Learning about carpet fibers before buying
The life of carpeting is longer then most other textiles. Consumers are often looking for affordable yet durable carpeting when shopping for new flooring. Strength of the material is far more important in a carpet fiber then say furniture yet the touch or feel wouldn’t be as important as clothing.
Some of the factors consumers can look for in carpeting is resistance to heat, stains, chemicals, and of course sunlight. Its important to think about what room this is being used for and how much it is used and amount of sunlight that comes in daily.
- Natural fibers come from nature like wool
- Synthetic is man made with a machine.
- Natural Fiber– Absorb a lot of water and take longer to dry. You wouldnt want these installed in a jacuzzi room or area where people come from a pool.
- They are very resistant to sunlight damage
- Synthetic – Do NOT absorb water but they do attract oils and degrade in sunlight. Good for your pool room…
- Wool for example absorbs 350 times more water then olefin carpet fiber.
4 Main Carpet Fiber Types
WOOL – excellent resiliency- Excellent Longevity– Excellent Appearance long term- Chemical Inertness very poor- Dyeability Excellent
NYLON – Very Good resiliency, good longevity- Very good appearance long term, especially after a steam cleaning– Chemical inertness fair- Ability to dye good
POLYESTER – Poor resiliency- good longevity- Poor long-term appearance- Chemical inertness good- ability to dye poor.
OLEFIN – Very Poor resiliency, good longevity, very poor long-term appearance- chemical inertness excellent- ability to dye very poor.
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