Carpet Quality and Care

Quality of Carpets
In South Africa we have 3 main wall to wall carpet manufacturers namely Belgotex, Nouwens and Van Dyck, these are reputable manufacturers that will back up their product and quality. Below are a few points on quality to make sure you make the right decision for the area of installation.

Pile or Yarn Carpets
• Fibre: The fibre is usually treated with a "stain resistant" solution, ask if your choice is stain resistant.
• Grade: Manufacturers has different grading systems, some use grade 1-5, or a star rating 1-5, or the 21-23 rating for residential and 31-33 for commercial applications. In all of these no.1 is the lowest and no.5 is the highest rating, so a no.5 will mean the product is suitable for heavy commercial applications like banks.
• Thickness: In pile or yarn carpets the thickness or hight of the yarn or pile do not neccessarily indicate the quality of the carpet but rather add to the luxary of the product.
• Backing: The backing should be moisture resistant and rot proof.
• Gaurantee: These carpets usually have a gaurantee of between 5 to 10 years, ask your retailer about the gaurantee on your choice of carpet.
• SABS: The ISO 9001:2000 standard gives assurance that the carpet was manufactured under strict quality controls and thus should be of good quality overall.

Needle Punch Carpets
• Fibre: The fibre is usually treated with a "stain resistant" solution, ask if your choice is stain resistant.
• Grade: Manufacturers has different grading systems, some use grade 1-5, or a star rating 1-5, or the 21-23 rating for residential and 31-33 for commercial applications. In all of these no.1 is the lowest and no.5 is the highest rating, so a no.5 will mean the product is suitable for heavy commercial applications like banks.
• Thickness: With needle punch carpets the thickness of the carpet do reflect on its durability, here the thicker carpet will last the longest.
• Gaurantee: These carpets usually carry a 5 year gaurantee but differ so make sure what the gaurantee is on your carpet and the conditions of the gaurantee.
• SABS: The ISO 9001:2000 standard gives assurance that the carpet was manufactured under strict quality controls and thus should be of good quality overall.

Carpet Care and Cleaning

• Daily Care: Vacuum your carpet regularly as dirt between the fibres can damage the carpet and shorten its life.
• Spillages: Deal with spills immediatly, make sure to blot spills and do not rub it as this will spread the spill area, get the carpet as dry as possible to prevent spills soaking into the backing and underlay.
• Wet Cleaning: This is best done by a professional and the prefered deep cleaning method is steam cleaning, if you do this yourself with 3 in 1 machines then make sure you do not overwet the carpet and that you suck out all the water, do not leave the carpet to soak.
• Prevention: Keep dirt and water off your carpets by having door mats at external doors and using carpet runners in high traffic areas.
• Cleaning Fluids: There are many different fibre types and treatments applied to carpets so make sure you ask your retailer about specific cleaning instructions for the type of carpet you have installed.