http://www.angelfire.com/az2/microfiber/consumerquicktips.htm
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tips before you buy wall to wall carpet.

 
 

Padding 

Padding is an important foundation to the carpet. Inexpensive padding might cause your expensive carpet to wear out faster. The Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) guideline for carpet pad is that it should never exceed 7/16 inch in thickness. 

When you walk on the carpet, it strectches beneath your weight. The thicker the pad, the more the carpet
flexes under your weight. The thicker the pad, the faster your carpet wears out, so get the thinnest,
most dense pad you can. A good choice would be a 3/8 inch, 8 lb. density rebonded urethane pad.

Certified Installer

Make sure your installer is certified, and knows and adheres to the CRI guidelines. Most common installation-related defect carpet inspectors find is the failure to use a power stretcher to install
the carpet. A knee kicker is not a power stretcher. A power stretcher is a device that extends from one
wall to the other with a lever utilized to accomplish the stretch. Restretching can be expensive. Make
sure your original installation is done with a power stretcher. 

Face Fiber

The surface yarn in the carpet is of great importance. The most common carpet fibers are nylon,
wool, polyester, acrylic, and olefin (Polypropylene). Currently, nylon makes up 60% of the market, olefin
30%, polyester 8%, acrylic 1%, and wool 1%. 

The use of olefin is gaining in popularity, but it has many drawbacks. It looks great in the showroom, just
like nylon, but it has extremely poor resilience and will "ugly out" due to matting and crushing in a very
short time. It also has a very low melting point, and will melt from the friction of dragging a piece of
furniture across it. The retailer may tell you Olefin resists bleach stains, is easy to clean, which is true if you compare it to cleaning silk! But compared to nylon it is very difficult to clean, especially if you have greasy or oily stains. It's also difficult to vacuum hair, lint, or thread from olefin. Seldom you find Olefin being a cleaners choice. It's just not worth your investment - stay away from olefin (polypropylene) unless you are buying multicolored rugs or entrance mats. 

Nylon was invented by DuPont chemists in 1938. The labs were located in New York and London--hence the name nylon. Rated as one of the longest wearing fibers, nylon is easy to clean, easy to vacuum, and very resilient. There are two different types of nylon: Type 6,6 nylon by DuPont and Monsanto, and Type 6, by Allied and BASF. Type 6 performs well in a dry and sunny climate like Arizona. 

Wool is wonderful but expensive. Soft, easy to vacuum, great colors and it won't support a flame, which is why you find it in hotels, elevators, and airplanes. Wool only makes up 1% of the market. 
 

Important Indoor Air Quality Information

Today, indoor air quality has become an important environmental issue to many Americans. We spend
ninety percent of our time indoors, at home or at work, often in energy-efficient buildings that lack
sufficient fresh air ventilation. Various construction materials, surface finishes, interior furnishings, and
renovating and cleaning agents play roles in the quality of indoor air. Many of these materials, including
carpet, give off chemical emissions. With fresh air ventilation, most carpet emissions are substantially
reduced within 72 hours. This applies to carpet made with natural as well as man-made materials.

Look for the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) label on carpet samples in retail stores. The CRI logo indicates that the carpet manufacturer participates in the CRI Indoor Air Quality Carpet Testing Program, which
seeks to develop ways to reduce emissions from carpet. 

INSTALLATION GUIDELINES:

  • Vacuum old carpet before removal 
  • Vacuum floor after carpet and pad have been removed 
  • Always ventilate with fresh air (open doors and/or windows, use exhaust fans, etc) during all phases of installation and for at least 72 hours thereafter. 
  • If adhesives and/or pad are used, request those which have low chemical emissions 
  • Follow detailed installation guidelines from manufacturer or from Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI).