Choosing your new carpet can be a daunting task with so many options to choose from. Here we will try to walk you through some of the most popular choices.
Polypropylene Twist
Polypropylene is a widely used synthetic (man-made) material. It’s a popular choice of carpet due to it's stain resistance, softness and good value for money. As well as being inherently resistant to most types of stains, Polypropylene carpets can also be cleaned using tougher treatments, even watered down bleach solutions. Polypropylene carpets often possess a soft sheen meaning they can respond differently to light after being fluffed up by a vacuum, especially if the carpet has a longer pile length (see picture below).
Price inc standard fitting*: £20 - £30 per square meter
80/20 Wool Twist
An 80/20 carpet contains 80% wool fibres combined with 20% man made fibres such as polypropylene or nylon. A good quality wool mix carpet is a great long term investment as they are extremely resilient and wear very well. Even in higher traffic areas like stairs, wool has a natural flexibility and ability to bounce back into shape.
80/20 carpets offer a huge range of
colours and a more matte appearance than a synthetic material. Adding the man made fibres can help improve durability and resistance to stains but they will still be more susceptible than a purely synthetic carpet. Anti-stain treatments are recommended to help delay stains penetrating the yarn and give you more time to clean up any spills etc. Carpets with a high wool content are also more resistant to fire damage than polypropylene as well as being more eco friendly.
Price inc standard fitting*: £23 - £79 per square meter
Wool Loop
Wool loop carpets, as the name would suggest, are made up of a weave where the wool is looped back on itself which allows for the creation of many distinctive styles and textures. It also means that when walking on a wool loop, you apply pressure to the side of the yarn instead of the exposed cut fibres of a twist pile. This is advantageous because of the natural
flexibility of wool and its ability to bounce back help prevent the carpet from flattening and showing traffic marks.
A word of warning though, wool loops look great to people but can also prove too tempting for pets to claw, especially cats. Claws as well as abrasive footwear can pull at loops leaving a frayed appearance. For the same reasons, care should be taken when vacuuming. Some manufacturers recommend using a cylinder vacuum with a suction type head, rather than an upright vacuum with a brush & beater bar.
Price inc standard fitting*: £31 - £150 per square meter
Flat Weave
Flat weave carpets allow you to bring a modern design element to your flooring. Using small and carefully placed wool loops, many distinctive pattern choices are possible, such as a herringbone pattern (as pictured).
Because a flat weave uses less wool and has a more flat design than a standard carpet, vacuuming is easier and the carpet will hold less dust (& dust mites!) making it a good option for people with certain allergies. They are also very hard wearing so good for high traffic areas.
Flat weave carpets look great but it is important to note, because of the reduced wool content, flat weave carpets are less soft and less warm than a standard carpet. If comfort is the key issue for you, other options may be more suitable.
Price inc standard fitting*: £79 - £150 per square meter
*Standard fitting normally covers flat areas 12 square meters and above. Non standard fitting i.e. staircases will incur additional charges. All prices subject to site survey.