Carpet Repairs
Over time your carpeting may have developed waves, ripples, lumps and bumps. You don't always need new wall to wall carpet; you can save money by having your carpets re-stretched. Re-stretching takes up the slack in you carpets and restores them to their original tension. This removes the waves and ripples. Lumps and bumps can be restored by installing new padding under the carpet in the affected area. We can re-seam carpeting that has come apart as well as repair tears.

But if you really need new carpet, read this first...

Selecting New Carpet

Nylon – Nylon is utilized in approximately 65% of the carpet sold in the U.S.  It is a very durable fiber with excellent performance characteristics. Its strengths include goodresiliency, good yarn memory to hold twist, good carpet cleaning efficacy, good stain resistance with stain treatment applied, good soil hiding ability, and good abrasion resistance.  Nylon is manufactured in both BCF and staple fiber. It is the strongest fiber, making it an excellent choice for the heavy traffic of an active household or commercial facility. It’s also the most durable of the synthetics. It is soil and mildew resistant and resilient, but is prone to static. Most nylon is treated with an anti-static treatment to reduce static.  Continuous filament fibers minimize pilling and shedding.

There are two basic types of nylon (type 6 and type 6,6) and each provides different performance characteristics.  For many years, type 6,6 has been considered to be the premium nylon fiber, but technological advances in dyeing and twisting processes have narrowed the gap between the two. However, type 6,6 remains the premium nylon fiber used today.  If you are looking for value goods, type 6 nylon fibers offer a considerable benefit for the money.  It is difficult to assess whether the cost premium or cost savings is worth the differences.  It only should be mentioned that when considering two styles, one type 6, the other 6,6, there will be difference in cost and this difference is justified.  The difference over a 10-12-year lifecycle will equate to the same approximate price provided the construction of the two styles is similar.

Nylon fibers also can be branded or unbranded.  For example, DuPont nylon (type 6,6) is manufactured by DuPont and is a premium fiber.  Many fibers that do not carry a brand name may be extruded by the carpet manufacturer (typically type 6) and can be considered value goods.  Branded fibers traditionally cost more than value goods.  This can be attributed to a number of factors including the shape of the fiber (soil hiding), topical treatments (stain inhibitors), minimum construction requirements (twist level, pile weight), and consistency of fiber quality.  However, you should not base your purchase decision solely on branded vs. unbranded or type 6 vs. 6,6.  Because of lower cost for the fiber, an unbranded type 6 fiber may be able to provide better construction attributes for the same dollar amount.

Polypropylene – Polypropylene, also called olefin, is the fastest growing fiber segment in use today.  It is a relatively inexpensive fiber, which is easily extruded by most carpet manufacturers.  There are very few, true branded olefins available other than those brands registered by carpet manufacturers.  Olefin makes up about 30 % of the fiber used in U.S. carpet manufacturing today.  Its strengths include superior stain resistance, with the exception of oil-based stains, and low cost. It is a solution-dyed product, which means color is added during extrusion in its molten state rather than topically applied. (Imagine a carrot vs. a radish).  Because of this dye method it has superior resistance to bleaches and sunlight fading.  However it has poor resiliency, which can lead to crushing.  Color selection is limited due to its dye method.  It has poor abrasion resistance and its low melt point can cause fibers to fuse if furniture or other objects are dragged across its surface.  Olefins clean very well and most staining is non-existent. Olefin was originally favored for outdoor carpeting and basements due to its resistance to moisture, mildew, water damage, staining, pilling, shedding and static—all for lower cost than nylon. Now it’s more widely used for its durability and appearance. Since it’s dyed before it’s made into a fiber, olefin is extremely colorfast.

This description should not scare you away from olefin, because constructed properly, olefins provide an excellent value and good performance.  Olefin would not work well in a busy airport or school environment, but will perform well in a busy family room.  In acknowledging it’s weaknesses, it is easy to find a suitably constructed olefin Berber or other loop-pile product.  Steer clear of big loop Berber with low density and never consider any cut pile olefin for residential use.  These constructions typically fail with any fiber system, but olefin is especially susceptible to pile crush in these constructions.  A properly constructed olefin will outperform a similarly constructed nylon product because of its inherent stain and fade resistance, but a poorly constructed olefin will ultimately lead to dissatisfaction.  Olefin is manufactured in BCF only.

Polyester- Polyester fiber produces some of the most beautiful colorations available.  It also is extremely fade resistant and provides excellent resistance to stains.  However, like olefin, it does have poor resilient properties and thus is susceptible to crushing.  Polyester fabrics are generally sold in heavy face weights with high-density construction.  Avoid high pile heights with low-density construction.  These products tend to flatten and “ugly” out.  Also look for high twist levels rather than “blown” yarns.  Loose twists (blown yarn) tend to untwist and the yarn tips tend to fuse together creating a matted appearance.  Most consumers like to dig their fingers into the carpet pile and if it provides a luxurious feel "hand" they believe this is excellent quality.  This is referred to as perceived quality.  True quality exists when it is difficult to insert your fingers into the pile.  This is a true test for all carpet constructions, but it is a necessity for polyester fibers. 

Polyester is manufactured in staple fiber only. While it’s not as durable as nylon, it’s quite durable and resists wear. Polyester offers a wide selection of textures and colors. It is non-allergenic, sheds moisture and resists moths and mildew at a lower cost than wool or nylon. While it’s susceptible to pilling, shedding and oil-based stains, it otherwise cleans fairly easily and is enhanced by stain treatments.  Some polyester fibers are recycled from plastic pop bottles, so if environmental concerns are a major issue for you, ask for polyester fibers that have been reclaimed from post consumer use products.