For many homeowners in Carlsbad, carpet is a popular flooring option for bedrooms, living rooms, and anywhere they want a plush, warm floor under their feet. While carpet isn’t a good choice for kitchens and bathrooms, elsewhere in a home it offers warmth, sound-proofing, insulation, and style. Here is what you need to know before you buy carpet flooring, including the types to choose from and how to keep it looking its best.
Popular Carpet Materials
Carpet is the most versatile flooring options available, with endless colors, styles, and patterns. Most carpets today are made from synthetic materials like polyester and nylon, which offers better resistance to traffic and stains. Each material offers unique benefits:
Styles of Carpeting
Along with choosing a material, you can also select the style of carpeting that best fits your needs. Carpet can be constructed in different ways to achieve various heights and textures. One of the most popular options is Berber, or loop carpet, which has large, uncut loops that vary in size. Loop carpeting is very dense and incredibly stain resistant, but it’s not the best choice if you have pets because claws can easily snag the fibers. The second most popular option is textured carpeting, which has two-toned yarn with an uneven texture. Textured carpeting is made with tight twists that resist soil.
For high-traffic areas, shag carpet is a good choice. This type of carpet has a short, twisted pile with fibers that curl in every direction to hide footprints and marks. If you want a high-end and smooth look, you may want to consider plush carpeting. This style has very closely-packed yarns, although it does show vacuum marks and footprints easily. The most unique style is pattern carpeting, which combines cut and loop pile to create patterns and textures on the surface.
How to Care for Carpet
Today’s carpeting options are much better at resisting wear and stains than materials of the past, but it’s still important to maintain carpet to keep it looking its best. When properly maintained, carpeting can last for many years and retain its softness and color. Vacuum your carpet regularly to keep dirt from becoming embedded in the fiber. You may want to use a vacuum with a beater bar, rotating brush, or suction only, depending on the style of carpet.
Treat spills on the carpet immediately. With most carpets, you can use a simple spot remover made from 1/4 cup of liquid laundry detergent and 1 cup cold water as needed. Always blot spills. Never scrub. Most manufacturers also recommend professional carpet cleaning every 12 to 18 months to remove ground-in debris and allergens.
If you need carpet or another type of flooring installed in your home, get in touch with Unique Flooring for information on our professional floor installation. Carlsbad homeowners can stop by our showroom or give us a call today at 760-945-0010 for a free quote.
Popular Carpet Materials
Carpet is the most versatile flooring options available, with endless colors, styles, and patterns. Most carpets today are made from synthetic materials like polyester and nylon, which offers better resistance to traffic and stains. Each material offers unique benefits:
- Olefin offers the feel and look of wool with better performance. It’s resistant to moisture, stains, pilling, static, and shedding. It’s also colorfast, although it can flatten over time.
- Nylon is the most common material for carpet. It’s a great choice for high-traffic areas, as it’s the most durable solution and easy to clean. While nylon can pill, it’s non-allergenic and dirt-resistant.
- Polyester is less durable than nylon, but it’s also non-allergenic and comes in a huge variety of colors and styles. Polyester carpet resists mildew and is easy to clean.
- Acrylic is the closest synthetic match to wool, and it has great resistance to static, mildew, and dirt. It’s very easy to clean and less likely to fade in sunlight than other options.
Styles of Carpeting
Along with choosing a material, you can also select the style of carpeting that best fits your needs. Carpet can be constructed in different ways to achieve various heights and textures. One of the most popular options is Berber, or loop carpet, which has large, uncut loops that vary in size. Loop carpeting is very dense and incredibly stain resistant, but it’s not the best choice if you have pets because claws can easily snag the fibers. The second most popular option is textured carpeting, which has two-toned yarn with an uneven texture. Textured carpeting is made with tight twists that resist soil.
For high-traffic areas, shag carpet is a good choice. This type of carpet has a short, twisted pile with fibers that curl in every direction to hide footprints and marks. If you want a high-end and smooth look, you may want to consider plush carpeting. This style has very closely-packed yarns, although it does show vacuum marks and footprints easily. The most unique style is pattern carpeting, which combines cut and loop pile to create patterns and textures on the surface.
How to Care for Carpet
Today’s carpeting options are much better at resisting wear and stains than materials of the past, but it’s still important to maintain carpet to keep it looking its best. When properly maintained, carpeting can last for many years and retain its softness and color. Vacuum your carpet regularly to keep dirt from becoming embedded in the fiber. You may want to use a vacuum with a beater bar, rotating brush, or suction only, depending on the style of carpet.
Treat spills on the carpet immediately. With most carpets, you can use a simple spot remover made from 1/4 cup of liquid laundry detergent and 1 cup cold water as needed. Always blot spills. Never scrub. Most manufacturers also recommend professional carpet cleaning every 12 to 18 months to remove ground-in debris and allergens.
If you need carpet or another type of flooring installed in your home, get in touch with Unique Flooring for information on our professional floor installation. Carlsbad homeowners can stop by our showroom or give us a call today at 760-945-0010 for a free quote.