Carpet Choices

There are 3 main questions that should determine the type of carpet you want to install, no.1 is in which area the carpet will be installed, no.2 is the amount of traffic it will have to take, no.3 is style, like the texture and colour choices. Below are guidelines which should make your decision a lot easier and smoother

There are 4 basic styles of carpets available

• Cut Pile: This is a dense and luxurious carpet with a level pile, this type of carpet is best suited for formal rooms and bedrooms. Might leave foot marks and vacuum marks.
• Twist Pile: This type features twisted or curled tufts, creating a texture that hides foot marks better than the cut pile carpet. More suitable for high trafic areas and thus a great all rounder for residential use.
• Loop Pile: The loop pile carpet is an great all rounder both for residential and commercial use. This is due to the fairly low pile and tight weave which makes for easy cleaning and is also available in a wide range of colour combinations.
• Needle Punch: This is a hard wearing carpet that usually gets glued down to the sub-floor, it is ideal for high-traffic areas and is specially for commercial applications.
• Variations: The above basic styles can vary from length of the pile and also the density of the pile, further more these styles are also combined to create more textured or patterned carpets. An example would be Cut/Loop which combines the Cut Pile and Loop Pile to create patterns or Berber Loop which uses thicker yarns with a lengthier loop.

Carpet Pile Fibres
What carpets are made of will influence the colour, how easy they are to clean and the durability.

• Nylon: Nylon is known for its strength and durability and is one of the more popular fibres. It has all round good properties like resistance to staining, fading, mold growth, heat, moisture and is known for its ease of cleaning and non-allergenic properties. Nylon is fairly priced and a good choice for high traffic areas making it a good all rounder
• Polypropylene: Polypropylene is fast growing in popularity due to its affordable price and exceptional stain resistance. This is a softer yarn, giving a luxurious appearance and is known for its resistance to water damage, mildew, humidity, fading and bleaching. Crushed fibres can occur due to polypropylene's poor resiliency and therefore one should steer clear of dragging furniture across the surface, as this could melt and fuse fibres together
• Polyester: Polyester is available in vibrant colours and has similar properties to Nylon, non-allergenic, moisture and wear resistant properties, high resistance to staining, does not fade easily and is also permanently anti-static, but lacks the same degree of durability.
• Wool: Unique, Natural, Soft, Luxurious and more, guarantees an exceptional experience. Wool also naturally has excellent properties like, water repellent, flame resistant, resistant to crushing, extremely durable and naturally antistatic, which improves soil resistance and ease of maintenance. Wool also has good sound and thermal insulation properties and gives unsurpassed comfort underfoot. This premium fibre is in a class of its own, as its price will reflect.
• Acrylic: Similar to wool in texture and appearance but a more affordable fibre. This fibre has average properties like resistance to dirt, mildew, moths and fading. Although acrylic is more affordable and has a wide colour range, it has a tendency to fuzz and shed and is more often used as a blend with other fibre types.
• Blends: It is a popular practice to blend the above fibre types in order to use the best properties from each and also to reduce the cost of the more expensive fibre types like wool

Carpet Colours
While it's impossible to cover all the different colours available, here are some options for light, medium, and dark coloured carpets, as well as the benefits of each.

• Light colours: Lighter colours like white and beige can open up a space, making it seem larger and brighter than it is. While light carpets are good for disguising dust and lint, they may show dirt and they are more easily stained.
• Medium colours: Medium–toned coloured carpets are great for hiding lint, dust and dirt; which makes a wise choice for rooms close to outside entrances.
• Dark colours: Deep colours create a cosier feeling in rooms, as well as disguising dirt and stains better than lighter shades. Dust and lint will show up more on darker colours, making a darker palette ideal for rooms that have high use.
• Multi–coloured: Like medium–coloured carpets, these hide lint, dust, and dirt well. Since they're less common, multi–coloured carpets can also help a room stand out. Make sure you choose colours you like because multi–coloured carpets can make a room look dated.

Carpet Underlay