What is The Best Carpet to Buy? Vol. #2 Fiber

"What is the best carpet to buy?" is a question that can not be answered, or at least will not have the same answer for everyone. When I began my career as a carpet salesman I received some great advice from a good friend and mentor Glen Matton of Deacon Flooring in London On. He said "Don't always sell the customer what they want, you should sell them what they need!" Oh??? I said?? "You wouldn't sell a loose looped carpet to a customer with a bunch of cats because the consumer likes that particular carpet, the cats will destroy it in no time!" he said. That was great advice from a great guy, and since then I do my best to sell customers on products that better fit their needs while certainly still respecting their wants. If you are a serious capet consumer do yourself a favor a read my next few blog posts, so that when shopping for a new carpet, you not only purchase what you want in a carpet but also what you need in a carpet.

Over the next week or so we will be posting about carpet to hopefully educate you on what is the best carpet to buy FOR YOU? 

Vol#2 Fiber

There are several types of fibers available today, however today we will be only discussing the four main types that are generally used in a residential setting. Although most carpet consumers think pile height and weight are the most important thing to look for in a carpet, I strongly disagree. I feel the material used is one of if not the most important features when purchasing a carpet. The only thing that is as important or more important can be read about in Vol#1 Style  because your first step is picking a carpet style, the next step is the fiber, then we will talk about a carpet twist in Vol#3 Twist

Stainmaster Nylon Carpet 

Nylon fiber has been being used in carpets since the early 1960's and has proven itself to be the strongest of all the carpet fibers today. Nylon fiber is very versatile, you will find carpet styles such as berbers, plush's, patterned as well as frieze's made out of nylon fiber.  Nylon is my personal favorite fiber, actually STAINMASTER Nylon is my favorite fiber. The reason Stainmaster nylon is my favorite nylon is they have the strongest nylon 6.6 as well as the best treatment for their nylon which in turn gives them an advantage of giving the best warranties as well as the best product. Having that said there is still another important area to cover when it comes to a quality carpet and that is the twist, however we will address that in Vol#3 Twist.

Phenix Polyester 

Polyester or PET fiber is very environmentally friendly in fact some people call it pop bottle carpet because it is made from recycled water or pop bottles. Polyester is naturally very stain resistant as well as very soft and is generally less expensive than nylon giving a customer a more affordable carpet. When polyester first came in to the market there was many issues with it wearing far too quickly, however with today's advanced technology it stands up allot better! A polyester carpet when woven and twisted properly can last a long time in a home. A polyester plush carpet would be recommended for area rugs, bedrooms, living rooms etc. and in todays market is likely what is installed in the average home. If using a polyester in a high traffic area like stairs or hallways, I would generally suggest a berber or pattern style  because they are the best for wear in a high traffic area.

PTT Polyester or Triexta Polyester fiber is what the Mohawk SmartStrand is made out of. Mohawk has marked this product as #1 is stain resistance and has used videos of zoo animals walking on it to market its quality. This product is polyester so it is naturally great for stains and is naturally soft just like a PET polyester however it has it's own classification of PTT. Again PTT much like PET is amazing for stains and is ultra soft, however it is on par with the cost of a Stainmaster nylon but it wears similar to a PET, therefor I believe it is not the carpet it markets itself to be. Until educating myself about carpet by reading third party articles, talking to installers and carpet salesman over the last few years, I was fooled by the clever zoo marketing as well, however this zoo carpet might be excellent for stains and ultra soft, however I am not alone when I say dollar for dollar it will not outlast a carpet made of nylon. I generally suggest anyone looking at this type of carpeting to purchase a PET Polyester because you will get a very similar look and feel with a reduced price tag.

Kraus Berber 

Polypropylene or Olefin fiber is amazing for sun resistance and fading because of the way it is made. Olefin fiber will not absorb water and it is very stain resistant. Olefin is a weak fiber therefor I do not recommend it for any carpet style other than berber. I recommend this for a berber because when making a berber carpet it is not as important to have a really strong fiber because of the loop technology used.

Below is a chart I made that shows the qualities of each of the four main carpet types

Fiber	Stain Resistance	Texture Retention	Style and colour options
Stainmaster Nylon	Great	Great	Great
PET Polyester	Great	Good	Great
PTT Triexta Polyester	Great	Good	Great
Polypropylene or Olefin	Great	Poor	Poor