We hope this information will give you a good understanding of the different styles of carpet, carpet fibres, and why you should choose a good quality underpad. As always, the experienced sales team at Decortile will help you to make an informed decision.
Choosing the Right Fiber
Nylon or Olefin
Nylon is utilized in approximately 75% of the carpet sold in Canada and the U.S. It is a very durable fibre with excellent performance characteristics. Its strengths include good resiliency, good yarn memory to hold twist, good cleaning efficiency, good stain resistance with stain treatment applied, good soil hiding ability, and good abrasion resistance.
Nylon is manufactured in both BCF and staple fibre. It is the strongest fibre, making it an excellent choice for the heavy traffic of an active household or commercial facility. It's also the most durable of the synthetics. It is soil and mildew resistant and resilient, but is prone to static. Most nylon is treated with an anti-static treatment to reduce static. Continuous filament fibres minimize pilling and shedding.
Olefin is an alternative fiber. This description should not scare you away from olefin, because constructed properly, olefin provides an excellent value and good performance. Olefin would not work well in an airport or school environment, but will perform well in a busy family room. In acknowledging it's weaknesses, it is easy to find a suitably constructed olefin Berber or other loop pile product.
Steer clear of big loop Berbers with low density and never consider any cut pile olefin for residential use. These constructions typically fail with any fibre system, but olefin is especially susceptible to pile crush in these constructions. A properly constructed olefin will outperform a similarly constructed nylon product because of its inherent stain and fade resistance, but a poorly constructed olefin will ultimately lead to dissatisfaction. Olefin is manufactured in BCF only.
Type Of Fibre Construction
Staple or Bulk Continuous Filament (BCF)
Staple yarns are yarns that are produced in short lengths and spun and twisted together (like cotton) to form long threads of yarn and tufted into carpet. This method is used with Nylon, Polyester, Cotton and Wool.
Bulk Continuous Filament (BCF) yarns are actually long filaments of fibre that are plied together to form continuous bundles of fibre. This method is used with Olefin
Construction Style
Saxony, Textured, Level Loop or Cut and Loop (Sculptured)
Saxony is a cut pile carpet in which two or more plies of yarn have been twisted and heat-set so that the tip of each carpet tuft is distinguishable on the pile surface. Saxonies have the tendency to show footprints and vacuum cleaner sweeper marks. This is based in light reflection of the fibre when pile direction is changed. When brushed in one direction, the pile may assume a darker hue, while adjacent yarns brushed in the opposite direction may present a lighter hue. When viewed in the opposite direction, colour hues of darker areas will appear lighter. This is not a defect of any kind, but merely a characteristic of this carpet construction.
Textured cut piles also may be called "trackless" or "foot-print free". These names describe the tendency of this construction to show fewer footprints and sweeper marks than other cut pile constructions. It should be noted that no cut pile can be classified as being completely free of shading. These constructions are obtained by stuffing yarn into a steam box (stuffer box) and providing a kinked or curled yarn. The fibre is exposed to live steam to set yarn memory in this curled position. This curling of the fibre reduces light reflectance, thus reducing the appearance of footprints. Generally, when viewing a texture from the top, kinked yarns may provide a two-tone effect as a result of shade variations from reflected light.
Level Loop construction is primarily found in commercial environments, some residential Berbers are now offered in this style. This type consists of loops constructed at the same height. While patterns may be printed on the surface of this style type or may be tufted into pile, this type offers a relatively smooth, homogenous surface. Lower density construction may allow the loops to be dispersed farther apart providing the illusion of texture, but this style offers no apparent texture.
Cut and Loop or Sculptured, as the name implies, this carpet style utilizes a combination of cut and loop pile yarns to create patterns or textures. Cut and loops may offer a pile surface that is predominantly cut with loops forming a pattern or predominately loops with limited cut yarns to display a pattern. This style offers both level and multi-level constructions.
The Right Underpad
The right underpad is an important consideration when having a carpet installed, keep in mind, the staff at Decortile will recommend the best selection for your project:
The correct underpad will:
-Absorb the constant pressure of foot traffic
-Keep the carpet from matting down and looking worn
-Add insulation
-Reduce noise
The wrong underpad can:
-Cause wrinkling and buckling
-Trigger the carpet to separate from the backing or pull apart at the seams
-Break down the carpet
-Invalidate the warranty, both installation and the manufacturer of the carpet.
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