If you ever feel the frustration of spills and stains, deciding on a carpet with top of the line stain resistance will save you an incredible deal of stress. If you have not begun carpet shopping yet, you will soon quickly discover that all carpets claim to be the best at resisting stains.
Today our, Orange County Carpet & Flooring experts are going to help you sort through all of the unnecessary fluff. Before we get started, let’s simplify things. There are a variety of details that go into what makes a carpet durable, but for stain resistance, 90% of what matters is the carpet material. The reason all carpets say they are amazing at stain resistance is that all of them have unique and distinct advantages — the companies market these advantages and hide the drawbacks. It’s up to you to understand which fiber’s advantages will keep the stains off of your carpet.
Wool Stain Resistant Carpet
A majority of carpet fibers are coated with a stain-preventing chemical; wool’s the exception. Even without any treatment, wool may be your best option for stain resistance.
Here is why:
Wool is naturally resistant to spills from wine, Kool-Aid, and ketchup and also repels oils. A variety of carpet fibers are amazing at resistant spills or resisting oils but not both. Sometimes people only need their carpet to hold up against one type of stain (liquid or oils), but for those who need protection against both, consider wool. Just know that wool’s drawback is that it is not cheap.
Nylon Stain Resistant Carpet
Nylon is the most popular choice for homes and a big part of this is its stain resistance. Nylon Carpet with a good stain coating sets the bar for resistance against spills and other mishaps. And while it may be a slight step down from wool at repelling oils, it does not attract oil like some of the other carpet materials that our Orange County Carpet & Flooring Experts will discuss below.
The trick with nylon is it varies carpet to carpet because its stain resistance is not natural like wools. The coating is what makes nylon carpets. There are a handful of different brands with great coatings out there, but you still need to be careful which you decide on.
Polyester and Olefin Stain Resistant Carpet
Polyester and olefin are two different types of carpet, but they are similar enough to put together when our Orange County Carpet & Flooring Installation Specialist are talking about stain resistance. Both are oil-based carpet materials. Oil-based carpets do an incredible job at repelling spills, but they attract oils as well. So why would someone want to compromise and buy a carpet that attracts oils? Polyester and olefin are both inexpensive.
Anywhere where there’s not oil, but you still want stain resistance is a great place for polyester and olefin stain resistance carpet. Oil generally either comes from the bottom of your shoes (especially if you have an asphalt driveway) or from your skin. So any room where people have their shoes off and won’t be laying around on the carpet can be a great fit for polyester and olefin—in many homes, a dining room is usually a good example.
Does Anything Else Really Matter?
Carpet fiber is 90% of what determines a carpets stain resistance. So is there anything else you need to worry about? Not a whole lot, but here are some additional details you might want to keep in mind:
The first is that some carpet styles provide unique stain challenges. A great example is Berber carpet. Stains often don’t soak into Berber fibers but roll down to the backing of the carpet. This is good at the time of the spill, but when you have a Berber cleaned, its tight weave means it dries slowly causing some of these stains to wick up and appear at the surface when the carpet dries. It can be a professional carpet cleaner’s nightmare when the carpet looks dirtier after it was cleaner than before.
A second thing to watch for is the carpet stain warranty. Warranties are easily voided and the manufacturers know this. Therefore, they may put a 10-year stain warranty on a carpet, not because they think it will last that long, but because they know that the warranty will most likely be invalid before the 10 years anyway.
The nice thing about choosing a carpet with stain resistance is you only need to focus on one thing: the carpet material. Where it gets a bit complicated is the type of stains your carpet is most vulnerable to, and what’s your budget? Your safest bet is a brand name nylon with a good reputation, but you’ll pay for it.
Much less expensive options are available in unbranded nylons, polyester, and olefin, and as long as you know their drawbacks, they can be excellent options. Also, keep in mind, stain resistance is not the only thing that keeps your carpet looking new.
For more carpet, luxury vinyl, tile, or hardwood flooring tips, cleaning solutions and design ideas make sure to follow our blog at: