Me and the wife are shopping for carpet, and have gotten totally
confused.
So many brands and types our heads are spinning!
We are looking for a quality carpet (not berber) for our living area.
Can someone just give us a solid opinion on brands and fiber types?
Karastan seems to be the "best" (or did they just have the best
salesman?).
We have two kids and a cat. We want something comfortable, that wears
well, and is stain resistant (don't we all). Probably cut pile.
Any good opinions, or at least things that are important or what to
stay away from??

Thanks in advance for your advice...

"Rex" wrote in message
om...
Me and the wife are shopping for carpet, and have gotten totally
confused.
So many brands and types our heads are spinning!
We are looking for a quality carpet (not berber) for our living area.
Can someone just give us a solid opinion on brands and fiber types?
Karastan seems to be the "best" (or did they just have the best
salesman?).

We recently installed a Karastan carpet in my son's room and are extremely
happy with it. I had initially crossed that brand off my list because I
thought it was out of our range. We shopped around and while it wasn't cheap
(about $1500 installed for a 21x16 room), we felt their lower end was much
better quality than other brand's higher end product (hope that makes
sense). Of course, we haven't had the carpet long enough to test wear and
stains, but it is extremely soft underfoot and looks beautiful. We went with
a French twist style carpet.

Tell the salesperson that you want the best carpet you can buy for your
budget. That should help them narrow down your search. And by all means, go
to several carpet stores.

JennP.

(Rex) wrote:

Me and the wife are shopping for carpet, and have gotten totally
confused. So many brands and types our heads are spinning!


Carpet companies are second only to mattress companies in their ability to
obfuscate what should be a simple transaction. Most major brand fibers will
provide comparible life, if similar weights, styles, pads and installation is
accomplished.

Wool is fabulous, especially for a low nap design, but will be subject to
staining and is fiendishly expensive. Nylon can have static problems, if you
live in an area that's dry.

Within a given style (berber, plush, etc.), you need to look at the yarn weight.
The more ounces of yarn per yard, the denser the pile and the longer the life.
Comparing across types is less helpful. Good luck getting this info - carpet
companies do not make it easy and salescritters have no particular desire to be
truthful. Sears used to have it printed on the back side of their in store
samples, but removed it because consumers "found it confusing." Right.

The better the pad, the longer the carpet life. Better pad is defined as density
and material. Unfortunately, dealers also know this and lowball the carpet price
while really jacking up the pad price. Get a total price.

Installation is critical, especially if you have anything more than a square
room. Find a reputable dealer than installs themselves rather than subbing the
install out. There are good subs, but you have no way of knowing or picking them
and the dealer may be pressed to get the sale.

As with all major purchases, word of mouth is the best insurance. Find someone
that has recently done the same thing.

Finally, any carpet will last longer if it's maintained. That means weekly
vacuuming and proper cleaning. Soaking annually with a "steam vac" does not
constitute regular cleaning and will in most cases reduce the life of the
carpet.

Back in April I purchased wall-to-wall carpet. It was manufactured by Shaw
Carpet in Dalton, GA., and was made of 100% nylon.

Shaw said it had:

10 year quality assurance - against manufacturing defects
10 year R2XSoil and Stain Warranty'
10 year Texture Retention Warranty
10 year Softbac platinum warranty-against restretch

The carpet was golden brown with gold highlights. About a month after it was
put down, I noticed a spot. It was a large round one that appeared
discolored. Then another one about six feet away appeared and then later, two
more. All many feet away. It was obviously not tracked in, our legs aren't
that long.

I called Home Depot , where I bought it, and they sent someone out. He didn't
know what caused it and several weeks later someone from Shaw came out. He was
an independent inspector and his report said that we must have done something
to cause this because it doesn't go all the way down to the bottom. The carpet
pile measures 1/2 in. and the spots only go down about 1/4.

We are three adults -no pets.

I have complained to everyone I can think of but haven't received any help with
this.
We had some leftover carpet and my husband took it out to the garage and poured
various things (bleach, paint thinner, lacquer thinner) on it and the color
stayed the same. We know it has to be a manufacturing defect.

I advise you to stay away from Shaw products - they don't stand behind their
guarantee. I am disappointed with Home Depot. I really thought they would
help more because the sales slip printed out by HD said the carpet was
guaranteed.

Dorothy

(Rex) wrote:
Me and the wife are shopping for carpet, and have gotten totally
confused.
So many brands and types our heads are spinning!
We are looking for a quality carpet (not berber) for our living area.
Can someone just give us a solid opinion on brands and fiber types?
Karastan seems to be the "best" (or did they just have the best
salesman?).
We have two kids and a cat. We want something comfortable, that wears
well, and is stain resistant (don't we all). Probably cut pile.
Any good opinions, or at least things that are important or what to
stay away from??

Thanks in advance for your advice...

When we added onto our place a couple of years ago, we put in a cut pile that
used the Dupont Tactesse nylon fiber...offhand, can't remember the actual carpet
manufacturer. It's some sort of fleck pattern that hides dirt well, unlike our
old solid teal-green carpet, which would look dirty 30 seconds after being
vacuumed. Nice to be able to clean "because it's cleaning day", not because
"the carpet looks like crap a day after we cleaned it". The carpet has done
well so far -- very nice to walk on barefooted (we also put in the best pad the
installer offered, which also helps in that regard), and holds up well even in
the high-traffic areas. Two adults, two young kids, and two cats have yet to
spill anything on it that couldn't be cleaned up with a bit of water. Time will
tell how well it will survive the next 10 years, 'tho.