If you’ve ever walked through the carpeting section of any major home improvement store, you’ve likely been met with various colors, textures, and types of carpet. In 
general, most people choose carpet based on how it feels under their feet, if the colors will match their home, and its durability and resistance to stains. There’s quite a bit to consider when it comes to carpet and the good news is…we clean all of it! Here are some facts about the different types of carpet fibers, in case you’ll be on the hunt in the near future.
Carpet Fiber Types:
- Nylon: Nylon is utilized in approximately 65% of the carpet sold in the United States. It is well-known for its wear, soil, and mildew resistance power, and because of its durability, it can withstand the weight of most furniture and holds up well in heavily-trafficked areas. The only major downfall to nylon carpet is that it is prone to static, but most nylon is treated with an anti-static treatment to help with this problem.
- Polypropylene/Olefin: This is the fastest growing fiber in use today – it is fairly inexpensive and makes up about 30% of the fiber used in U.S. carpet manufacturing. Olefin has superior stain resistance (with the exception of oil-based stains) and because of the dying method used on this carpet type, it has great resistance to bleaches and sunlight fading. Also because of it’s dying method, there aren’t many colors to choose from when selecting polypropylene carpeting. Olefins clean very well, so most staining is nonexistent. It was originally favored for outdoor carpeting and in basements due to its resistance to moisture, mildew, water damage, staining, pilling, shedding, and static…all at a lower cost than nylon. Unfortunately, olefin carpet has poor resiliency, so it doesn’t hold up well under furniture and can succumb to crushing.
- Polyester: Polyester fiber produces some of the most beautiful colorations available and is extremely fade and stain resistant. It is different from olefin, however, in the sense that it isn’t very resilient and this makes it susceptible to crushing.
- Wool: This is the premier fiber in carpet construction, but because of its high price, is often out of reach for the majority of consumers. Wool has tremendous resilience and durability, but costs about twice as much as nylon. Wool cleans well and creates beautiful colors, but it tends to wear down, often causing bald spots in heavily trafficked areas. While wool is naturally stain resistant, it requires a high level of maintenance, including mothproofing. Lastly, since it can hold 10 times its weight in moisture, it is susceptible to shrinking and mold and mildew growth.
No matter what kind of carpet you have, we can maintain it for you. Give us a call if you need your existing carpet cleaned, and don’t forget to keep us in mind for the carpet maintenance program required to uphold warranties on all new carpet purchases!
