Carpet Flooring

With so many flooring options available, it can be difficult to make a decision for your home that suits your family’s needs while also adding value and visual appeal. If you’re struggling to decide if carpet flooring is right for you, The Carpet Center may be able to help. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of high-quality carpet!

Style

Despite hardwood taking up most of the flooring conversation on HGTV and in style magazines, carpet offers a style all its own. Visually, carpet can add texture, volume, and color to your space that just isn’t possible with hard, flat surfaces. From comfy and casual to elegant and luxurious, carpet has something for just about everybody. 

Consider a patterned, short-pile carpet for a formal living room, or perhaps a long frieze for a casual den. You can customize the look and feel of your carpet to meet your tastes and budget.

Comfort

Have you ever noticed achy knees or a stiff lower back after standing or walking on tiles or concrete for hours at a time? This is caused by your body’s reaction to compression in your spine and joints – the result of not having any give or spring to cushion your movement. Hard surfaces are, well… hard! Since there’s no flexibility, hey cannot act as shock absorbers in the same way that carpeting can. 

Because carpet is a soft surface – an effect that can be drastically increased by the underpadding you choose – the floor absorbs the force of each step rather than your body absorbing it. All of this is just a fancy way of saying – “Carpet is more comfortable!”

Depending on the style of carpet you choose, the texture can also add a little traction – meaning you’re much less likely to slip in your sock feet when you get up for a midnight snack!

Warmth

If you’re cold-natured, or your house is a little drafty, Carpet flooring in Arkansas may be the right choice for you. Especially with a thicker underpad, carpeting adds more insulation than any other hard surface flooring. The Georgia Institute of Technology School of Textile Engineering conducted a study that indicates that thicker carpet flooring provides a higher insulation factor (“R-value”) no matter which style you choose. The underpad has its own R-value as well and the use of both pad and carpet combines the R-values, providing greater overall insulation. 

By reducing heat loss, you can increase your savings on the energy used to heat your home whether it be electrical or natural gas. If you live in an area with especially cold winters, this can amount to a pretty large cost saving per year.

Health

There is a long-running flooring debate about whether carpet alleviates or aggravates breathing and health problems like asthma or allergies. For years allergists and doctors have been advising people with respiratory problems to rip up their carpet and replace it with a hard surface flooring like tile or hardwood. 

This advice was based on the theory that carpet accumulates contaminants like dust and dander which can then be circulated and make it difficult to breathe. Now, there are multiple studies that have been performed which suggest that carpet flooring is actually the more hypoallergenic option precisely because it does trap dust and dander and dirt until it can be vacuumed up, keeping it from floating about in the air as it’s prone to do with hardwoods. 

Of course, there are several factors to consider if you or a loved one has asthma or another respiratory issue that affect the hypoallergenic effects of your carpet. 

• The age of your carpet
  • A relatively new carpet (1-10 years old) that has been well maintained will definitely be healthier for you than an older carpet. And if you’re moving into an older home with original shag carpets from the 70s – rip those suckers out immediately. 
• The style of your carpet
  • Shag carpeting and faux fur carpeting are much harder to clean than shorter pile options. You can get something soft and textured that’s still easier to clean
• How often you vacuum
  • Obviously the more often you vacuum, the cleaner your carpet will be and the better you’ll be able to remove dust, dander, dirt, and debris before it accumulates and mats your carpet down.

Quiet

Acoustics are another factor to consider when choosing your flooring. Hard surfaces tend to reflect sound and amplify it, making for a noisy home. If you have children or pets – or a significant other who plays the drums – carpet is going to help keep your home quiet. Soft surfaces absorb sound and muffle unwanted chatter and loud music. So if you crave a peaceful environment, carpeting may be your best choice. 

Safety

Carpet offers texture and grip, as opposed to a slippery hard surface. They also offer cushioning during a fall that can mean the difference between a minor injury and a broken bone. This is especially helpful in baby’s rooms and rooms where small children run and play. It can also prevent falls in the first place by offering traction, especially on the stairs. Hardwood stairs present a safety concern, especially for those with mobility issues, the very old or the very young. You can actually choose your carpet for safety in different areas of the home. 

For instance, carpet for your stairs should be in the 50- to 60- ounce range to remain durable without being too thick, which can become slick a facilitate a fall.  

Cost

There is such a vast range of carpet products – as well as other flooring options – that we cannot guarantee it will be less expensive than any other type of flooring. However, that being said, in general carpet does cost significantly less than hardwood flooring or tile. The reason for that is the cost of materials, but also the cost of installation. Carpet can be installed over almost any sub-floor and there since there is no fitting or grouting required the labor hours – and therefore the labor cost – is much lower.  

If you still have questions about if carpet flooring is right for you, or if you’d like to schedule a consultation and receive a quote for carpet in your home, contact The Carpet Center! One of our flooring specialists will help walk you through the process of finding your perfect flooring.