Understanding The Different Types of Carpet Pile
Carpeting
can be a major purchase for your home. You want it to have a long
life, look good, and be comfortable to walk on. Before you choose
your carpet, it is important to understand the different types of
carpet piles that are available and their advantages and
disadvantages.
Carpeting pile can be divided into four primary categories:
- Cut Pile: This category includes Saxony, Texture,
Velvet/Plush and Frieze carpets.
- Cut and Loop Pile: This category includes Berber
carpets.
- Level Loop Pile:
- Multi-Level Loop Pile:
Cut Pile
Cut pile carpet is the most popular of all the carpeting, with
textured cut pile outselling all the others. A cut pile carpet is
manufactured by cutting all of the looped fibers at the top of the
bundles. This creates a carpet with yarn bundles that stand
straight. To create a luxurious appearance the cut pile is
pre-sheared several times. Cut pile carpet, as compared to other
styles is the least resistant to crushing.
Saxony
In order to manufacture a Saxony carpet, the fibers are twisted
tightly, cut and then straightened using heat. A Saxony carpet
consists of two or more fibers twisted together to produce a yarn.
The soft texture of a Saxony carpet works well in both formal and
informal rooms. If you do not want to see foot prints on your
carpet, then do not use a Saxony, as it will show all foot prints
and tracks from a vacuum cleaner. Saxony carpets have a medium level
of durability.
Texture & Textured Saxony
The best selling carpets are Textures. Textures work very well in
family rooms, children’s bedrooms, and other informal areas within a
home, primarily because of their soft feel under foot. Textures are
produced with tightly twisted fibers and are set with heat creating
a medium durability carpet. Texture carpets have a multi-color
appearance that hides any footprints and other tracks.
Velvet & Plush
Velvets and Plush carpeting are manufactured with a uniform color
and a light twist. Because of the light twist, they are softer than
Texture carpet. Because of its visual luxury and feel, Velvet and
Plush carpeting is perfect for living rooms, master bedrooms, and
other formal areas within the home. These carpets will show all
traffic marks.
Frieze
For high traffic areas, a Frieze carpet is recommended. Perfect
for informal areas the fibers are made of a highly twisted cut pile
carpet. Frieze carpets have short fibers that curl in all directions
at the surface, which has the effect of hiding all footprints and
vacuum cleaner tracks.
Cut & Loop Pile
Both cut and looped fibers are combined in order to produce a Cut
and Loop pile carpet. With a medium density, it provides a vast
array of textures and/or sculptured effects available in solid and
colored patterns. One of the advantages of the cut and loop carpet
is that because of the different levels of yarn the carpet hides
dirt, stains and footprints exceptionally well. The carpet is used
in both formal and informal areas in the home.
Berber
The carpet with the highest growth in popularity is the Berber.
In an informal area, Berbers limit footprints and vacuum tracks.
Berbers have a very high durability because they can have thicker
yarns than other level loop pile carpet. Two negatives with respect
to Berber carpets are, they retain dirt and are easily damaged by
snags to the loops. Berbers are made of natural fibers such as wool
and man made fibers such as nylon, olefin, or nylon-olefin
fibers.
Level Loop Pile
For the best carpet in durability, ideal for high traffic areas
and resistance to marks you should choose a carpet made with Level
Loop pile techniques. These types of carpets are made by weaving
even loops of yarn through both ends of the carpet’s backing. By
using higher loops the carpet has a much more luxurious appearance.
For easy cleaning a Level Loop carpet utilizing short and densely
packed loops is easy to clean as they prevent dirt from filtering
into carpet.
Multi-Level Loop Pile
The difference between Multi-Level Loop pile and Level Loop pile
is that with Level Loop Pile all of the loops of yarn are at the
same height and with the Multi-Level Loop the heights of the yarn
varies. The Multi-Level Loop creates a random texture making it a
good choice for high traffic areas. The primary negative of this
type of carpet is that the small loops have a tendency to hold more
dirt and dust.