Carpet - pile and underlay

Comments (5)

Ribena Drinker
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I've always gone with the best underlay I can afford, that way it more likely to last and won't need changing if you change the carpet. The last one was a premium rubber underlay.

You're right, carpets with longer pile will show more signs of traffic, than a flatter/lower pile like a twist or a berber for instance. I also always go for a wool or wool mix carpet, with a twist pile. Looped piles aren't a good idea if you have animals, particularly cats, as they can get their claws caught in the pile loops.

We have a cream wool twist carpet throughout the rooms upstairs, on the landing and the stairs, which we've had for nearly 15 years and it looks like new, admittedly we don't allow any shoes up there, but we've had two bathrooms replaced in that time and it's stood up well to the workmen traipsing through.

Similarly, we've had the gold/beige wool twist carpet in our sitting room which is also 16/17 years old that still looks good with little sign of wear (if any), which gets an inordinate amount of abuse from us and our five cats with their various "emissions" (at both ends), the clawing and the general depositing of half eaten dead things. Not to mention our spillages etc. All of which cleans up well with a Bissel carpet cleaner. It springs back well, from furniture being in one spot and doesn't show any flattening anywhere.

So in all, I'm in the wool, wool mix twist camp. It's maybe not the softness under foot that you may get with an long pile, artificial fibre carpet, but for longevity and hard wearing, I don't think you can beat it.
Sonia
4 years ago
I agree with Ribena, a good quality rubber underlay is essential, even under a cheaper carpet. Foam does turn into a fine powder and it is awful to pull up an old carpet and find that horrid dust floating everywhere! All my carpets and rug are wool and they still look good. They are a Berber type weave which I love. I suggest you visit local carpet sellers rather than large retailers - they just seem to know their stuff.
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PRO
RJ Flooring Specialists
4 years ago
Cloud 9 underlay is the best, local shops won't sell it generally as there's now much mark up on it. Get an 8mm or 10mm cloud 9 connoisseur underlay and that will be Bob on.
Get it only as you will buy it for the same price on there as we buy it for.
The foam/rubber argument has been going on for ages, get the best quality of both and yih won't know the difference. Anyone that walks on a carpet and can tell you what material of underlay is underneath is either a lier or very good at guessing!
PRO
At No 19
4 years ago
I agree Cloud 9 underlay is one of the best brands you can buy. Twist pile or flat weave is a personal preference, but the latter is a no, no with cats. if you’re going for wool an 80/20 mix is stronger than 100% wool. However anything containing wool can be prone to pile reversal (which generally happens close to skirting boards and looks like staining) and/or carpet moth which will chomp its way through to the backing material. 100% man made carpets have come a very long way and many of the better quality ones offer 10 year stain and wear warranties, also UV protection. Their one downside is they show footmarks, so if that would drive you mad they are best avoided. Hope that helps!
HU-343559674
4 years ago
Hi there, Kam.

That's a very good question you raise and the kind every potential purchaser should be thinking of.

Your carpet conundrum

Polypropylene (pp)

Pros -> Robust, touch, cheapest yarn available

Cons -> Worst at retaining appearance… in other words, quickest to flatten and eventually mat. Rough to the touch. Oil based product so not great for the environment.

Polyester (pe)

Pros -> Similar qualities to pp but better appearance retention. Second cheapest yarn. Some, not all pe, carpets come from recycled plastic bottles which is a great environmental story.

Cons -> Rough to the touch. Still oil based.

Polyamide (pa)

aka nylon

Pros -> Takes to dying very well, so tend to get cleaner and more vibrant looking colours. Incredibly soft to touch but don't be fooled, pa totally outperforms pp carpets and has fantastic appearance retention.

Cons -> Equal as most expensive yarn. Still oil based BUT there is something exciting happening at the moment, where a new brand called ECONYL from Aquafil is using old, lost and/or discarded fishing nets. These are the flooring manufacturers producing carpets using this incredible yarn - click here for the brands.

Wool

Pros -> Comes from a renewable source (a sheep!!). Is bio-degradable and therefore the most kindest of yarns to the environment.. Naturally absorbs and breaths humidity, naturally repels soiling, fantastic for appearance retention, fire retardant and natural cosy feel (think of your favourite jumper!)

Cons- > Equal third as most expansive yarn. Tends not have too many designs and styles, so limited in choice.

To be able to guide you further, would we need to know:

• How long do you plan to stay in the property?

• How many people live in the property and what are their rough age groups?

• Do you have any pets that would also use the carpet?

• Do you have underfloor heating?

• What budget are you working to?

Your underlay conundrum

Really interesting reading other's opinions on underlay. A rubber underlay IS NOT essential. Cheap rubber underlay's will be bulked out with aggregate, namely chalk. High content rubber could be considered but the underlay market has moved on considerably and rubber is used far less now.

Someone suggesting that foam (actually known as PU underlay) will crumble up to dust is very, very wrong. We've never seen that. Very cheap rubber underlay tends to do that.

PU underlay has incredible db and TOG ratings compared to rubber. So what? Well, that means a good PU will reduce airborne sound as well as insulate the room. So great to use PU on the stairs (for noise reduction) as well as keeping the warmth in.

Generally, cheaper quality PU underlays come in even thickness, such as 8mm and 10mm. The better qualities are normally 9mm and 11mm. However, RJ Flooring Specialists recommendation of Connoisseur underlay is the exception to the rule and they are correct in recommending it. However, we would also suggest Cloud 9 Caviar and Crystal too. It's our biggest selling underlay.

At No 19's suggestion that 80/20 mix is "stronger" than 100% wool is not entirely correct. It all depends on the quality of yarn. New Zealand wool yarn is about the best quality wool you can get and would out perform 100s of cheaper quality 80/20 mixes. 80% wool, yes, but what's the 20% made from? PP? Not as good as 20% nylon, so it goes much deeper than the generalisation At No 19 speaks of. 100% New Zealand wool would look incredible, would perform ever so well and would have incredible appearance retention.

Don't be put off about moths munching through wool carpet. This only happens in certain regions of the UK and is prominent at the moment in SW/W London. However, the better end manufacturers protect their products against moths and will infact guarantee against the munching moth!

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Carpet - pile and underlay

Comments (5)

Ribena Drinker

Sonia

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At No 19

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