A carpet cleaners guide to buying carpet

When choosing a new carpet for your home, you are presented with many options, and it can be very difficult to choose which type is right for your needs. Here, we aim to assist you in your decision making.

Carpets come in many different colours, fibres, and construction. Each have their own pros and cons, and knowing these will aid you in selecting the right one.

Each carpet fibre material has its own unique qualities, so when cleaning, it is important to know what the carpet is made from to avoid damage.

Carpet Fibres

Carpets can be made of a single fibre type, or a mix of fibres. The most common are wool, polypropylene and nylon. These can be used in domestic and commercial applications.

Understanding which fibre you have in your carpet has two major benefits. Firstly, you will have a better understanding of how well a carpet can be cleaned, how it can look after cleaning, and what stains are likely to remain. Secondly, knowing which fibre you have will determine what products can be used to clean it without causing bleaching or damage.

Wool Carpets

Wool carpets are typically soft and comfortable under foot, giving your home a luxurious feel. Wool is a natural insulator, helping to keep your home warm owing to its excellent heat retention. Wool carpets also reduce noise pollution by absorbing sounds, cushioning footsteps and minimising echo.

Wool is a naturally fire-retardant material, which makes it the perfect carpet for homes with an open fire.  Wool carpets also reduce static electricity, so prevent those annoying static shocks! Wool acts as a filter so also improves air quality by absorbing humidity as well as indoor airborne toxins.  

The natural scales on the surface of wool fibres hold fine dust particles until it is vacuumed.  It is therefore a brilliant natural anti-allergy fibre.  

Manufacturers often blend wool and manmade fibres for the perfect mix of benefits such as80/20 wool/nylon mixes. This offers a reduced cost when compared with 100% wool carpets.

Wool is resistant to fading and sustain its original colour over years of wear and cleaning.

Wool is easily stained. Stains can become permanent if they aren’t cleaned quickly. Greasy and oily stains can be particularly troublesome.

Wool is naturally long-lasting and recovers quickly when crushed.

Wool has a higher ignition point, meaning it’s less likely to catch fire via dropped matches, cigarettes and fire embers.

Insects: moths and carpet beetles sometimes live in and eat wool carpets.

Wool carpets are generally more expensive than synthetic carpets.

Polypropylene

Polypropylene(also known as olefin) is a man-made fibre. It offers great stain resistance and value for money.

Polypropylene is suitable for homes with children and pets. It’s also bleach-cleanable, making it easier to remove spillages and stains.

 Resists most typical stains, almost any tough stain can be cleaned up with a bleach solution. However, oil-based stains can be difficult to remove.

Less resilient, polypropylene can ‘ugly out’ and flatten much sooner than a wool carpet.

Nearly always cheaper than wool or nylon.

Nylon 

Nylon is a carpet fibre with great benefits. It is strong, durable, and static-free. It maintains it’s height, and resists soiling and staining. It also has an excellent resistance to abrasion and wear, insects, mould, mildew, rot, and many chemicals. Because of its high durability, it is perfect for high-traffic areas.

Not bleach-friendly, stains cannot be bleach-cleaned and will require professional cleaning.

Resilient: the structure of the nylon fibres means the carpet won’t crush easily.

Fading: due to the colouring process, the carpet may fade in the sun.

 Price: nylon is more expensive than polypropylene.

We hope you have found this article useful and are happy to answer any questions you may have.