What Kind of Carpet is the Best Carpet?

Well, it totally depends on what room you’re installing it in and what goes on in that room. We’re going to provide you a little information here on six different rooms in a home, each having its own activity level, and which type of carpet would be best.

Bedrooms

For determining the type of carpet in a bedroom, it is definitely going to depend on who uses that bedroom. If it is your master bedroom or a guest room, it probably won’t have the same amount of foot traffic as your kid’s bedrooms do. Even teenagers have more going on in their room and need a more durable carpet.

In your master bedroom, a nice plush or soft texture will work fine. If you’re on a tight budget, go with a soft polyester type of carpet.  For your kid's bedroom, you have more foot traffic and a bigger chance of spills (even with the house rule of no drink or food in the bedroom, it will happen). So, go with a carpet that is stain resistant like a nylon or polyester carpet fiber.

Don’t go with solid colors if you have any fear of the slightest crumb or lint showing up because it will. Go with a multi-color heather or multi-color tweed, they won’t show those small bits.  Or, go with a pattern and any soil or spills will blend right in.

Living Room

What is your personal taste? What is your lifestyle like? These are the main factors when it comes to choosing carpet in this room. A busy family, especially with children and/or pets, will use the living room more than any other carpeted room. You want a carpet that is stain resistant and odor treated. Also, think about your furniture and how heavy it is. Now, if you are carpeting a formal living room that isn’t used except on rare occasions, then you have more options such as a classic cut pile or a sophisticated cut, maybe even a loop pattern.

Family Room

The family room is the most active of all homes if it isn’t the living room. You, your spouse, your kids and all their friends and all the pets gather here day in, day out, year round. You definitely want carpet that is soil and stain resistant that will stand up to all that foot traffic. A dense texture or a loop pile carpet is great for this type of room and in a multi-color pattern.

Dining Room

You need a carpet in this room that is inherently stain resistance. You’ll dine in here.  Therefore, spills will happen even to the most graceful person. A solution-dyed nylon carpet or a nylon that comes with advanced stain resist properties, is great for this room, as well. Choose a carpet that is anti-microbial for spill protection.

Hallways and Stairs

The hallways and the stairs are usually very high foot traffic areas in most homes, but they aren’t really active areas other than the foot traffic. So, a dense, low pile carpet will work fine because they are most resilient in fiber and nylon products. The most used areas of the stairway, at the very top landing and the very bottom landing, and where the most stress happens. A carpet that is low profile and is extremely dense will have a long life.

Basement

If you’re carpeting your basement, then you’re planning on using it. How you will be using it will be key in determining the type of carpet to get here. If it is going to be used as a family room or game room, follow the notes above. If you’re going to be using this for an office, then most likely, you won’t have the same amount of activity and foot traffic and go with a lesser expensive carpet. No matter what type of carpeting you get here, get a good padding because you are going to be on the very bottom cement foundation in this room.

The Charisma of Carpet Fiber

Have you ever given any thought to the bolts and nuts of carpeting? You know, the stuff it’s made from? Carpet is made from fiber and the technologies involved in carpet manufacturing continue to change and develop when it comes to performance.

Even though the longest history in carpet is wool carpet, the carpet made from nylon fiber has been around for several decades.  In the 1950s, it became high fashion for homes across America. There was experimenting with carpet just as there were other things through the 60s and 70s. There was the bout of round fibers and triangular fibers, and then the manufacturers finally landed on a rounded trilobal fiber that offer the best for performance as well as soil-hiding.

What you may not realize is there are two types of nylon.  There is a Nylon 6.6 and there is a Nylon 6, both of which are normally used in carpet manufacturing. Nylon can be died in a stunning range of color harmonies and a luxuriousness that still offers excellent abrasion resistance, durability, resiliency, and texture retention. The homeowner that purchases nylon carpeting will benefit from its great resistance to soil and stains. 

Then we have polyester carpeting. This type of carpeting has found a niche in commercial carpeting.  It has a great versatility in styles and an amazing range of colorations, both of which lends to its the popularity. Also, when it comes to price competition, it is just as attractive as the others on the market. 

There is a mix of reviews when it comes to polyester carpeting. The luxurious hand and unbelievable face weights make polyester carpet a strong draw.  Because it is a heftier weighted carpet, they are extremely well priced.  They are inherent and have a permanent stain fade resistance and have a great clean-ability about them.

Let us not forget about wool carpeting, too. There is a unique status about wool carpeting that puts it in a league of its own.  It is an all-natural fiber that gives a luxury feel and look as well as great performance on the floor. It offers great color options, it is high bulk, and a naturally soft feel that is inherently flame-retardant.