Jim Magee, owner of Georgia Carpet Outlet, outlines key questions that will help you pick a carpeting that best suits your needs and discusses some of the kinds of carpeting available. A few key questions can help a carpet salesperson help you find the best choice for your needs: - What type of room will the carpet be used in -- formal or informal, high- or low-traffic?
- What do you expect of carpeting for this space?
- How do you want the carpet to feel underfoot?
- What's your carpeting budget?
- How much effort do you want to put into maintaining your carpet?
Good-looking Berber carpeting, made of continuous loops of fiber, is a popular and long-wearing choice (figure A). It's available in nylon, wool and polypropylene. Olefin or polypropylene Berber is extremely stain-resistant. A flat, dense cut-and-loop carpet is inexpensive and wears like iron (figure B). Its high density, determined by the number of stitches per inch, makes it a durable choice, especially good for commercial settings. A trackless carpet is a good option for any room in the house. Its textured, crimped fibers are cut to different heights and reflect light in such a way that tracks don't show, making it a particularly good choice for high-traffic areas (figure C). Luxurious plush carpet -- the kind you want to run through barefoot -- has its drawbacks (figure D). Because this type of carpet is so thick and plush, footprints and vacuum tracks are always visible. It's best for use in low-traffic areas such as formal living rooms and master bedrooms. The cost of carpeting doesn't necessarily reflect quality. More expensive carpeting is not necessarily better -- often the price is higher because more fibers were used, as in dense plush varieties of carpeting. A carpet pad must be suited to the type of carpeting it's used with. A common misconception is that a thick carpet pad is always best. Plush carpeting requires a thick pad, but a Berber carpet needs a flat pad that won't interfere with its latex backing.
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