Carpet Care: What Type of Carpet Do You Have?

By: bchauveau Tuesday June 4, 2019 comments

Taking care of your carpet is a surefire way to increase the longevity of its use. What some people don’t take into account, however, is the texture of their carpet. Depending on the texture, different methods of care may be needed in order to not damage the carpet.

In general, a carpet is created by looping yarn through a backing material. This is repeated until the desired size of the carpet is reached, creating what is known as a ‘pile’. Depending on the size of the pile and whether they are cut or not, each carpet can take on different textures, lengths, softness, etc. 

So, what are the different textures?

The carpet most commonly used in businesses and high traffic areas is a Level Loop Pile. The piles are threaded tightly and left uncut to create a durable uniform look. Normally they aren’t patterned, although they can be, and don’t leave the footprint of vacuum marks. This can also come as a Berber, which is similar to a Level Loop Pile, but uses thicker yarn and includes little specks of color throughout. 

Next up is the Cut Loop Pile. As the name states, these piles are threaded and then the top is cut. This creates for a softer type of carpet but is still good for high traffic areas due to the height.

However, this style of carpet can come in many different lengths, giving each carpet a different style and texture.

A Saxony carpet is a Cut Loop Pile style carpet but the piles are longer, twisted, and very densely packed. These are normally encountered in homes as they create a much softer feel. Because of the piles’ uniform cut and direction, they easily highlight foot traffic and vacuum lines, and are best used for lower traffic areas.

Friezé carpet is similar to Saxony in that the piles are longer and softer, but instead of uniformed direction, the piles go all over the place. When the piles are left longer it becomes the equally loved and hated shag carpet. Due to the sporadic piles, this carpet is actually good for high traffic areas as the piles are simply moved to a new position thus maintaining their messy look.

Each of these textures can be expanded or customized to your liking, and you can even choose a carpet with different types of piles to give a more unique look.

Now that you have an idea of which type of carpet you have, you are better informed when deciding about the upkeep process. If you are still unsure or do not want to risk damaging your carpet, a professional carpet cleaning company will be able to help you out. Carpet cleaning companies are very knowledgeable and have access to better, and safer, equipment and have seen every style of carpet you can imagine.

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About the Author: bchauveau