Carpet

Carpet is a textile flooring generally made up of a top layer of pile (materials like nylon, and acrylic) attached to a backing.
Used to be made almost exclusively from wool. Thanks to new synthetic materials like polypropylene, nylon, and acrylic; carpet is easier to manufacture, more accessible to consumers, and more durable with greater wear.
Is often used interchangeably with the word “rug”.

Insulation for your feet on a cold tile or concrete floor.
Making your room more comfortable, and more inviting to sit on the floor (e.g. your child’s playroom).
Noise from walking is reduced. Especially helpful on upper floors, and in apartment buildings.
Adding colour or decoration to your room.

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Carpet can be produced in any colour, thanks to the dyeing of fibres.
It can come in many different patterns and motifs; which decorate the surface.
Wall-to-wall carpet is distinguished from rugs or mats; which are loose-laid floor coverings. Wall-to-wall carpet is fixed to the floor and covers a much larger area.
Formulated from many single or blended natural and synthetic fibres.
Produced on a loom similar to woven fabric, made using needle felts, knotted by hand (oriental rugs), made with the pile injected into a backing material (called tufting).

Carpet is commonly made in widths of 12 feet (3.7 m) and 15 feet (4.6 m) in North America.
Fixed to the floor over a cushioned underlay (pad) using nails, tack strips, adhesives, or occasionally decorative metal stair rods.
Fibres are chosen for durability, appearance, ease of manufacture, and cost.
In production, the dominant materials are polyamides (nylons) and polypropylene with an estimated 90% of the commercial market.

Is one of the most common materials in the construction of carpets.
Can be printed easily and has excellent wear characteristics.
Due to it’s excellent wear-resistance, nylon is widely used in industrial and commercial carpeting.

Commonly used to construct berber carpets.
Commercial grade styles wear very well, making them suitable for areas with heavy foot traffic like offices.
Polypropylene carpets are known to have good stain resistance, though not against oil-based agents.

The polyester known as “PET” is used in carpet manufacturing for both spun and filament constructions.
When the price of raw materials for many types of carpet rose in the early 2000s, polyester became more competitive.
It has good physical properties, and is inherently stain-resistant because it is hydrophobic.
A disadvantage is it tends to crush or mat down easily. It is typically used in mid- to low-priced carpeting.
Another polyester, “PTT”, also called Sorona or 3GT (Dupont) or Corterra (Shell), is a variant of PET. These carpet fibers have resiliency comparable to nylon.

A synthetic material first created by the Dupont Corporation in 1941 but has gone through various changes since it was first introduced.
In the past, acrylic carpet used to fuzz or “pill” easily. This happened when the fibres degraded over time and short strands broke away with contact or friction.
New types of acrylics have been developed to alleviate some of these problems.
Acrylic is colourfast, washable, and has the feel and appearance of wool, making it a good rug fabric.

Information adapted from Wikipedia