Carpet Buying Tips

Many homeowners choose carpeting because it is warm, and soft under foot. When you select a carpet you generally buy it with the expectations that your new carpet will look just like the sample in the store for many years. Having some general knowledge about the different characteristics of carpeting will help you choose the best carpet to meet your expectations.

Below are a few things to help you understand why certain carpets perform better than others.

YARN TWIST - When it comes to carpet "tighter is better" . In general terms, the tighter the twist the longer the carpet will perform before it begins to crush and matt. By taking lots of fine fiber strands (called filaments) and spinning them into a tightly twisted yarn and then locking them all together with heat you get a much more resilient yarn for making carpet.

SHORTER NAP - The height of the carpet's nap is also important to the overall performance of the carpet. The higher the yarn stands above the backing of the carpet the more difficult it is for the manufacturer to make the carpet crush and matt resistant. So the shorter the pile height the more crush resistant and the longer the like-new appearance of your carpet will last.

STITCHES PER INCH - Like most fabric materials, carpet that has more yarn (or stitches) per inch will also be more crush and matt resistant. Some carpets are so dense that it is nearly impossible to push your fingers in between the yarns. Obviously, the carpets where the yarns are so crowded and packed together will have a easier time resisting crushing.

CARPET CUSHION - A good quality carpet cushion will extend the life of any carpet, regardless of the quality of the carpet. Carpet cushion serves a vital purpose which is often over looked. Good quality carpet cushion acts as both a shock absorber and a spring which helps improve a carpet's overall performance. Review the carpet manufacturer's cushion recommendations prior to purchasing a carpet.

CONTINUOUS FILAMENT NYLON (CFN) - If you see on the back of a carpet sample a label that says "CFN" , or "BCF" , that means this carpet is made from continuous filament nylon. Continuous filament nylon starts out as one long continuous strand before made into yarn. The other type is called staple nylon , which means each fine filament starts out as a short strand about 7 inches long before it is spun into yarn and then tufted into carpet. As the short, unsecured pieces of staple nylon come loose from the yarn pile you get pilling on the surface of the carpet. This does not happen with a continuous nylon carpet.

LOOPED CARPETS - From level loops to berbers there is an important factor to look for when buying a crush resistant looped carpet. This is the density of the loop and how much free space is in the middle of the loop. Like all carpets the more filaments that are packed in the yarn and the tighter the loop the better the performance will be.