With so much choice and availability these days it’s difficult to say sometimes whether you “get what you pay for” at first glance. Hopefully, these few tips will help you decide on how much you need to pay for your home.
The thing that makes the most difference as to how you carpet will perform is the type of material it’s made out of, and how much of it has been used to make it.
For example with the grade/quality of yarn:
The thing that makes the most difference as to how you carpet will perform is the type of material it’s made out of, and how much of it has been used to make it.
For example with the grade/quality of yarn:
- Higher grade wool – more costly but springs back better showing less pressure marks where you tread
- Higher grade wool – dyes much better, its cleaner in its natural form hence a cleaner , solid colour is achieved but its rarer, hence more costly
- Higher grade wool – natural oils in the wool protect against spills, its hold dust until vacuumed
- Lower grade wool – different sheep’s wool has different qualities, a low grade wool might not have so much of the twisty spring that gives it that “bounce back” and so flattens more readily
- Lower grade wool – often patchy or grey/yellow tinted so makes a mottled effect carpet, more commonly found, hence less expensive
- Lower grade wool – often blended and the fibres are often not so smooth and hold on to dirt etc
- Manmade fibres – Nylon is stronger than Polypropylene (Polypropylenes can vary in quality too) and so costs more but performs better over the long run
- Manmade fibres – cheaper versions do not have the strain resistant, fade resistant or warranties of the more expensive lines
The other main issue is how much yarn is used (pile weight) and how that affects appearance and wear:
- Density – this is key, the more tightly packed the pile the less room there is for it to find a gap to flatten down into
- Length of pile – often you can get a higher pile weight but the weight has come from making the strands longer rather than closer together, good for comfort not so good against flattening
- Short pile – less comfort but much better at hiding tread marks, great for stairs
TOP TIP – if you can easily get you fingers down into the pile its likely to squash down no matter what the pile weight or quality label says (there can be differences between manufacturers on this), trust you touch test and try samples against each other
The main thing to remember is to ask what the differences are and ask to be shown samples to compare. Also buying a carpet is often a compromise between comfort and practicality!