Evaluate how well Carpet meets your needs and compares to competing products
If you've completed step one you've identified what you need in carpet and you've learned about the different features of carpet. While you were doing your research, you probably started the process of determining which features - and thus which type of carpet - will best meet your needs. Now you are going to continue that process, but in greater detail.
In this step you will
evaluate the carpet available on the market to determine how well they meet your personal needs and establish, by a process of elimination, an initial short-list of contenders. Then you will compare the short-listed carpet to find out which ones stand out from the competition.
Evaluate how well Carpet meets your needs
Your priority at this point in your evaluation is to find the available carpet in the market that best meet your needs. You can save a lot of time during this activity by quickly eliminating any carpet that is unsuitable because it doesn't meet your key requirements. For example, if you have a limited budget for this purchase then you can ignore any carpet that clearly exceeds your price limit.
Choosing the right carpet for your home involves more than simply picking an attractive color. If you want to purchase the “perfect” carpet, you need to consider how the various facets of a carpet match you lifestyle needs.
Before you can figure that out, you need to ask yourself some pointed questions. How busy is your home? Are there people walking in and out of it a lot? Do you have children? Pets? If so, you have a high-traffic home. You will want to get a carpet that can stand up to that pressure - and not show grime easily.
How often do you want to clean your carpet? Some of the fancier carpeting needs daily maintenance to look good. Are you the type of person who will clean every day? No? Then purchase a carpet that will look good at the level of maintenance you're comfortable with.
Tip: You can work out how much carpet maintenance you will actually do by looking at how often you clean your floors now. You are very unlikely to clean more than you are currently cleaning.
Buying carpet is a significant expense, and you and your family will be walking on it for a long time. If you want your carpet to look good during its lifetime, you need to look at a carpet's fiber content before anything else.
Wool is the gold standard in luxury - largely because of its feel. Wool is also the most expensive of the mainstream carpeting types. Unfortunately, if you have children or pets - or a lot of traffic in your home - it doesn't wear very well, and stains easily. On the other hand, it does make a lovely carpet for a professional couple who aren't home all the time.
The majority of carpets are made out of nylon. If you have children or pets, this is a good fiber type to choose. It wears well, is mildew and stain resistant, and is moderately priced.
The style of carpet refers to how the yarn is attached to the backing. A short piece of yarn is sewn into a backing at both ends. (The yarn looks like an 'n' or a loop.) This is called the 'loop' style. If that loop is cut at the top it looks like a blade of grass and is called 'cut pile.'
This is important to know, because it will tell you if it is appropriate for your family's needs. Cut pile tends to feel softer, but it doesn't last nearly as long as loop-style. All of those cut ends fray easily, and it's hard to get completely clean. Cut pile is best used in rooms with little traffic.
Tip: Loop carpets are ideal for families with children or pets. If someone spills something, or the dog or cat has a whoopsy, the tight loops of fabric resist soaking up the liquid, giving you a little time to wipe up the mess before it stains.
Choosing the right carpet for you means considering each of these factors and arriving at a compromise between lifestyle, durability, and style. If you're determined to buy cut pile carpet for your high-traffic house (for example), then it is better to choose a stain resistant fiber such as nylon.
When you were considering your requirements in carpet it's likely that you singled out certain factors such as fiber type, style, durability and cost as being of major significance. As with so many other products, the more features offered, the higher the price.
Buyz123 has created a checklist containing examples of major features; you can work from this checklist when evaluating how well various carpet meets your personal needs:
Features Checklist
Fiber Type
- Wool: Soft, ecologically friendly, and expensive. It also tends to fade in direct sunlight, and stain easily.
- Nylon: Two thirds of the carpets sold today are made of nylon. It is durable, wears well, and is stain and mildew resistant. Solution dyed nylon is colour fast.
- Polyester: It has a soft, luxurious feel and is thick cut. It resists fading and is more durable than wool, though less durable than nylon or Olefin.
- Olefin: (Polypropylene) It resists mould, mildew, and fading. It is an excellent carpet for the outdoors. The 'hand' isn't as nice as the other synthetics, but that is steadily improving.
Cut Pile Style
- Softer feel
- Multi-level pile creates patterns or texture. It is harder to clean.
- Frizzed yarn hides footprints, dirt.
- Heat set pile retains it shape better.
Looped Style
- Level loop: All loops are the same height. It's easier to keep clean.
- Multilevel Loop: Loops of varying heights give textured look. Dirt can become trapped in the crevices.
- Berber: Once used solely as a term for a type of hand made African carpet, it can now refer to any looped carpet made with a thicker yarn.
Pile Height
- Refers to the length of the pile. A taller pile feels better, a shorter pile is easier to clean.
Pile Weight
- Ounces of yarn per square yard (grams of yarn per square meter)
Tuft (bunching) Density
- Number of tufts per square inch (per square cm). Denser carpets wear better but can be harder to clean.
Grade
- Base-grade: Low end, made up of scraps from various mills.
- Branded yarn-grade: comes from the same mill. Look for the words 'wear dated.'
Padding
- No more than 7/16 inch (1.3cm) thick for residential carpet
- Thinner carpet should have a thinner pad.
- The pad should be firm and spring back quickly.
- Comes in three main types (listed below)
Re-bond Pad
- Low-end re-bond pads are made from scraps, such as old car seats, sneakers and fibreglass. 3/8 inches (1.1cm) thickness is standard.
- If paired with a low-grade carpet, 'low' spots in the floor that you can feel if not see will eventually appear in the floor.
Vinyl
- Mid range padding.
- Very dense, it won't let a carpet move.
- The vinyl front and back make it a good choice for houses with pets. Urine won't soak into the pad.
Polyurethane
- High end
- Very even density (no low spots)
- Very comfortable to walk on
Warranty
- Materials and Workmanship - 1, 5, 7 or 10 years
- Staining or soiling - 7 years
- Abrasive wear - 10 years
- Anti-static - Lifetime
- Other warranties - matting, change in appearance, loss of twist, manufacturing defects, installation faults
- Fine Print - Carpet warranties are often limited and are subject to strict conditions of use, with claims hinging on definitions of 'normal usage and wear and tear' or 'proper cleaning'.
Other Considerations
- Has the yarn been sprayed with Teflon or another stain-resistant or mould-resistant chemical?
- Will the store deliver and install the carpet for you?
There are a lot of features listed here, and some of them may not be relevant to your particular requirements. So, work your way through the list and assess how each of these features impact on your carpet needs. You can then create a personalized checklist of the features you really require in carpet.
Once you have finished evaluating the carpet available for sale in the light of your personal needs and arrived at a short-list of 'possibles' you are ready to progress to the next stage. This involves comparing the carpet one-on-one in order to find those that really stand out.
Evaluate how well Carpet compares with competing Carpet
Comparing the items on your interim short-list, one to another, is an important part of the purchasing process - we all want to buy the best product we possibly can. So once you have established a short-list of carpet that meets your needs it is time to evaluate how well they compare in fine detail. This way you can assemble a select list of carpet that stands out from the crowd.
Questions to ask yourself:
Which carpet on my short-list offers the best value for money?
Which of these carpets best meets my needs?
Which of my short-listed carpet has the best warranty?
Which carpet is the easiest to clean?
Which of the carpet seems of the highest quality?
Which short-listed carpet has the best stain resistance?
Which carpet do I like best?
By answering these simple questions, you are actually eliminating carpet that isn't absolutely right for you. This is an excellent time - if you haven't done so already - to evaluate how well your short-listed products measure up in the following areas: Physical Quality, Warranty Conditions and Accessories & Extras.
Physical Quality
Regardless of the method you use when purchasing the carpet, you need to find an opportunity to examine the product to evaluate how well it is made, and to check that it is truly suitable for you and your purpose. This is the time to examine the quality of the materials, and how well the carpet is put together. Check the assembly - is the carpet solidly constructed? It's also important to examine the carpet from the perspective of ease of use. How easily is the carpet prepared for cleaning and maintenance? Make sure the carpet is user-friendly - some carpet looks great in the showroom, but unexpected problems will show up when you finally get your hands on it.
Physical Inspection Checklist:
- Materials - quality, appearance
- Assembly - all parts held together securely
- Solidly constructed - stable, no loose components
- Size - appropriate for surroundings and purpose
- Appearance - well finished, appropriate color, neat fittings etc
- Easy to maintain
Warranty Conditions
Similar products may be available with significantly different terms and conditions, and you want to get the best deal you can. Parts and labor are often covered under separate warranties, for different time periods; sometimes there can be a significant difference in the warranty offered with one model compared to that offered with the next model up. It is particularly important to investigate any conditions that might void a warranty, such as if you use different cleaning products to those recommended.
Warranty Checklist:
- Duration - check the specifics
- Materials, Labor
- Exactly what is covered
- Exactly what is excluded
- Conditions or actions that may void the warranty
Once you've worked through the Evaluation step you will have a final short-list of carpet that meets your needs and stand out from competing products on the market. It's time then to move on to the third and final step: Purchase.
Video Links
Buyz123.com Research Links:ComparisonsComparing types of carpet.Chart comparing fibers