How to Choose Your New Carpet

If you want both great style and lasting durability, there are several important factors to consider.

1. Foot Traffic
Where are you putting this carpet? Is it a high traffic area such as a hallway, a child’s room, or a family room? This is one of the most important considerations in choosing your new carpet.
There are many different fibers and methods of construction in today’s carpet industry, allowing you to have just the right carpet for each area of your home based on specific needs. It makes sense to choose a very durable carpet for the highest traffic areas so the wear and tear won’t show right away. Great choices might include a nylon carpet which is made of exceptionally durable fibers and is the most popular of today’s choices.

2. Style
Are you more interested in a carpet that will easily blend into your décor and become a subtle background for your room, or would you rather make a bold statement with your carpet that complements your furnishings and window treatments? The choice is surely yours and the options are many!
It’s important to think about how long you intend to stick with your carpet choice and choose wisely when it comes to color, patterns, and textures. Today’s carpet industry is far more sophisticated than in years past. You can find carpet in almost any imaginable style today with color choices that range from bright and bold to subtle and sophisticated.
Carpet with designs, patterns, and textures can provide just the right backdrop to create the atmosphere you want. Just be sure you can live with your choices for a while if you step out of the box when making your selection!

3. Durability
What is the specific need for each room you are carpeting? If you choose very durable fibers you can expect your carpet to last much longer. However, if you’re placing carpet in an area that won’t be used often, this consideration is not nearly so important. If you choose the right type of carpet for each room in your home, you should enjoy your carpet for many years.

Your primary options include nylon, olefin, polyester, acrylic, wool, or blends.

Nylon:
Is today’s most popular choice, offering resilience and resistance to stains and soils.

Olefin:
Is another popular choice because of its resistance to stains, static electricity, and moisture.

Polyester:
Is good choice and has a luxurious appearance, is easily cleaned, and is resistant to water-soluble
stains.
Acrylic:
Provides a beautiful appearance of wool with a less expensive price tag.
Wool:
Is the most luxurious of all carpeting choices but isn’t the most practical for a young family with children or high traffic areas.
Carpet Blends:
Such as acrylic/olefin and nylon/olefin are also options.

Choose Carpet that Really Works for You and Your Family
Depending on your specific needs, there are great carpet choices for you and your family – choices that will fit your lifestyle, your sense of fashion and your budget. If you do a little research before you buy, you’ll know your investment will pay off and provide the style and comfort you want for you and your family.
Once you’ve explored your carpet options, be sure to consider the care and maintenance required to keep your carpet looking attractive before you make your purchase. Choose carpet that requires the type of care you have time to provide. With normal cleaning and care, you and your family should be able to enjoy your carpet for a very long time.

Source: Direct Buy

Carpet safe? Check the label

For many years now, there's been a big concern over healthy interiors and with good reason. The air you breathe affects your health and indoor air has claim to most of the hours in your day.

Many articles have been written about pollutants in paints, wallpaper, adhesives, flooring, air coming through the air-conditioning system, plastics that emit toxins -- and the list goes on. The causes for the pollutants are many but the most talked about seems to be volatile organic compounds.

One product that draws attention in the polluting category is carpet. Many are concerned with pollutants that might be found in carpeting, particularly a brand-new carpet and the padding and adhesives used, but upon closer examination, this actually isn't always the case.

''Carpet is a safe, cost-effective and fashionable choice for many indoor settings,'' said Alexander Peykar, a leader in today's floor-covering market. Actually, according to the Carpet and Rug Institute, carpet is one of the lowest emitters of volatile organic compounds.

''Green'' seems to be the latest buzzword in interior design and many manufacturers strive to attain ''green'' status. To achieve ''green'' status for carpets, adhesives and padding, the Carpet and Rug Institute offers an in-depth testing program, called Green Label/Green Label Plus, to identify healthier carpet and rug options.

A Green Label indicates that a rug or carpet (plus, cushioning and adhesives) is emitting the lowest level of volatile organic compounds possible and indicates that a product is one of the industry's best for indoor air quality.

So, is your carpet making you sick? Check to see if it has been awarded the Green Label/Green Label Plus bill of health. If it is an old carpet, you will need to call the manufacturer. If you are purchasing a new carpet, the information should be on the label or the salesperson should be able to verify the 'greenness'' for you.

BY ROSEMARY SADEZ FRIEDMANN

Experts say don't cut corners when choosing a carpet

First, there are several types and textures.

"You have cut pile. You have loop carpets. You have twisted carpets, friezes. You have shag carpets," explained Larry Chiprut of ABC Carpet and Home. "Each one has to be used for individual applications. One is not better than another; it's a matter of individual preference and it's a matter of how you want your room to look."

The pile is the height of the carpet. A more plush, high-pile carpet will be softer under your feet and offer a luxurious feel. A low pile or flat-weave type will offer a more contemporary look.

Also think about fabric. Wool is the standard, the best of the best, but there are the synthetic fibers, like nylon and polypropylene, which are durable and will last a long time.

"Then you have the sisal fibers and the natural fibers, which are made from anything from cocoa plants to abaca, which is a banana plant, and those are the sisal fabrics used today and are very, very popular," said Chiprut.

Another option in carpeting that is very popular is eco-friendly carpeting. Some texture options are all natural, which is wool that has no dyes or chemicals and is held together by a natural adhesive, or you could go with a synthetic that is made of recycled materials or a corn product.
Experts say the true test of quality is density, which is the amount of yarn per square yard. Just touch the carpet and look at the bottom to see how tightly woven it is. The tighter it is, the better the quality.

Once you pick the carpet, make sure you have the appropriate padding.

"If you are looking to buy a flat-weave type of carpet and achieve that look, stay with that type of pad; stay with a flat pad," said Chiprut. "Don't mix a soft, spongy pad with a flat carpet just to get a soft feel. You are not accomplishing anything. If you want a softer feel, buy a softer, plusher carpet."

Lastly, experts say the key to carpeting is really the installation. Make sure you use a craftsman who will do it well, because its one area where you don't want to cut corners.