Why Should You Buy Carpet?

Twenty years ago, carpet was the most popular type of flooring in the home. Today, though, we see many other types of flooring, including laminate – both traditional laminate, such as you would find in the kitchen or the bathroom, and new-style wood-effect laminates, that you find in living rooms and hallways in modern houses – and hardwood boards. Nowadays, when we want to buy new flooring, we often have to think carefully about our preferences. Here, we are going to consider the advantages of using carpet, as oppose to laminate and floorboards.

Comfort and Safety

Of the different types of flooring, carpet is by far the most comfortable. It feels springy when you walk on it – especially if you have extra underlay – and feels nice on bare feet. It is also much safer. If you fall over when walking on carpet, you will at least have a soft landing. Laminate can be quite soft too, but not to the same extent, and hardwood is not soft at all. It is also non-slip, which makes it hard to fall over at all. If you have laminate in your bathroom then we are sure that you are familiar with that terrifying moment when you step on a wet patch and you feel your feet slip from under you.

The only times when carpets can be dangerous is when they are not fixed to the floor using carpet strips. Some people, when they install their own carpets, just lay them straight onto the subfloor, without attaching them to the floor with carpet strips. This can then lead to the carpet slipping, which can take you right of your feet.

Sound Dampener

Carpet has the fantastic side effect of acting as a sound dampener. If you live in a noisy household, – maybe your kids stomp around a lot, or your dog has long nails – then carpet is a great way of minimising those annoying noises. It can also prevent sounds carrying inside from outdoors, so if you live in a built-up area, it can actually make your home feel much calmer and quieter, which is what most people want from their homes.

Insulating Properties

As well as offering sound insulation as mentioned above, carpets are heat insulators too. This means that your home will feel much comfortable and cosier. During winter you won’t have to spend as much on electricity or gas in order to keep the house warm, and in summer, because carpets are insulating, rather than hot, the house should stay cooler too – although it will not be as cool in summer as a laminate floor, it will certainly be hotter in winter than either a laminate floor or a floor with boards. If you live in the UK, then this will be a big seller.

Budgeting

Carpets are great for homes that are on a budget. The low cost carpets still look good, maybe not quite as good as the luxury carpets, but certainly good nonetheless. With laminate, you can see when people have paid less. If you want a good look on a budget, then carpet should be your choice of preference.

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How to Increase the Life of Your Carpet?

Carpets are expensive, and as with any expensive purchase, you will want to make sure that you keep it in pristine condition. There are many things that you can do to help ensure the longevity of your carpet, and not just its longevity, but also its appearance. If you want to keep your carpet looking new, then follow our advice.

Start As You Mean to Go On

As with anything, you need to start as you mean to go on. This means getting it right at the start, and getting it right at the start means buying the right carpet and the right accessories. If you want your carpet to last, then you need to buy a quality carpet that is built to last. This is obvious, but what are less obvious are the other purchases that you need to make:

1.       Make sure that you buy good underlay. Underlay will help to protect the carpet from wear and tear. Carpet manufacturers make recommendations as to the most suitable type of underlay, so buy what they recommend, as it will help to extend the life of the carpet.

2.       Make sure that you buy decent carpet strip, including carpet door strips. This will keep the carpet in place and will prevent too much movement, which can cause the carpet to fray.

3.       Buy the correct nails and tacks for the carpet strips, and use quality tools for installation.

Good Installation Is Essential

Next, you must ensure that the carpet is properly installed. Many people try to install carpets on their own, but it makes more sense to hire a professional carpet fitter. These people are experts at fitting carpets; they know how to install different types of carpet and do not rely on generic guides, such as those you find on the internet. They know how to match carpet door strip to the style of carpet, and they know how loose/tight to fit the carpet. These things will all make a difference to how long the carpet lasts.

Clean the Carpet Regularly

You need to keep a regular routine when cleaning your carpets. As well as picking up any dirt, vacuuming lifts the carpet and airs it out. It also increases the volume of air between the underlay and the carpet, which creates bounce. More bounce means that the carpet will take less time to flatten, and will therefore retain its look for longer. Cleaning away dust and debris will also keep the carpet looking nicer.

Every few years you should hire a professional carpet cleaner –just the machine, you do not have to hire the operator too, although you should if you want it done thoroughly. This will prevent the build-up of funky smells that can often accumulate in the carpet.

As long as you follow these three key instructions, you will ensure that your carpet lasts as longs as it should.

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What You Need to Know About Underlay

Carpet underlay helps to protect your carpet. When you buy a new carpet, you will want it to last as long as possible in as pristine a condition as it arrived. Underlay will help you to do this. It has other benefits, too. So, let’s take a closer look at this wonderful material and teach you exactly why you should use it when you buy a new carpet.

What Are The Advantages of Using Underlay?

There are many advantages in using underlay, here are just a few:

1.       Underlay is a fantastic insulator. This means that it helps to prevent ambient air from leaving the room. In summer, it helps to keep the room cool and in winter, it helps to keep the room warm. This in turn means that you save money on your household bills, because you will have lower energy needs. The only exception to insulated underlay is those intended for use with under floor heating. If you have under floor heating, then you need to use a special underlay that does not insulate, but instead conducts.

2.       As well as being a great insulator in terms of temperature, it is also a sound insulator. It acts as a soundproofing barrier, which prevents outside noises from getting in, and inside noises from getting out. You can even buy specialist acoustic underlay for those of you who love to create as close to a perfect sound as possible. Acoustic underlay is used in sound studios, theatres and cinemas because it increases the quality of sound.

3.       Underlay makes carpets feel more comfortable. Different types of underlay are better at this than others are. Generally, the best underlays are those made from polyurethane foam, such as Cloud 9 Underlay. Cloud 9 underlay creates a springiness underfoot, which as the name suggests, makes it feel as if you are walking on cloud 9.

4.       Underlay helps to extend the life of the carpet. The underlay absorbs pressure from furniture and foot traffic. This means that the carpet has less force applied to it with underlay than without underlay. The carpet will look better for longer and will take a longer time to flatten out. It is particularly important with thick piles, which will flatten quickly without the right underlay.

What are the Various Types of Underlay?

There are several types of underlay, but you will tend to encounter three: polyurethane, rubber, and felt. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages:

Rubber: rubber is a fantastic insulator and moisture barrier. It tends to be thin, so provides less comfort. It is good at preventing wear and tear.

Polyurethane foam: this is the most luxurious of the three, in terms of comfort. However, it is less dense, and so provides less protection against wear and tear than the other two types of underlay. Nonetheless, it is ideal for homes, because they tend to see relatively little foot traffic.

Felt: felt underlay is the workhorse of the three. It is the heavy-duty underlay used for carpets that see a lot of footfall. It is favoured by offices, schools, and other public spaces. It is less comfortable, so people tend to avoid it for use in their homes.

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Do You Need to Use Underlay For Your Carpet?

When you buy a new carpet, you will find that the manufacture or the retailer advises that you also purchase underlay. It can sometimes feel as if they are just trying to sell you more things, in order to maximise profits. However, underlay is often an integral part to any carpet. Below, we are going to look at the various benefits of using carpet underlays. Once you have read this article, you will have a much better understanding of the importance of carpet underlay.

Creating an Even Floor

Most houses have slightly uneven floors. With old houses this shows itself as a mild slope; newer houses may have lumps, bumps and ridges. An underlay will help to even out these imperfections. Sure, it cannot get rid of a slope, but it can make it much less noticeable, and it can make it easier to stand furniture.

If you have an uneven floor, as described above, then you will need to purchase underlay if you want you floor to look smoother.

Underlay Is Insulating

Unless you purchase specialist underlay designed for floors with under floor heating, the underlay will offer some level of insulation. Different types of underlay will offer greater or lesser degrees of insulation, but they will all offer some. This has several benefits:

1.       It helps keep the house warm during winter

2.       It helps keep the house cool during summer

3.       It dampens noise within the house (e.g. shouting kids or loud footsteps)

4.       It dampens noise coming from outside the house

The first two points will help you to save money on your energy bills, as you will not need to use the central heating or air conditioning as much as you would if you did not have the added insulation.

With the latter two points, you can actually buy acoustic carpet underlays. These enable you to create superior acoustics within the house, which is especially important for those of you who are ardent fans of music, or that have their own recording studio at home. Acoustic underlay is used in theatres and cinemas to offer superior sound.

Underlay Keeps Your Carpet Looking Better for Longer

Underlay protects your carpet from wear and tear. It does this in several ways, the first of which is density. Density is the measured in pounds per cubic foot and refers to the amount of pressure that the underlay can take: the higher the density, the greater the force that the underlay can absorb from the carpet. The underlay draws pressure away from the carpet and takes the brunt itself. This means that it becomes worn or flat, rather than the carpet, and so will extend the life of the carpet. Clearly, the longer that you want the carpet to last, the higher should be the density of the underlay.

As you can appreciate, there are several key benefits in using underlay. The only exception is for use with carpets that already have underlay backing; that is to say, carpets that are manufactured with an underlay underside.

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