Quick Tips on Choosing the Right Carpeting for Your Home

Carpet is a somewhat standard flooring option for residential homes, as it's very comfortable underfoot and can also help to keep the home warmer during wintertime. Carpeting may also be more affordable than many other flooring options and may be quicker to install than stone or timber flooring; you might even be able to have your entire home carpeted in just one day, depending on the home's size and the contractor you hire.

When you shop for carpeting, you might be surprised to find that there are more options than you expected. To make it easier for you to choose the right carpeting for your home, note a few important differences in your various options.

Material

Never choose a carpeting material based on price alone, as these materials will all vary in how they feel underfoot, how easy they are to clean, and how readily they "bounce back" in heavily trafficked areas. Nylon is durable and resistant to stains, but may not feel as comfortable underfoot as cotton, whereas cotton is more absorbent and holds stains more easily.

Wool holds warmth, so it's good for homes in colder climates, but it may not be the best choice for homes in tropical areas. Polyester is more comfortable underfoot than nylon, but it won't "bounce back" as easily as other fabrics, so it may show worn areas more quickly than other carpeting materials.

Pile

Pile refers to how the yarn of carpet fabric is cut and looped, and this will affect the carpet's appearance, how it feels underfoot, and how easy it is to clean. Plush carpeting has long strands of yarn that will feel very soft underfoot. However, those long strands will also hold lots of debris that you might not be able to remove with a standard household vacuum, so be cautious about using this in a home that gets lots of foot traffic, or if there is a lot of dust in the air.

Berber carpeting is very flat and dense, and a much better choice for high traffic areas. It's also good for persons with allergies or those who might be bothered by dust for any reason, as its short and dense pile won't hold much debris. Textured carpeting has different sizes and styles of pile, so it creates a type of pattern on its surface. This is a good choice if you want carpeting that is more visually appealing than just standard flat carpeting, or for high traffic areas, as that texture or pattern will more readily hide footprints.