On Aug 13, 8:49*am, Sum Guy wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
There are carpet rating systems, but even they can be misleading.
These three should bring you up to speed.
http://www.carpetguru.com/shop200.htm#

The advice that page seems to be highlighting is:

"If you don't know Carpet, know your Carpet dealer"

I'm sorry, but that's really useless advice. *What am I supposed to do,
invite the carpet dealer to dinner, start playing golf with him, make
him my new best friend?

I came to that page to "know carpet". *If it's not going to tell me
anything really useful about carpet, then WTF?

There's a lot of info in there, but his site navigation is the pits.
The stuff is hidden in drop down menus. Did you read the section on
carpet scams?

R

On Aug 12, 2:09*pm, "George" wrote:
I'm going to risk catching Hell and attach an article I wrote years ago
concerning carpet and carpet sales practices. *It was from a different time
in a different region of the country, but is still quite timely and valid..
Any comment or suggestions on how it can be improved would also be
appreciated.

Wow, that was the most amazing gracious act I've ever seen on this or
any NG! You sure as hell know your "carpet and carpet sales
practices!" Now if we had somebody like you for every aspect of house
building and repairing, we'd all be home free! Thanks, pal!

HB

[... article...]

On Aug 12, 2:09*pm, "George" wrote:
I'm going to risk catching Hell and attach an article I wrote years ago
concerning carpet and carpet sales practices. *It was from a different time
in a different region of the country, but is still quite timely and valid..
Any comment or suggestions on how it can be improved would also be
appreciated.

Dunno if my comment made it, so re-posting.

That was the most amazing gracious act I've every seen on this or any
NG! You sure as hell know your "carpet and carpet sales practices!.
Now if we had somebody like you for every aspect of house building and
repair, we'd all be home free. Thanks, pal!

HB

[....article...]

On Aug 15, 1:14*am, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Aug 12, 2:09*pm, "George" wrote: I'm going to risk catching Hell and attach an article I wrote years ago
concerning carpet and carpet sales practices. *It was from a different time
in a different region of the country, but is still quite timely and valid.
Any comment or suggestions on how it can be improved would also be
appreciated.

Dunno if my comment made it, so re-posting.

That was the most amazing gracious act I've every seen on this or any
NG! *You sure as hell know your "carpet and carpet sales practices!.
Now if we had somebody like you for every aspect of house building and
repair, we'd all be home free. *Thanks, pal!

HB

[....article...]

It did, but I'm sure he liked hearing it again!

R

On Aug 12, 8:26*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
On 08/12/2010 11:14 PM, aemeijers wrote:



Evan wrote:
On Aug 12, 6:36 pm, aemeijers wrote:
George wrote:
I'm going to risk catching Hell and attach an article I wrote years ago
concerning carpet and carpet sales practices. It was from a different
time in a different region of the country, but is still quite timely
and
valid. Any comment or suggestions on how it can be improved would also
be appreciated.
Nonny
Primer for Buying Carpet
(Long educational tale snipped)
Thank you- that was very enlightening. Bottom line is, it reinforces my
distaste for WW carpet even more. Gimme hardwood with the occasional
area rug small enough to wash in the big-boy washer at the laundromat..

--
aem sends...

You shouldn't wash a real area rug in a washing machine, all that
tumbling
around will place many years of wear on a real carpet...

When carpets are washed by someone who knows what they are doing
they are unrolled flat onto a conveyor belt and run through a machine
with
sprayer heads which spray cleaning solution/rinse water onto the
carpet
as it passes underneath on the conveyor... It is then blown with warm
air to remove excess water and hung to dry on a racking system in a
humidity controlled warmed space...

~~ Evan

I'm not talking hand-dyed and hand-tied Persian rugs here. Yeah, I've
seen on TOH and other shows how those have to be cleaned. Fortunately,
the cost of those is well higher on the food chain than I will ever be.

I was speaking of the basically disposable rugs like you get at BigLots
or Kmart, to put near weather doors, beside the bed, at the bottom of
the stairs so your feet can 'see' the bottom when your arms are full,
that sort of thing. Rugs where if they last five years, they don't owe
you anything.

I managed to get a really nice Chinese-made "Persian" rug off Craigslist
for something like $900 for my living room. *I defy anyone to tell the
difference between it and the real deal.

The way you tell is to turn it over and count the density of the
stitches on the back.

*Sometimes you get lucky. *Love
walking on it in bare feet, too.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Aug 13, 8:32*am, Cindy Hamilton
wrote:
On Aug 12, 7:15*pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:



In article , wrote:
The price of carpet seems to be related more to the
store image than the quality of the carpet.

Yup.

One guy emphasized the stain repellent.

It helps. But it's not magic.

Other guy emphasized the importance of high density pad.

Good pad matters.

One emphasized the tightness of the weave on the backside.

Look at the overall density of the carpet; back and pile.

Just need to figure out how to read thru the salesspeak and get the most
bang for the buck.

Consider installing it yourself. It's not nearly as hard
as it's made out to be, especially if you can avoid
seams.

Renting or buying a kicker is essential. Plus an iron if
you'll need to seam. I've always been able to get away
without a stretcher in normal residential sized rooms.
Shears are nice but you can do it all with a utility
knife and *lot* of blades.

Best tip I picked up while working as a professional
carpet fitter...

Never use regular carpet in bathrooms/toilets. Carpet
hates water.

If you (or SWMBO) demands the warmth and softness of
carpet, look for waterproof (wet area rated) carpet
tiles. They work quite well.

Tile and stone can hold up better but they are cold,
potentially slippery, and hard (if any members of the
household are susceptible to a fall).

But regular carpet is a big no-no. The stuff I've had
to remove from old bathrooms was absolutely disgusting!

I simply bought two big rubber-backed bath rugs at
Bedbugs Beyond. *Once a week I throw them in
the washer and dryer. *(Actually, I have two sets, so
each set is washed every other week.)


Doesn't the rubber backing wear off in time with multiple washings?
Mine always do.


Of course, it helps that the bathroom is only 5' by 10'.
The vanity, tub, and toilet take up most of the floor,
so those two rugs cover almost all of what's left.

One of the advantages of owning a modest post-war
ranch: *less to clean.

Cindy Hamilton

"Higgs Boson" wrote in message
...
On Aug 13, 8:32 am, Cindy Hamilton
wrote:
On Aug 12, 7:15 pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:



In article ,
wrote:
The price of carpet seems to be related more to the
store image than the quality of the carpet.

Yup.

One guy emphasized the stain repellent.

It helps. But it's not magic.

Other guy emphasized the importance of high density pad.

Good pad matters.

One emphasized the tightness of the weave on the backside.

Look at the overall density of the carpet; back and pile.

Just need to figure out how to read thru the salesspeak and get the
most
bang for the buck.

Consider installing it yourself. It's not nearly as hard
as it's made out to be, especially if you can avoid
seams.

Renting or buying a kicker is essential. Plus an iron if
you'll need to seam. I've always been able to get away
without a stretcher in normal residential sized rooms.
Shears are nice but you can do it all with a utility
knife and *lot* of blades.

Best tip I picked up while working as a professional
carpet fitter...

Never use regular carpet in bathrooms/toilets. Carpet
hates water.

If you (or SWMBO) demands the warmth and softness of
carpet, look for waterproof (wet area rated) carpet
tiles. They work quite well.

Tile and stone can hold up better but they are cold,
potentially slippery, and hard (if any members of the
household are susceptible to a fall).

But regular carpet is a big no-no. The stuff I've had
to remove from old bathrooms was absolutely disgusting!

I simply bought two big rubber-backed bath rugs at
Bedbugs Beyond. Once a week I throw them in
the washer and dryer. (Actually, I have two sets, so
each set is washed every other week.)


Doesn't the rubber backing wear off in time with multiple washings?
Mine always do.
===========

I believe the dryer is the culprit there, not the washing.

Cheri

Cheri wrote:
"Higgs Boson" wrote in message
...
On Aug 13, 8:32 am, Cindy Hamilton
wrote:
On Aug 12, 7:15 pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:



In article ,
wrote:
The price of carpet seems to be related more to the
store image than the quality of the carpet.

Yup.

One guy emphasized the stain repellent.

It helps. But it's not magic.

Other guy emphasized the importance of high density pad.

Good pad matters.

One emphasized the tightness of the weave on the backside.

Look at the overall density of the carpet; back and pile.

Just need to figure out how to read thru the salesspeak and get the
most
bang for the buck.

Consider installing it yourself. It's not nearly as hard
as it's made out to be, especially if you can avoid
seams.

Renting or buying a kicker is essential. Plus an iron if
you'll need to seam. I've always been able to get away
without a stretcher in normal residential sized rooms.
Shears are nice but you can do it all with a utility
knife and *lot* of blades.

Best tip I picked up while working as a professional
carpet fitter...

Never use regular carpet in bathrooms/toilets. Carpet
hates water.

If you (or SWMBO) demands the warmth and softness of
carpet, look for waterproof (wet area rated) carpet
tiles. They work quite well.

Tile and stone can hold up better but they are cold,
potentially slippery, and hard (if any members of the
household are susceptible to a fall).

But regular carpet is a big no-no. The stuff I've had
to remove from old bathrooms was absolutely disgusting!

I simply bought two big rubber-backed bath rugs at
Bedbugs Beyond. Once a week I throw them in
the washer and dryer. (Actually, I have two sets, so
each set is washed every other week.)


Doesn't the rubber backing wear off in time with multiple washings?
Mine always do.
===========

I believe the dryer is the culprit there, not the washing.

Cheri
Other downside is, with cheap rugs and cheap vinyl, it is a lifetime
commitment, since those rubber backs are notorious for staining the vinyl.

--
aem sends...

On 08/17/2010 04:31 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Aug 12, 8:26 pm, Nate wrote:
On 08/12/2010 11:14 PM, aemeijers wrote:



Evan wrote:
On Aug 12, 6:36 pm, wrote:
George wrote:
I'm going to risk catching Hell and attach an article I wrote years ago
concerning carpet and carpet sales practices. It was from a different
time in a different region of the country, but is still quite timely
and
valid. Any comment or suggestions on how it can be improved would also
be appreciated.
Nonny
Primer for Buying Carpet
(Long educational tale snipped)
Thank you- that was very enlightening. Bottom line is, it reinforces my
distaste for WW carpet even more. Gimme hardwood with the occasional
area rug small enough to wash in the big-boy washer at the laundromat.

--
aem sends...

You shouldn't wash a real area rug in a washing machine, all that
tumbling
around will place many years of wear on a real carpet...

When carpets are washed by someone who knows what they are doing
they are unrolled flat onto a conveyor belt and run through a machine
with
sprayer heads which spray cleaning solution/rinse water onto the
carpet
as it passes underneath on the conveyor... It is then blown with warm
air to remove excess water and hung to dry on a racking system in a
humidity controlled warmed space...

~~ Evan

I'm not talking hand-dyed and hand-tied Persian rugs here. Yeah, I've
seen on TOH and other shows how those have to be cleaned. Fortunately,
the cost of those is well higher on the food chain than I will ever be.

I was speaking of the basically disposable rugs like you get at BigLots
or Kmart, to put near weather doors, beside the bed, at the bottom of
the stairs so your feet can 'see' the bottom when your arms are full,
that sort of thing. Rugs where if they last five years, they don't owe
you anything.

I managed to get a really nice Chinese-made "Persian" rug off Craigslist
for something like $900 for my living room. I defy anyone to tell the
difference between it and the real deal.

The way you tell is to turn it over and count the density of the
stitches on the back.

Like I said, I defy you to tell the difference. This one is dense; as
much as if not more so than the "real" one in the guest bedroom.

I've seen some rugs of *lesser* quality from the middle east. If you
know what you're looking for, you can still get good deals, especially
2nd-hand.

nate


--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On 2010-08-12, mike wrote:

One guy emphasized the stain repellent.
Other guy emphasized the importance of high density pad.
One emphasized the tightness of the weave on the backside.

I used to think stain repellency was a good indicator. My brother had
an off white carpet and I spilled red wine on it. I got the wine out
with nothing but water. I had a new carpet intalled in a rental I
lived in for about 6 yrs. The short nap changed to an unidentifiable
fuzz in high traffic areas within 2-3 yrs and no doubt needed
replacement after I moved.

Quotes ranged from $3k to $7K installed for about 100 square yards

Yikes! Carpets are one of the biggest rip-offs in home industry.
After I helped my buddy/landlord install the carpet I mention above, I
swore I'd never pay for carpet installation again. Building new steps
(5!) for my deck was harder.

nb

On Aug 17, 4:32*pm, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Aug 13, 8:32*am, Cindy Hamilton
wrote:





On Aug 12, 7:15*pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:

In article , wrote:
The price of carpet seems to be related more to the
store image than the quality of the carpet.

Yup.

One guy emphasized the stain repellent.

It helps. But it's not magic.

Other guy emphasized the importance of high density pad.

Good pad matters.

One emphasized the tightness of the weave on the backside.

Look at the overall density of the carpet; back and pile.

Just need to figure out how to read thru the salesspeak and get the most
bang for the buck.

Consider installing it yourself. It's not nearly as hard
as it's made out to be, especially if you can avoid
seams.

Renting or buying a kicker is essential. Plus an iron if
you'll need to seam. I've always been able to get away
without a stretcher in normal residential sized rooms.
Shears are nice but you can do it all with a utility
knife and *lot* of blades.

Best tip I picked up while working as a professional
carpet fitter...

Never use regular carpet in bathrooms/toilets. Carpet
hates water.

If you (or SWMBO) demands the warmth and softness of
carpet, look for waterproof (wet area rated) carpet
tiles. They work quite well.

Tile and stone can hold up better but they are cold,
potentially slippery, and hard (if any members of the
household are susceptible to a fall).

But regular carpet is a big no-no. The stuff I've had
to remove from old bathrooms was absolutely disgusting!

I simply bought two big rubber-backed bath rugs at
Bedbugs Beyond. *Once a week I throw them in
the washer and dryer. *(Actually, I have two sets, so
each set is washed every other week.)

Doesn't the rubber backing wear off in time with multiple washings?
Mine always do.

Yes. Nothing lasts forever.

I wash mine in cold water and dry them on low. This gives
an acceptable lifetime for the rubber backing. I suppose I
could hang them dry, but I can't be bothered.

Cindy Hamilton

On Aug 17, 7:54*pm, aemeijers wrote:
Cheri wrote:
"Higgs Boson" wrote in message
....
On Aug 13, 8:32 am, Cindy Hamilton
wrote:
On Aug 12, 7:15 pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:

In article ,
wrote:
The price of carpet seems to be related more to the
store image than the quality of the carpet.

Yup.

One guy emphasized the stain repellent.

It helps. But it's not magic.

Other guy emphasized the importance of high density pad.

Good pad matters.

One emphasized the tightness of the weave on the backside.

Look at the overall density of the carpet; back and pile.

Just need to figure out how to read thru the salesspeak and get the
most
bang for the buck.

Consider installing it yourself. It's not nearly as hard
as it's made out to be, especially if you can avoid
seams.

Renting or buying a kicker is essential. Plus an iron if
you'll need to seam. I've always been able to get away
without a stretcher in normal residential sized rooms.
Shears are nice but you can do it all with a utility
knife and *lot* of blades.

Best tip I picked up while working as a professional
carpet fitter...

Never use regular carpet in bathrooms/toilets. Carpet
hates water.

If you (or SWMBO) demands the warmth and softness of
carpet, look for waterproof (wet area rated) carpet
tiles. They work quite well.

Tile and stone can hold up better but they are cold,
potentially slippery, and hard (if any members of the
household are susceptible to a fall).

But regular carpet is a big no-no. The stuff I've had
to remove from old bathrooms was absolutely disgusting!

I simply bought two big rubber-backed bath rugs at
Bedbugs Beyond. Once a week I throw them in
the washer and dryer. (Actually, I have two sets, so
each set is washed every other week.)

Doesn't the rubber backing wear off in time with multiple washings?
Mine always do.
===========

I believe the dryer is the culprit there, not the washing.

Cheri

Other downside is, with cheap rugs and cheap vinyl, it is a lifetime
commitment, since those rubber backs are notorious for staining the vinyl..

Of course, if you have cheap rugs and ceramic tile (as I do), it's not
a
problem. If I had vinyl, I probably wouldn't need the rugs. That
damned
ceramic tile is COLD.

Cindy Hamilton

On Aug 12, 7:28*pm, Evan wrote:
On Aug 12, 6:36*pm, aemeijers wrote:



George wrote:
I'm going to risk catching Hell and attach an article I wrote years ago
concerning carpet and carpet sales practices. *It was from a different
time in a different region of the country, but is still quite timely and
valid. Any comment or suggestions on how it can be improved would also
be appreciated.

Nonny

Primer for Buying Carpet

(Long educational tale snipped)
Thank you- that was very enlightening. Bottom line is, it reinforces my
distaste for WW carpet even more. Gimme hardwood with the occasional
area rug small enough to wash in the big-boy washer at the laundromat.

--
aem sends...

You shouldn't wash a real area rug in a washing machine, all that
tumbling
around will place many years of wear on a real carpet...

When carpets are washed by someone who knows what they are doing
they are unrolled flat onto a conveyor belt and run through a machine
with
sprayer heads which spray cleaning solution/rinse water onto the
carpet
as it passes underneath on the conveyor... *It is then blown with warm
air to remove excess water and hung to dry on a racking system in a
humidity controlled warmed space...

~~ Evan

I have two small Oriental rungs -- the real thing-. Once in a long
while, I take them
outside, hose them off, use a little cool water soap, rinse VERY well,
allow to dry in the sun.

Wouldn't work with my room-size Kashmiri carpet, so I just vacuum and
hope for
the best. Doesn't get heavy wear, so let us pray.

On Aug 17, 1:37*pm, "Cheri" wrote:
"Higgs Boson" wrote in message

...
On Aug 13, 8:32 am, Cindy Hamilton
wrote:



On Aug 12, 7:15 pm, (Malcolm Hoar) wrote:

In article ,
wrote:
The price of carpet seems to be related more to the
store image than the quality of the carpet.

Yup.

One guy emphasized the stain repellent.

It helps. But it's not magic.

Other guy emphasized the importance of high density pad.

Good pad matters.

One emphasized the tightness of the weave on the backside.

Look at the overall density of the carpet; back and pile.

Just need to figure out how to read thru the salesspeak and get the
most
bang for the buck.

Consider installing it yourself. It's not nearly as hard
as it's made out to be, especially if you can avoid
seams.

Renting or buying a kicker is essential. Plus an iron if
you'll need to seam. I've always been able to get away
without a stretcher in normal residential sized rooms.
Shears are nice but you can do it all with a utility
knife and *lot* of blades.

Best tip I picked up while working as a professional
carpet fitter...

Never use regular carpet in bathrooms/toilets. Carpet
hates water.

If you (or SWMBO) demands the warmth and softness of
carpet, look for waterproof (wet area rated) carpet
tiles. They work quite well.

Tile and stone can hold up better but they are cold,
potentially slippery, and hard (if any members of the
household are susceptible to a fall).

But regular carpet is a big no-no. The stuff I've had
to remove from old bathrooms was absolutely disgusting!

I simply bought two big rubber-backed bath rugs at
Bedbugs Beyond. Once a week I throw them in
the washer and dryer. (Actually, I have two sets, so
each set is washed every other week.)

Doesn't the rubber backing wear off in time with multiple washings?
Mine always do.
===========

I believe the dryer is the culprit there, not the washing.

Cheri

I have never had a dryer; always used that Big Dryer in the Sky.

However, I was idiot enough to wash one rubber-backed rug
on ***hot water setting***. QED.