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The most important factor to consider when shopping for carpet is the amount of foot traffic prevalent in the area in which the carpet is to be installed as well as the areas intended use. Carpet construction and texture are the key aspects when selecting a carpet for a specified area and use.

Polyester, nylon and olefin are the most widely used fibers in the manufacture of carpet, each displaying certain inherent characteristics which lend themselves well to distinct applications. Although the most expensive of the fibers, nylon is the softest and most resilient, making it suitable for all rooms in your home, including high traffic areas.

Polyester is less resilient than nylon, but is more cost effective and offers a higher level of stain resistance, making it an attractive option for areas such as bedrooms and dining rooms that are not subject to high foot traffic.

Olefin fibers are solution dyed, resulting in a highly stain resistant carpet that can do carpet cleaning using a bleach and water solution, without the loss of color. Unlike the other fibers, olefin is fade, mold and mildew resistant, resulting in a carpet that performs well in indoor/outdoor areas. Olefin is however not very resilient and therefore should only be considered in a berber construction.

Carpets are available in either a berber or plush construction. Berber carpets are constructed with a continuous level loop, while a plush carpet is constructed of loops that have been sheered, resulting in the strands standing upright.

Berber carpets do not matt and crush, due to their level loop construction; however they are harder underfoot, uncomfortable to sit or lye on, and can be damaged by pets with long nails. Berbers are very well suited to high traffic areas such as walk ways, living rooms and entrance halls, however their hard texture makes them a less attractive option for bedrooms.

Plush carpets are softer to walk on and offer better sound and thermal insulation, however they tend to matt and crush when subjected to heavy foot traffic. The use of a nylon fiber coupled with a tight low pile construction will limit the matting and crushing, due to the resiliency nature of the nylon fiber and the additional support gained from a tight construction.

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If you walk into any carpeting store, you’ll find yourself amazed at all of the choices that are there for you to pick from. You’ll find textured plush carpets, saxony carpets, berber carpets, and even commercial grade carpets. There are carpets that can be installed wall to wall, and carpets that can be cut to size with bound edges and carpet squares.

Where will the carpet be used?
Your first consideration when purchasing a new carpet should not be color, even though it is important. Your first consideration should be how much traffic you are going to have on the carpet. If you plan to put carpet in the bedroom, then it won’t have as much traffic as carpet in the living room.

Carpet Features to Consider
Stain resistance will also be important. This is something to think about with any carpet, especially carpet that is going to be used in a dining room or play room area where there will be a steady stream of food or possibilities for spills.

Carpet Rating
You’ll also want to inquire about the rating of the carpet as well. Indoor carpeting is normally rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating. Carpets with a 5 rating are considered the best for heavy traffic areas. Rating of 4 are considered outstanding and recommended for heavy traffic areas of your home.

Ratings of 2.5 to 4 would provide normal durability for your house. Carpets that rate 2.5 or lower should only be used with light traffic areas, such as bedrooms. Choosing carpet based on the type of traffic it will receive can help you save a lot of money down the road, although you should buy carpet suited to your needs and requirements.

What is the Carpet Made of?
The highest quality of carpet you can buy is carpet made of wool. Wool carpets are very expensive, although you’ll reap the benefits over years of use as wool will easily out perform any man made carpet. Two of the best benefits of wool carpet include its natural soil resistance and it's ability to retain appearance, meaning it won't crush or wear down like other carpets.

The downside to wool carpet, is the fact that it is out of reach for most of us. If you can’t afford to have wool carpet installed throughout your entire house, then you should instead have it installed in the room that receives the highest amount of traffic.

There are several different man made carpets that you can choose from as well. If you have a high traffic area, then nylon would be an ideal choice due to the durability. Nylon is stain resistant as well, and repels mildew.

Carpets made of olefin is also a great choice for high traffic areas as it is very strong and easy for carpet cleaning. Polyester is another good carpet as it is easy to clean and repels water based stains. Polyester is known for the look and feel of wool, although it is much less expensive.

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Nylon
The fiber nylon was introduced first by the DuPont Chemical Company in 1938.Several years later, after a great deal of development, nylon became the first synthetic fiber to be used in the entire carpeting industry.

The first 3 generations of fiber experienced many problems with the worst being staining.  The 4th generation fiber of nylon had a mill applied coating that solved a majority of the carpet staining problems.  The ability of the fiber to repel water and oil based spills as well as soil helped to propel nylon into the top selling carpet fibers out there.

After several other changes, the DuPont company introduced the fifth generation nylon fiber.This stain resistant fiber would repel most dye stains if treated in a reasonable time.  This fiber is more accurately called an acid dye blocker in that it doesn’t allow acid dyes to penetrate and stain the fiber. 

The protective coating mill is applied and fills the dye sites with anionic molecules. 

Tip
An easy way to test fiber for the presence of a fluorochemical is to cut a couple of fibers from a non traffic area and apply a few drops of oil and water mixture.If it beads up, then there is an active fluorochemical present.

Whenever testing for the presence of the acid dye blocker, you should again cut a couple of fibers from a non traffic area, then immerse the fibers in a red kool-aid mixture and wait for 5 minutes or so.  Remove the fiber from the liquid and flush with neutral detergent solution.If the acid blockers are present and active, there will be no discoloration.

Polyester
The fiber of polyester was first introduced into the garment industry around in the 1950s. By the late 1960s, polyester was introduced into the carpet industry as a face yarn.  In hand, feel, and appearance it is similar to nylon, although it doesn’t possess that same resiliency. 

Polyester doesn’t absorb water based spills, isn’t affected by urine or kool-aid, but it will absorb oil based spills.  Polyester is non allergenic and mildew resistant. 

Acrylic/modacrylic
Both of these fibers were first used as carpet yarns around the late 1940s.  They disappeared around 1988 due to the competition from other fibers. In was reintroduced to the market around 1990 in Berber styling. 

This was done so that people could take advantage of the wool like appearance, hand feel, and the fact that its more spot resistant, much easier for carpet cleaning, and not damaged in the ways that wool is.

Olefin
Olefin is the latest of the synthetic fibers to be adopted to carpets.  Once only available in continous filament, it is now produced in staple form as well.  Olefin has a wide variety of uses that include primary and secondary backing of tufted carpets, warp yarns, and other uses as well.

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