Carpet Capers: Picking The Carpet That Suits Your Lifestyle
September 6th, 2008

There is no other flooring option that offers the comfort and quiet of carpet. Now there are not only many colors and patterns of carpets to choose from - there are also a variety of types to suit any household and decor.

Carpet is a good choice because it is warm and soft, particularly on children when crawling or playing on the floor. Carpet is much quieter than other flooring options, particularly hard wood surfaces. Carpeting is also an economical option because the product itself and installation fees are much lower than other flooring types.

Here is an overview of the main carpet types of the market today.

Saxony: Saxony carpet is smooth and has a cut-pile surface. It is used mainly in traditional or formal rooms.

Textured Saxony or Shag: This type of carpet has a more relaxed appearance and is very popular for families. The textured surface of this type helps to hide footprints, which means less upkeep for you.

Velvet: As the name might imply, this is a type appropriate for very formal and elegant rooms. It has a very fine sheared surface. Because of its suitability to formal rooms and the upkeep required, this is not as popular an option as other carpet types.

Frieze: This kind of carpet is extremely durable so it is perfect for rooms that see a lot of activity. It has a textured almost knobby appearance, which makes it a less popular option even though it does stand up well to wear.

Cut and Loop (or Random-Sheared): Cut and loop has a very distinctive appearance with cuts and loops of different sizes on the surface. It works in a variety of rooms since the multi-colors and multi-layers help hide traffic and stains.

Level loop and Multi-Level Loop: These two types of carpets are made up of loops (with level loop, all the loops are level, whereas with multi-loop there are different levels of loops). Both of these are very durable and stand up well in high traffic areas. They have a casual rather than elegant appearance.

Once you've decided on the type of carpet you want to put in, you need to keep a few other things in mind.

You will need to take into consideration the different types of carpet fibers: nylon, olefin, polyester, acrylic and wool. Nylon is the most popular of these fibers because of cost and its ability to hide wear and stains. The other types of fibers have other benefits, but there is nothing that can match the durability and brilliant coloring of nylon fibers.

Knowing about yarn twists will also come in handy. With carpet, the rule is the tighter the yarn twist is the better. You want to look for a carpet with a shorter nap. The longer the nap the more difficult it is for the carpet to be crush resistant. Your carpet will look newer longer if you choose one with a shorter nap. The stitches per inch also contribute to the crush resistance of a carpet. Try to choose a carpet that has more yarn or stitches per inch to increase your carpet's matt and crush resistance. If you are buying a looped carpet, then you need to look at the density of the loop and the amount of space right in the middle of the loop, because the tighter the loop, the better the wear will be.

Once you've decided on the type of carpet (taking into consideration the fibers, nap and yarn twist), you'll need to pick a pattern and a color. There are many, many options out there nowadays. You may want to consider a solid, neutral color that will go with many wall and furnishing colors and patterns. You don't want to have to change your carpet every time you redecorate, so try to select something that is versatile.

To help keep your carpet looking new, there are some basic maintenance steps to follow. You want to vacuum regularly and remove carpet stains as soon as you notice them. The longer a stain sits, the most difficult it is to remove. You can also practice some preventative measures (like using mats and runners in high traffic entry ways) to reduce the wear on your carpet

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