Carpet is a popular choice for homes and apartments. Almost no other type of flooring ties a room together as neatly as an attractive, well-maintained carpet. If carpets receive proper maintenance, including carpet cleaning, they are soft and pleasurable to walk on. Plus, modern anti-stain protection treatments help make carpet installation a good choice for people with children and pets. Keep reading for an overview of carpet and flooring in your home.

Benefits of Carpet

If you’re trying to decide between carpet and flooring types like wood or laminate, carpet has many advantages. Some of these are the following:

• Carpet absorbs sound, which is important if you live in an apartment or condo.
• Carpet installation is simple, and can cover imperfections in the floorboards.
• Carpet is available in many different colors and textures, giving it the ability to pull a room’s look together in a way other floors can’t match.

Drawbacks of Carpet

Although there are many benefits of carpet tiles in your home, there are some disadvantages as well. If you’re looking for an environmentally-friendly floor material, carpet is one of the worst choices available. Carpets and carpet pads are made out of synthetic material and laden with chemicals. Products used in carpet cleaning add even more chemicals to the mix. Plus, carpet is notorious for trapping dust mites, which can be problematic for people with allergies.

Types of Carpet Tiles

Carpet tiles are categorized according to their pile, or the way the carpet fibers are shaped. Carpets usually fall into one of four categories:

• Cut pile: The fiber’s loops are cut, resulting in a flat, unadorned finish.
• Level loop: The loops of the fiber remain intact and are all of equal height.
• Multilevel loop: The loops vary in height, allowing the carpet to boast different patterns and designs.
• Textured: Similar to cut pile, except that the pile is twisted to give the carpet an interesting pattern. Textured patterns hold well, even when subjected to foot traffic or a vacuum cleaner.

Types of Carpet Fibers

When choosing your carpet, you’ll also need to decide what kind of fiber you want. Available carpet fibers include:

• Acrylic: resists stains well and doesn’t fade in sunlight
• Nylon: very soft, flexible material; resistant to wear
• Polypropylene (or olefin): the lightest carpet fiber; dries easily and doesn’t generate much static electricity
• Polyester: very easy to clean; durable
• Wool: very warm; fire resistant.

Carpet Installation

Carpet installation is relatively simple compared to other types of flooring. In order to install carpeting in your home, you’ll follow these easy steps:

• Prepare the floor and nail down fastener strips.
• Lay down and secure the padding.
• Add the carpet, securing it to the fastener strips.

Carpet is also available as peel-and-stick tiles. These carpet tiles are a cinch to install and maintain. The adhesive keeps the edges from curling up and holds the carpet in place.