Carpet Fiber Types

From Duke Brothers Carpet Cleaning Norfolk

Here are seven carpet fibers that are most commonly seen. I have included a few characteristics about each fiber. Most carpets are made with synthetic fibers. Synthetics are resistant to stains and they cost less. Natural carpet fibers like wool tend to withstand traffic and do not crush easily.The giant carpet mills like, Solutia, DuPont, Allied Signal and Interface have trade mark names on their carpet brands. Theses rug brands most often are made from one or more of the carpet fiber types bellow.

Acrylic

Acrylic sometimes called art wool, it is the fiber that most resembles wool, but it is a synthetic fiber. Acrylic has the look and feel of wool but cost considerably less. Static electricity, mildew moisture, crushing, fading, staining, and sun damage are characteristics that acrylic are known to resist. Although, acrylic durable it is not recommend for high traffic situations (it crushes under wear as compared to other carpet fibers).

Blends

Blends usually combine nylon and olefin. Blends are resilient although the fibers often stain unevenly. Sometimes Stains will stand out in blended fibers.

Nylon

Nylon is the most used residential carpet fiber. Nylon works well in high traffic areas because it is static free maintains fiber height and resists soiling, mildew and staining. Nylon holds color well and will maintain its color. Nylon carpets come in many different price ranges, but are available to fit most budgets. Two types of nylon are spun fibers or continuous . The Spun nylon is manufactured with small lengths of fibers spun together. Continuous nylon fibers will be more unlikely to unravel.

Olefin (Polypropylene)

Olefin or polypropylene sells the best compared to nylon. 80% of commercial carpet is olefin. Olefin’s are colorfast because they are solution dyed. Olefin is better in loop carpets like Berber. It is very resistant to abrasion, mildew, moisture resistant, and it cleans easily (bleach will not discolor it in most cases). One down side is that olefin is easy to crush . This fiber works well outdoors and indoors like AstroTurf. Olefin carpets usually are inexpensive. The Berber’s tend to be the more expensive of the olefin carpets.

Polyester

Polyester crushes easily under high traffic. Polyester is resistant to water soluble stains it is resistant to abrasion and is easy to clean. Polyester is less expensive than wool or nylon. Polyester is known to fade in sun light.

Recycled

Some fibers are made from recycled material. Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET it is made from reclaimed plastics usually soda bottles or other plastics containers. PET fibers are water resistant, static resistant and durable. Prices ranges vary on theses carpets.

Wool

Wool is considered to be the best and most luxurious of all the carpet fibers. It is stain resistant and strong. It very resilient and will maintain its fiber height. Wools down side, that it tends to fray, maintain moisture and static. It is the most expensive of all carpet fibers and is out of the price range for many consumers.