Carpet Facts!

CARPET FACTS:

FIBER is related to
stain resistance and fade resistance.

CONSTRUCTION and STYLE affect
cleanability and wear resistance.

Don't count on brand comparisons,
as different retailers may sell
the same carpet under different names.

From store to store,
you will see brands such as
Stainmaster by DuPont,
Wear-Dated by Solutia
(formerly Monsanto),
and Anso by Allied Signal.

Those are
brands of fiber
not
brands of carpet,
as many people think.

New improvements may not be any better,
best to check the latest Consumer Reports.

Branded nylon showed
very good to excellent stain resistance,
even after being trod upon for the
equivalent of a year of extremely heavy use.

Most unbranded nylon,
even when treated with a finish such as Scotchguard,
stained easily.

The price of a carpet
depends largely on its
fiber content,
pile weight,
and style.

Wool is very expensive
compared with synthetics.

Nylon may cost more than
polyester or olefin.

Branded fiber
tends to cost more than
unbranded.

Nylon is the best-selling carpet fiber.

It's mildew-resistant and offers
good resiliency
and
resistance to abrasion.

Branded nylon generally performed
better
than unbranded.

Unbranded nylon has
more than twice as much stain repellent
on the top quarter-inch of the carpet as the base of the yarn,
indicating that repellent is sprayed only on the surface.

Branded nylon is treated with
stain and soil repellent before
the backing is put on the carpet,
allowing for a more thorough job.

$11 per
square yard for a cut-pile nylon carpet.

$30 for
a multilevel-loop style.

Olefin, or polypropylene,
is the next-best seller after nylon.

It generally resists
staining, fading, abrasion,
and moisture,
making it a
good choice for a basement playroom.

Blending olefin with nylon may
improve a carpet's resiliency,
but that can create another problem.
If the nylon isn't treated and you spill,
say, raspberry sorbet,
you could end up with a candy-cane look
where the olefin fibers don't pick up the stain,
but the nylon fibers do.

Olefin cost about
$7.50 to $22 per square yard.

Polyester
resists staining, but its resiliency is only fair.

$8.50 per square yard for a
relatively light-weight polyester cut pile,
and almost twice as much for one that is about
60 percent heavier.

Wool
is the standard against which synthetic carpets are measured.
It has outstanding resiliency,
comparable to that of nylon,
so its crushing and matting resistance
are very good.

But wool may abrade.
It also stains easily.
Wool also tends to yellow in bright sun.

Wool carpets cost
about $24 per square yard for a
Berber-style
to $66 for a heavier cut pile.

Acrylic is more like wool
in appearance and feel than other synthetics.

It resists
moisture, mildew, and fading,
making it a good choice for a sun room.

It resists
crushing and staining, too.

But acrylic
isn't very resilient
or abrasion-resistant,
so keep it out of high-traffic areas.

Cut pile styles,
including saxony and plush,
are made of yarn that's
attached to the backing and cut at the top.

The deeper and thicker the pile,
the more luxurious the carpet may seem,
but the more likely it is to retain dirt.

Cut pile generally crushes under foot traffic more than other styles of carpeting.

It's best for a formal living room
or a master bedroom.

In a level loop,
yarn is looped over so both ends
are attached to the backing.

Short, densely spaced loops may not feel very soft,
but they provide a smooth surface
that wears well and is fairly easy to vacuum
because there aren't crevices for dirt to sink into.

It's good for
stairs,
family rooms,
and other high-traffic areas.

Low-density level loop doesn't perform as well.

Multilevel loop has long and short loops
that give a textured appearance.

Because the low loops
create pockets that break vacuum-cleaner suction
while allowing soil to accumulate,
the style tends to retain a lot of dirt.

Berber is a variation of level loop,
but with thicker yarn that may snag easily
and be hard to clean.

Genuine Berber is handmade from wool.

Less expensive Berber-style carpeting can be
made of
wool, nylon, olefin, or a nylon blend.

Berber, like the multilevel-loop styles,
isn't good for a foyer or a busy family room.

Padding.
Retailers may include padding in the price of a carpet, but
often it's cheap, low-density padding that
you can easily compress between your fingers.
It will feel spongy underfoot and won't provide
enough support for the carpet.
It's also better to avoid rebond,
a relatively inexpensive padding of multicolored foam.

The best choice is
medium-density padding up to
seven-sixteenths of an inch thick,
made of prime urethane or rubber.
You'll probably pay extra for it,
but the carpeting will wear better and feel more comfortable.

Installation.
Most people arrange this through the retailer,
who sends employees or a subcontractor
to do the job.
Work out the details beforehand,
and get them in writing.
Decide, for example,
who will be responsible for trimming doors,
if that's necessary.

It's worth investing $2 in the
Carpet and Rug Institute's
installation guidelines
(800 882-8846)
ask for the
CRI 105 Standard Industry Reference Guide
for Installation of
Residential Textile Floor Covering Materials.
The booklet provides useful information
such as
which tools
an installer should use
and how carpeting should be positioned
near a wall.

When the installer arrives,
ask to keep the identifying label
from
the plastic that the carpet comes wrapped in.
That will probably be your
only official record showing
that you received what you ordered.
Ask
also for a scrap of the carpet,
at least 12x24 inches,
and file that along with
the label, the sales receipt, and the warranty.
This documentation can be important
if you have a problem later.
Have the installer inspect
the carpet surface and backing for flaws
before it's installed.
Anything less than perfect warrants
a call to the retailer.
Any disagreement with the installer warrants
a call to the retailer,
too.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONSUMER REPORTS

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