How to Choose a Carpet Most homes today are either fully carpeted or have at least one area that is covered by a carpet. Living rooms, bedrooms and family rooms are the areas that are typically covered by carpets. However, carpets collect dust and mites and are known to spread allergies. To prevent this, the Carpet and Rug industry have enforced some strict low emitting product regulations, which are now adapted by most manufacturers. Besides the green and white label, while choosing a carpet ensure that the carpet comes with padding below, adhesives and carpet cleaning products for a safer, healthy and eco-friendly environment.

Carpets come in many styling options, colors and designs. When choosing your carpet, there are a few things that you must keep in mind. The carpet should have a thick cushioning or padding that will not only reduce noise transmission between floors but also act as an insulator. The thicker the cushioning, the better is its protection, more comfortable for walking and ensures greater durability. The density of the padding will vary with different rooms depending on the traffic intensity of the rooms. Typically bedrooms have a thicker, softer and cushier pad than the living rooms, hallways, stairs etc.

The next criteria to remember while selecting a carpet are the quality of the carpet, whether they are synthetic, wool or natural fibers and colors - solid or patterned. Most of the carpets produced use synthetic fibers like nylon, polypropylene, polyester, acrylic and blends. The natural favorite is a wool fiber carpet. You should chose your carpet depending on your style, cost and what is most suitable to your needs. Carpets with texture and patterns are a popular choice for modern homes as they are easier to maintain, minimize soil, traffic and vacuuming lines. Patterned and colored options in carpets include geometric, floral, swirls, plaid and lattice designs among others. Patterned and textural carpets lend quality and sophistication to your floor and serve to complement solid and smooth surfaces of the walls.

There are several carpet construction methods that you will need to choose from as well. The first of these is the cut-pile method, which produces traditional Saxony carpets with a velvety looking finish. A level loop has loops at a consistent height, the perfect example of which is Berber. Next is the multi-loop, which uses two to three different levels of loops to give the carpet an informal feel. And lastly is the cut and loop pile, which is employed to create patterns such as squares and swirls in the carpet.