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Different carpet textures and patterns are available
at Nadine Floor Company in Frisco on 15 Jan. 2022.
photos by Mark M. Hancock / DFWmark.com |
Whether we live in a house or apartment, we’re all familiar with carpet. It’s at the office, hotels, movie theaters and businesses. Let’s consider some carpet options before you need to install or replace it. Use elimination to get to the correct carpet for your needs. Consider where you plan to use the carpet, how you live, how long must the carpet last and what you need the carpet to do.
Grades of carpet
Carpet can be purchased in dozens of grades. They’re broken down into “builder grade,” mid-grade and luxury.
Builder grade carpets are inexpensive and intended to last 3 to 5 years. These are often polyester at 22 to 30 ounces (see below) and start under $10 per square yard.
Mid-grade carpets are intended to last 6 to 15 years. These are 30 to 40 ounces. Prices start just below $20 per square yard. These often use nylon or Triexta materials.
Luxury grade carpets are intended to last 15 to 20 years. These are typically nylon or wool. These are the most durable options with much better backing systems and high pile densities. Expect prices to start just below $50 per square yard and rise rapidly.
Where do we put carpet?
The two most important considerations are location of the carpet and long-term intentions.
Heavily trafficked areas of a house are good for “hard” floors such as wood, ceramic tile, stone or luxury vinyl plank (lux). Kitchens and bathrooms are considered “wet areas.” These also typically need tile, stone or lux to repel water and other spills.
Carpet often costs less, so it’s placed in less-traveled areas like bedrooms, media rooms and closets. Areas that need sound absorption – like media or playrooms – use the carpet to muffle noises. Carpet is also a good option in some home offices to avoid heavy wear on a wood floor while providing less echo for phone conversations. Finally, carpet helps with insulation and can reduce energy use.
Colors
Neutral colors go with any décor. It’s often best to use one color or type of carpet throughout the house to tie the house together. However, areas separated by expanses of tile or wood can use different carpet options.
Carpets that match the walls tend to make the room look bigger. The floors visually carry up onto the walls. Darker carpets create contrast but may make the room feel smaller. Media rooms need to have darker neutral colors to avoid light reflections.
Parts of carpet
Face yarn is the top layer of the carpet. It is often called “pile.” Low cut pile tends to be easier to clean and doesn’t show traffic as much as longer pile, which is often softer and hides dirt but shows footprints and vacuum patterns. Each strand of the carpet is called a tuft because it is a collection of twisted threads.
Denier is the thickness of the nylon strand in the tufts. Denier has to do with the carpet softness. Thicker carpets are often considered better especially when the actual fibers have a thin denier. Thin denier fiber breaks easier, so it isn’t as durable as heavier grades.
Carpet has both primary and secondary backing. Primary backing provides support for the carpet tufts while secondary backing provides a barrier from the padding and floor. Secondary backing is visible on the back of the carpet. It provides stiffness and stability to support the yarn. It helps the carpet remain in one place after installation. There are anti-mold backings.
Carpet is manufactured in the U.S. in either 12 feet, 13.5 feet or 15 feet widths. When a wider area is needed, carpet can be joined with a seaming iron and seam tape. It is affixed to the floor over a carpet pad with nails and tack strips.
Carpet fibers
The most important factor of carpet performance is fiber type. Carpet fibers are either natural or synthetic.
Wool carpet is naturally soft, strong and fire resistant. It’s useful in high-traffic areas. It has excellent insulating properties. It’s often combined with synthetic materials to increase durability.
Because it has natural fibers, it is likely to collect dust mites and can exacerbate allergies for some people. Fiber will lift for about 12 months after installation. It stains easily. It is harder to clean – especially oily or greasy stains. It isn’t a good option for houses with small children and pets. It is relatively expensive.
The main synthetic options are nylon, polyester and Triexta (SmartStrand by Mohawk).
The top fiber type is nylon. Nylon is very durable and a more expensive raw material. Nylon is petroleum based and prices are tied to the price of oil. It has been available since the 1950s and has a proven record for durability. It isn’t as stain resistant as other options, so it must be treated with coatings to protect it from stains. It doesn’t clean as easily as the other options.
Polyester is a plastic-based fiber. It is not naturally durable but very stain resistant and less expensive than nylon. It doesn’t hold up to foot traffic like nylon, but food and beverage stains can be cleaned easier. Never use polyester products on high traffic areas – especially stairs.
Triexta is a proprietary product created by Mohawk around 2005 and became publicly available around 2009. It combines durability with stain resistance. It is not as durable as nylon, but better than polyester. It offers longer texture retention and stain warranties than nylon. However, it’s too new to verify the durability claims. Additionally, it’s generally less expensive to produce than nylon.
Corn glucose replaces some of the petroleum used in Triexta. This makes a product with fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than nylon, which can evaporate and have some known health risks. It is inherently stain resistant and needs no additional treatment to make it resist stains. It can be deep cleaned with hot water alone and is bleach resistant.
Buyers who plan to own the house a while and want a durable option should go with nylon or Triexta for durability.
Meanwhile, sellers are best served with a polyester carpet that will look great for showing. Aim for a high ounce weight that is comfortable to walk on and presents well to a potential buyer without the expense of a long-term commitment. It doesn’t matter much because the buyers are likely to replace the carpet with a different flooring type or simply another color.
Guest rooms and closets, which have very little traffic are also a good candidate for polyester carpet since traffic isn’t a factor. A higher weight polyester carpet will feel better and cost less for seldom-used spaces.
If stains and soiling are a concern, Triexta is a better option than nylon because it’s easier to clean. Ideally, this is a better option around young kids and pets.
Ounce weight is a measurement of how much yarn is in one square yard of the carpet. This is where material type matters. A higher ounce weight of the same material typically means a higher quality carpet. However, nylon is more durable than polyester and can have a lower ounce weight for the same durability level. Ounce weight often isn’t listed on the product to avoid confusion.
Construction of the pile can be looped or cut. When made of the same materials, looped carpets will have more durability. However, cut pile nylon will have more durability than looped polyester.
Pad or cushion selection
Pad measurements include thickness and density. Thickness is the pad’s depth. Density is the weight per cubic foot. The standard cushion is 7/16” thick, 6 lb. density.
A ½” thick, 8 lb. density is and upgraded cushion. It can be a rebonded scrap product or 100 percent memory foam that is also rebonded. It will typically have a moisture protectant layer or treatment. This treatment stops dirt just below the carpet to prevent the soil from spreading or pooling under the pad, which is the greatest benefit of this level of cushion.
Premium grade cushions are ½” thick, 8 lb. cushion with a moisture barrier, but are a pure foam construction rather than rebonded from scraps. The greatest benefit is additional comfort with some added durability and additional warranty coverage.
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| Patterns are sheared from the tuft loops. |
Types of carpet
Plush carpet is a soft carpet. It often has long fiber strands. It shows footprints and vacuum marks as directional patterns also called “shading.” The long strands are more likely to mat and don’t wear as well as lower-cut carpets. It will hold more dirt and soil than lower cut carpets.
A twist pile has the benefit of a plush carpet without the directional patterns. The fibers are raised, but because they are twisted, the fibers hold themselves up rather than laying down and showing directional patterns.
Shag or frieze carpet are longer strands. Shag carpet will lay down and can mat. Frieze is a modern version that is a twist pile variation. Frieze carpet is durable due to the high twists. Both carpets “flop” and can both be patterned with a carpet rake and tend to hide dirt and seams. However, it is more difficult to clean than shorter pile carpet. Often it’s best to remove the beater bar from vacuums over these carpets.
Textured carpets have crimped yarn and use multiple colors to hide vacuum marks and footprints. This is a good choice for family rooms and heavy traffic areas. It’s good for children and pets.
Berber or looped carpet is good for high traffic areas. Low looped carpets don’t show any pattern markings. It’s much easier to maintain and clean. Seams will be more easily seen, so stairs and hallways are perfect while a large family room might not be.
Pattern carpet is a combination between a loop and a plush. It’s made as two different loops with one set sheared during manufacture. It’s often monotone with the pattern resulting from the shear pattern of longer loops while keeping shorter loops. It’s more formal and often used in bedrooms. It wears well and shows less pattern markings from foot traffic and vacuums.
Carpet used in commercial settings can use double loop patterns to reenforce durability and cleaning ease while including style.
Carpet warranties
Carpet manufacturers want you to keep the original installation invoice, a copy of the sample label and cleaning receipts. These are the basis for their product warranty.
Warranties are often printed on the back of store samples at the time of purchase. Make cell phone photos of these labels and keep them in a specific folder with other warranty items for rapid recall if needed. It’s also a good idea to keep a large sample from the installation for future repairs. Use Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) trained installers to ensure warranty coverage.
Carpet life depends on the quality of the carpet itself. Quality is considered in terms of abrasion, fade resistance, texture retention and manufacture defects. The lowest grade carpet is often called “apartment” or “builder grade.” While some apartments do have upscale carpets, most intend to replace the carpets every few years as a matter of wear and tear. However, “builder grade” is a misnomer because quality builders use quality products.
“New carpet smell” results from latex used to lock tufts in place. This smell is expected to dissipate within three days after installation.
Large areas will have carpet seams. They will be visible. If they run perpendicular to windows, it minimizes light reflections off the seam.
Some manufacturers include additional or extended warranty coverage if specific cushions are purchased simultaneously. Check with the carpet dealer to verify the selected products conform. When possible, spend a few bucks extra to get a few more years of warranty coverage, make warranty transferrable, and include stairs.
“Lifetime” isn’t your life
The “lifetime” of a carpet is stated at the time of purchase. The “lifetime warranty” is predicated on the lifetime of the specific carpet. Any warranties are prorated according to the lifetime of the specific carpet.
For example, a carpet with a 20-year lifetime is 100% covered for manufacture defects through the first 7 years. Then, prorations may begin affecting the warranty. Meanwhile, a carpet with a 5-year warranty will be rated at 50% by year three and have no warranty past the five-year mark.
Crushing on your carpet
Heavy objects will bend and crush carpet to leave indentations. Furniture coasters distribute weight to mitigate some of the pressure. Heavily trafficked areas will also exhibit carpet crush. A vacuum with a beater brush will assist in getting the carpet to retain its shape in high traffic areas.
Maintenance
Foot traffic drives soil and other particles deeper into carpet. High traffic areas need to be vacuumed daily while medium trafficked areas should be vacuumed twice weekly, and the remainder of the house should be vacuumed weekly.
Larger and oily particles will cling to carpet fibers. Manufacturers recommend carpets should be professionally cleaned at least once each 18 months with products and procedures certified with the CRI Seal of Approval.
Stain removal
Use a spoon or dull butter knife to remove solid materials from the carpet strands. Work from the outside to the inside of the stain. Use a towel or paper towel dampened with warm water to blot up liquid spills.
For stains caused by oil-based or greasy products, make a solution of ¼ teaspoon of clear dishwashing detergent and 1 cup of water. For most other stains, mix ½ cup of white vinegar with 1 cup of lukewarm water.
Apply directly with a cloth. Wipe gently and turn the cloth frequently while trying to lift the oil away. Never brush, scrub or rub. If necessary, use your fingers to work the cleaning solution to the base of the carpet strands.
Use lukewarm water to rinse the area. Cover the wet area with a dry towel or paper towel and apply pressure to blot away moisture.
Carpet is a filter
Carpet is a large secondary filter. The primary filter is in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) system. It directly filters air. Carpets are a secondary filter that collects heavier particles.
This is both good and bad. It’s good because the carpet holds dirt in place until it’s vacuumed. It’s bad for the same reason.
I've Got Your Six!
Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build certified
214-862-7212
DFWmark.com
