What You Should Know Before You Buy Carpet

You’ve decided on buying new carpet, but you want to shop smart. You already know how carpet is made and the difference between carpet styles, but what else is there to know before you buy? Lots. Here are some buying carpet tips to give you the upper hand on what will soon be under your feet!

Unless your room is narrower than 15 feet, you’re going to have seams. Most carpet comes in widths of 12 feet and 15 feet — and on occasion, 13 feet. The degree of visibility of your seams depends on the texture and color you choose, as well as the lighting and furniture placement in your room. And be sure to ask your supplier before the installation as to where the seams will be. They have choices as to where those will go. If you don’t like where they expect to put them you should have the final say.

Let’s face it. You get what you pay for. If you want your carpet to have a great pile density and tighter twist construction (which leads to improved durability and longer life), then you’re going to want to go with a higher quality (and more expensive) product. New carpet adds value to any home, so it’s an investment worth making. Tufts per square inch is a good question to ask in order to determine the quality of your carpet. The more tufts per inch the better your carpet will feel and longer it will last. Density rules.

Carpet covers a large part of any room, so it’s vital that you consider some basic rules when selecting its color. First off, know that once your carpet is installed, it’s going to look lighter in color than the sample you saw in the store. Don’t ask us why, that’s just the way it is — it’s kinda like losing a sock in the dryer. Next, recognize that color can affect the apparent size of a room. Lighter carpet makes a room look larger and darker colors make a room look smaller and more intimate. I know this out of experience cleaning carpets in a hotel. The room carpets came in two colors. One style room was dark green and the other light mauve. When cleaning the rooms I was so sure they were different sizes I asked the general manager why in the world would they build a hotel with different size rooms on the same floor? He said they didn’t. They were the same size.

If you like to redecorate often or plan to move soon, go neutral. It’s much easier to imagine furniture in a room that is decorated with neutral colors.

It’s going to happen, no matter how long you hold out from sipping wine or munching on chips and salsa in your freshly carpeted room. Stain protection is an important consideration when buying carpet. Products come with various levels of protection and warranties. As the quality of a carpet increases, so does its stain protection level and warranty coverage. The longer the warranty the higher the quality of carpet and by extension the stain protection.

Padding or cushion is the layer of spongy material between carpet and floor. It’s the padding — not the carpet — that determines whether the carpet feels good or great under your feet. Choosing a higher quality padding can help preserve a carpet’s look and can extend its life and comfort by providing tougher protection against wear and tear.

With padding and carpet density is the key. Don’t be fooled by thickness alone. A ¼ inch pad with higher density is better than a ½ inch pad that’s less dense. Just as carpet density is an important question to ask padding density is one you want to answer. You can even buy a less dense or less expensive carpet but use a high density pad and it will have the feel of a higher quality carpet.

Carpet manufacturers know their product a lot better than you do. A 5 year warranty carpet will last… well… 5 years. A 20 year warranty will last 20 years. There are exceptions. If you don’t vacuum or clean up spills and have 2 dogs and a cat all bets are off. On the flip side if you vacuum frequently, clean up your spills and have the carpet professionally cleaned once every 12-18 months you can outlive your warranty many years over.