Carpet is still the most popular flooring choice for many people. It’s comfortable, generally easier to install and replace than other floor coverings and offers great value. Carpet offers you warmth and softness and is much quieter than any other floor covering. There are thousands of carpet styles and colors to choose from - that means you decide how you want to personalize your living space. It can be a neutral foundation, or it can be a focal point with vibrant colors and strong, bold patterns and textures.
Fiber Basics – Nylon vs. Polyester
Nylon
Nylon has been the most commonly used carpet fiber since the early 1960’s. In overall performance characteristics, nylon is the most durable and versatile of all the fibers, providing excellent long-term performance and flexibility in creating a variety of carpet styles. It is soft, resilient, and receptive to dyeing for color versatility and uniformity. It also recovers its original texture with routine cleaning. Though not inherently stain resistant, most nylon carpets feature a stain-resist carpet treatment for protection again household spills and stains – many manufacturer warranties even cover pet stains.
Polyester
Polyester offers exceptional softness and color clarity and is naturally stain and fade resistant. While polyester is not as inherently resilient as nylon, they will perform well if constructed appropriately. Thanks to technological advances in yarn processing and improved construction techniques, polyesters’ wear-ability has been greatly improved over past years.
Pattern Carpet
Carpets with pattern can add that touch of luxury to any space. To ensure a continuous look to the carpet installation, an extra amount of material called “pattern match” may be required to achieve a seamless look. Larger patterns will have more pattern match required than smaller patterns.
What is Green Label Plus Certified?
Today, indoor air quality is an important environmental consideration, especially since we spend the majority of our time indoors. In 1992, CRI launched its Green Label program to test carpet, cushions and adhesives to help specifiers identify products with very low emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These enhanced programs set higher standards for indoor air quality and ensure that customers are purchasing the very lowest emitting products on the market. Using scientifically established standards, the Green Label Plus program symbolizes the carpet industry’s commitment to a better environment for living, working, learning and healing.
