet construction to keep in mind when selecting your new carpet.
Fiber Quality - There are two primary facets of fiber quality, twist level, and finish. If you closely examine a carpet you will get a look at these characteristics.
- Twist - Carpet yarns are twisted in the manufacturing process. This twist is important to the resiliency of your carpet, a carpet fiber with a higher amount of twist will generally be more durable, and have better texture retention. Fibers with a low amount of twist will become matted much quicker.
- Finish - The finish of a carpet can be seen by looking closely at the surface. If the tips of the yarns are well defined and tightly twisted, and if you don't see a lot of "fuzz" or loose fibers, then the carpet probably has a very clean finish. The carpets with the cleanest finish are usually, but not always, made of continuous filament fibers. A continuous filament fiber is not susceptible to shedding, and fuzzing.
Density - The density of a carpet is very important, in fact it is probably one of the primary factors in determining how your carpet will perform. Density can often overcome any other shortcomings a carpet may have. For example, although nylon fibers are more resilient than polyester fibers, a short, super dense polyester carpet could outperform a "fluffy", low density nylon carpet.
Thickness - The thickness, or pile height, of a carpet is not a measure of it's quality. This is a misconception that is widely held. Thickness is a measure of luxury, and is not undesirable in a carpeting, but don't assume that a thick carpet will perform better than a thin one. Density and twist levels are better indicators of the performance you can expect.
Carpet Cushion
Selecting the right foundation for your floor will greatly improve the performance of your carpet. Cushion makes your carpet feel better, improves insulation, increases the efficiency of vacuuming, reduces noise, and helps absorb wear and tear.
Common types of carpet cushion:
Bonded Urethane - Bonded urethane foam cushions are made by grinding flexible polyurethane foam into small particles and bonding them together with a chemical adhesive. The quality is measured by the foam density, or weight of the material per cubic foot. Bonded cushion is commonly called "rebond", and provides an excellent combination of performance and value.
Prime Urethane - There are three types of prime urethane carpet cushion: conventional prime, grafted prime, and densified prime. Conventional prime and grafted prime urethane cushion are manufactured by a chemical mixing reaction process. There are many types of prime urethane available today with a variety of density and firmness. Densified prime urethane cushion is manufactured much like conventional prime, however the chemical structure is modified during the reaction process to produce a product with improved performance characteristics. The quality is measured by the foam density, or weight of the material per cubic foot.
Sponge Rubber - There are two common variants of sponge rubber cushion, flat sponge and rippled sponge. Flat sponge cushion generally offers a firm feel, while rippled sponge provides a softer feel. The quality of sponge rubber cushion is measured by its weight in ounces per square yard.
Fiber - There are three common types of fiber cushion, natural fiber (such as hair or jute), synthetic fiber (made of nylon, polypropylene etc.), and resinated textile fiber (made of recycled textiles). The quality of fiber cushion is measured by its weight in ounces per square yard. Fiber cushion is commonly called "felt", and is an excellent choice for commercial installations.