Wool or Nylon Carpet?

Another part of the lengthy process of choosing which carpet to buy, is deciding on which fibre you want to have in your carpet. Most often found is wool, but a high percentage of nylon can be found more regularly in cheaper carpets. However just because one is found in less expensive carpets, doesn't mean to say it doesn't have its benefits.

More often than not, seeing a carpet which is 100% wool or 100% nylon is unlikely. The majority of carpets are a mixture of the two. For a quality carpet, the recommendation is to have at least 50% wool, or more if you can afford it.

So what are the advantages of the two?

Wool carpets are extremely resilient, naturally being very tough. One of their main selling points is the fact that they are flame retardant, making the carpet a lot safer than the other two choices. With the natural resilience comes a better length of life too, with the carpet looking better for longer. Wool is also notoriously easy to clean and keep looking great. Buying a wool carpet is good for the environment too, being a sustainable material and of course being environmentally friendly.

On the other hand, Nylon carpets have their own benefits too. Typically cheaper, nylon is the hardest wearing of the lot, being the most resilient of the three. While nylon carpets will generally feel harder than wool, it's simply down to being a tougher material, allowing for better stain resistance, and better wear in general. A nylon carpet can last longer than wool, but is generally found in a carpet blended of wool and nylon in order to take the benefits of both; the high resistance of nylon, but also the comfort of wool.

 

The Advantages Of A Polypropylene Carpet

 

Along with the two most popular fibres used in carpet, wool and nylon, is polypropylene. While less common that wool or nylon, it has its own distinct advantages which are slowly but surely seeing the material make a more regular appearance with flooring retailers. While wool or nylon might be the only offering of carpet retailers at the moment, you can expect to see polypropylene to feature in carpet stores very soon too.

Polypropylene is a popular flooring choice in America, growing steadily into Europe. So why is it coming into popularity?

One of its biggest selling points, is how stainproof the fibre can be. In comparison to wool and nylon, polypropylene fibre carpets are extremely stain resistant, making it ideal for families with young children, where spillages and accidents are likely to happen more often than not.

Rather than polypropylene on its own, the fibre is usually found in a blend of wool, similar to the way nylon is blended with wool. While a carpet with a mixture of nylon and wool has the tough characteristics of nylon and the comfort of wool, a wool-polypropylene carpet has characteristics which comprise of stain resistance and comfort - making it an ideal choice for areas of the home which are prone to staining; while a nylon-wool carpet would be more ideal to a heavily used area, perhaps in the workplace.

It's not just the stainproof qualities which sees polypropylene coming into popularity, though. With the material being naturally high wearing, it can last on the floor for years to come - though not quite as resilient as nylon, it does the job. The carpet also shows great ability to hold colour for a much longer period of time than wool or nylon.

Therefore for homes, especially with young children or areas which are likely to come into contact with stains, a mixture of polypropylene and wool in a carpet can be absolutely perfect. While in Europe you might find it difficult to buy a carpet other than a mixture of nylon and wool, it might be worth looking around for a retailer who can stock a polypropylene carpet, if only for the stain resistance properties being more beneficial than the resistant but hard nylon fibre.

While nylon is great in the workplace, being durable and tough, a soft comfortable floor is more ideal for the home, and with young ones about, it can be perfect.

 

 

Why Underlay Is Vital For A New Carpet

With any new carpet, comes the recommendation to install underlay underneath the carpet at the same time. As an extra expenditure on what is an already expensive product, it can be very tempting to simply ignore the advice and go without. However advice from virtually all carpet retailers and even the office of fair trading is not something to ignore, so why should go for underlay, and what purpose does it serve?

Simply put, buying a carpet without underlay is like buying bricks without mortar. The reason being that a carpet without underlay will not be flat and even on the floor; it simply won't sit correctly. With parts of the carpet being uneven and lower than others, wear on the carpet will also be uneven, and cost you more in the long run as it wears out faster.

As well as ensuring the carpet wears correctly, evenly over the carpet rather than all in one area, underlay helps a carpet to keep a high level of appearance for longer too. As well as lasting longer, your carpet will look better for longer too.

With the wear on the carpet being much less, an underlay can see the life of a carpet be increased by up to 40%.

Secondly, underlay improves the feel of carpet under your foot by an untold amount. Suddenly your carpet will go from a very solid and uncomfortable feel, to something luxurious and ultra comfortable.

Underlay reduces costs further, as well as ensuring the wear on the carpet is even, by being a great insulator. Underlay helps keep heat and sound within the room, therefore reducing your bills now and in the long run.

Due to the noise insulation properties of underlay, acoustics of the room will be significantly improved too; echo is reduced and quality of sound in the room, with correct sound insulation, will sound superb.

Ultimately and perhaps most importantly, if you buy a new carpet without underlay, you're putting yourself into a safe position. Nowadays if you buy a carpet without the underlay, therefore increasing the wear of the carpet in certain areas, you virtually tear up the warranty on your carpet right there on the spot. Most carpet manufacturers won't accept responsibility for excessive wear or damage to a carpet if there has been old underlay used, or worse yet, none at all.

So don't ignore the extra expenditure. Invest in underlay with your new carpet and you can be seeing the benefits for many years to come.