Carpets are a good addition to the floors of your home. It is important to choose the right carpet and purchase them for giving perfect look to the floors. If you want to know where you can find the perfect carpet shades, then you can contact our professionals and narrow down your options. When thinking to install carpets, you can take help from our carpet fitters as they have good knowledge in making the right selection for your need. The choice of colours is equally important with the right kind of fibres and styles that will match with your taste. Continue reading to buy the right carpet for your home.
Are you planning to lay carpet in your home? What kind of footfall can it endure to narrow down your options? Well. you can give yourself some luxury in the bedroom where the softer pile will withstand bare feet or slippers. You require something having dense and low-pile tuft for those high-traffic areas.
Firstly, you will have to assess the durability of your carpet you want to purchase. Consider the thickness, material, resilience and weight of carpet’s pile. Make sure you do it by pressing the thumb tightly into the pile. The more quickly it springs back and recovers, the denser and more resilient it should be.
Secondly, the density of carpet is an important consideration when you want to lay it in high-traffic areas such as stairs or hallways. The density can be determined by how closely each fibre is knitted to the other, than the depth of carpet. Check the back of the material to find out the amount of space between the tufts. Larger gaps mean the carpet will lose its resilience soon.
Thirdly, check the weight of fabric on like-for-like styles by comparing with another. Weights are printed on the back of sample and choosing short and dense-fibre carpets seem to be the most durable option. Carpets which have longer strands and loops appear bulkier though they weigh less. In the case of choosing colour, the darker shades work the best in well-trodden thoroughfares though you can opt for lighter shade for the bedroom.
Fourthly, most retailers will let you borrow a few samples before taking the final decision and provide measuring as well as fitting service. You can place the sample in darker and lighter areas of the room you want to carpet for getting an idea of how the colour may be affected due to light. Tread on it to find out how quickly and easily it will spring back into shape.
Fifthly, create a rough estimate before shopping around so that you know how much your carpet will cost on an average. This can be of great help at the time of narrowing down your search. Try to measure the longest and widest part of room which include – bay windows, door recesses and under-stair spaces to be fitted. You need to add at least 10cm to the measurements of length and width for trimming. Use same method to calculate the underlay. Consider this as rough estimation, particularly when fitting an irregular-shaped room like stairs and hallway. You need to add carpet fitting and grippers with the final cost. If you cannot find a specific grey shade, then some manufacturers offer dyeing service for creating customised colour at a price.
Just like commercial carpet installation, home carpets too should be hard-wearing and durable that can be installed within an affordable price.
Different options available
Pile fibre
Wool
These are used for the high-quality carpets and you have to pay more for natural materials. You will have great looking floor covering made from sustainable fibre which is very resilient and durable. It has great insulation properties for lessening noise, heat loss and retains its appearance really well. Wool carpets feel beautiful and soft underfoot.
Wool-mix
The combination of 80% wool and 20% man-made fibres such as polyester or polyamide is the right choice for your all-purpose carpet.
Polypropylene
This is a popular choice for man-made carpet fibre as it is hard-wearing and resistant to stains. It is possible to clean with part-bleached cleaning solution though you should check with the manufacturer or retailer first. Polypropylene is flammable and not self-extinguishing.
Polyamide or nylon
Also called nylon, you can find it in an extensive range of colours and vibrant clear shades that cannot be reproduced in wool. It is an all-rounder option for homes, top quality nylon or polyamide carpets have built-in treatments for stain resistance and score high marks due to its wearability.
Polyester
It can be used for shag or textured carpets. Polyester gives wool like feel and look and is soft, durable and stain resistant. It can be used as a blend than on its own.
Types of pile
You will find two types of carpet in the UK. These are – woven and tufted carpets.
- Woven carpets, such as Wiltons and Axminsters are made with traditional loomed methods. These are labour intensive and you get premium finish though they are widely accepted as top-end choice at the best price.
- Tufted is the most popular kind of carpet made with a row of needles and punching pile yarn into the base material. It is easy to manufacture and made with all types of yarns having several finishes. Tufted carpet can be cut or looped or both.
Woven
- Axminster – It is made just like oriental rug having fibres woven in and out through the surface backing on Axminster machine. These Axminster carpets are popular due to their intricately patterned designs, grand quality and durability though they are costly. Most Axminsters are available in velvet finish but the manufacturers use twisted yarn to lessen shading.
- Wilton – Another quality carpet gets its name from the kind of loom used which weaves yarn in the continuous strand. You can get it in an extensive range of patterns and these carpets have velvety, smooth and woven surface.
Tufted
- Twist – These hardwearing carpets have yarn and can be twisted tightly together for creating one-way pile direction. They seem to be most popular kind of carpet being produced and available in simple colour or combination of complimentary shades for the ‘heather’ look. It helps to hide the accumulation of dust or animal hairs and is a great choice for places where tread always wears, such as stairs and hallways.
- Looped or berber pile – Berber or looped pile carpet has distinctive knot look and is made of uncut continuous loops on the surface a. Carpet can be looped having low-profile pile construction known for maintaining its appearance or having loops of different heights to form textured pile. Select a Berber that has tighter or smaller loops for busy rooms which bounce back easily and decrease the chance of loops matting and crushing due to wear and tear. An all-rounder is not a good choice when there are pets at home as they pull up loops.
- Flatweave – This is a popular choice for stair runners as they are created with weft (horizontal) and interlocking warp (vertical) threads. Though it is looped, it provides the impression of being completely flat and feels the firm underfoot.
- Saxony – These are deep-pile carpet popular in the bedrooms. It includes a cut pile that has longer tufts for gentle and soft feeling underfoot by giving luxurious look. Its long pile makes it easy to flatten but cupboard and wardrobe feet marks are not needed to spring back as you may want.
- Shag – This lavish and luxurious deep shagpile consist of additional long tufts to provide super shaggy look. It is not a good choice for high-traffic areas but a fantastic choice for gentle way to wake-up when you step out of bed in the morning.
- Velvet – This short and dense pile is a great choice for luxurious covering of the bedroom floor. Velvet pile has cut pile and smooth finish usually available in solid colours.
Important things to take into consideration for the carpet installation
Underlay
Adding comfort and cushioning underfoot is a good underlay for keeping in heat and reducing energy bills. You may invest in a good underlay, whatever may be your budget for the commercial carpet. A heavy-duty one will extend the lifespan of your carpet and may even survive it. Underlay helps new carpet to wear evenly and lessen pile compression so that the carpet retains its appearance for a longer time.
Look out for underlay with good acoustic qualities for heavy footfall areas, particularly if you have teenagers in your home.
Underlays have tog rating and the higher the tog, the better the insulation will be. When you use underlay with underfloor heating, you will not require anything above the total rating of 2.5 tog.
Rubber
- Waffle – It gets its name from underside of the underlay or bubble pattern. This can squash in high-traffic areas and is the perfect choice for rooms that are less used like spare bedroom.
- Flat – It is hard-wearing and more compact to provide higher level of support and noise reduction.
- Crumb – It is made of recycled used car tyres granulated into rubber particles. These can be bonded together to form extremely durable and firm underlay suitable for any room having high traffic. It is worthy enough to use in a room having heavy furniture in order to prevent annoying indentations.
- Crumb/felt – It is made from the combination of rubber and felt and the style is less common in comparison to rubber waffle. It is a hardy underlay often used for woven carpets to lessen the rucking.
Foam
- Polyethylene (PE) -– This entry-level budget underlay is made of closed cell polyethylene foam.
- Jute – This natural fibre with rubber or felt top does not crumble, flatten or dry out.
- Polyurethane (PU) – This form is 80% recycled and made of granulated foam compressed and thermally bonded together. It can be used widely and is a suitable choice for most carpets.
- Recycled felt – This greener option will compact more easily and is the best choice for rooms that have less use such as – spare or study room. Good heat insulation makes it a good choice for your concrete flooring.
- Felt and rubber – These form an underlay which is comfortable underfoot and has firm support of rubber for those high traffic areas.
Proper maintenance of carpets
New carpets seem to shed fluff and it will cause any harm to a new carpet for vacuuming after it has been laid. This can take up short loose fibres and you need to vacuum at least once in a week. Use barrier mat in the areas that are most likely to soil, such as by the front door.
There are stain inhibitors and treatments available which make it easy to wipe off spills. This will enable to deal with stains and spillages as soon as they occur.
You should not rub or over-wet your carpet. Try to remove solids by scraping with a knife gently. It is possible to treat greasy residue with grease/oil remover sprayed on to absorbent cloth. You can blot but should not rub. In the case of liquid spills, blot up as much as possible by using a paper towel and use stain remover for your carpet, as recommended by the professional.
For deep cleaning, you can shampoo the carpet by following the instructions of your manufacturer and attain the best possible result.
With a wide range of carpets available, you need to select the right colour and style that will go with the decor of your home. These are great carpet tips to make your home warmer and more inviting. If you want, then you can search online to find some effective tips for a new carpet purchase and installation. It is advisable that you contact our carpet fitters who will help you in choosing and installing the right kind of carpet for the perfect look to your home.
