Clients ask me constantly what carpet to choose in the future. Its important to take the advice from carpet salespeople with a grain of salt. Remember that they don’t see the client again until they come back in 20 years to purchase carpeting again. They have no reference to how their product performs in everyday use and usually don’t care.
Rarely is the original salesperson still in the business when the time comes to re-carpet. Furthermore, they’re not in the trenches everyday like the cleaners are. We actually see how the product is holding up and how it responds to soiling and the cleaning process. You wouldn’t ask the General what the bullets sound like when the whizz overhead… you’d ask the soldiers.
My advice for seeing how carpets hold up is simple:
Nylon
Nylon is quite simply the most durable, plyible crush resistant fiber made. Stay away from polyester and olefin fibers as they have poor resiliency and wearability.
A few things to consider with nylon
Today there’s a variety of upgrades when choosing your carpet and if price is of no concern, I’d strongly recommend choosing each option.
First and foremost, you should choose a nylon fiber that is ‘Stain Resistant’. This is a process by which they bake a clear dye into the fiber so that it resists any foreign dyes.
Secondly, look for a yarn that is comprised of continuous filaments. This means the yarn isn’t made from chopped pieces of fiber and it won’t shed or wear improperly.
Last, if you can get a solution dyed nylon, this is the best for color loss and staining. The dye is added into the molten plastic before its excreted to fiber. The dye is essentially built into the fiber instead of post dyed in which they dye it afterwards.
Also insure that whatever your carpet is made from and make sure your cleaning professional offers you the option to have your carpeting re protected when it’s cleaned with Scotchguard or Teflon to increase its resiliency to dry soil.
Wool
Wool is luxurious and comfortable but prone to staining and biological degradation. Wool should only be chosen by those who have fastidious tendencies toward upkeep in their home. (No kids or pets)