Resistance Rate of Different Carpet Types | Carpet Tile Buying Guide

In these times when we eat so much quinoa and healthy things that we are going to live two hundred years it is especially important to have resistant and durable carpets.

That is why when we buy a carpet it is necessary to have a clear idea of what its resistance and duration can be compared to other carpets that we consider for the place. In another entry of this blog we already classified the carpets by their ease of cleaning, and now we are going to do it for their resistance.

Of course, the first thing to do is to establish a unit of measurement, because not all things are measured with the same pattern. For example, the history of galaxies and planets is measured in eons or geological eras, while the duration of football coaches is measured in newscasts.

The basic rule with carpets is that even the most delicate carpet should last longer than a coach for Florentino, but we already tell you that you will hardly find one that lasts as long as the Milky Way. But let's leave astrophysics and go back to the floors, that is, to the resistant carpets.

Carpet Resistance vs Decoration

When choosing a carpet, there are two fundamental parameters that form an equation with two unknowns: resistance versus decoration.

We have to decide first of all if in the place where we are going to place the rug we are going to give priority to our particular taste and the impact of the rug in the decoration, or if on the contrary we want it to be resistant and easy to maintain over everything and therefore we are willing to make aesthetic concessions.

Ideally, both things are compatible, and the good news (spoiler) is that they are. But even if we are demanding and have to reconcile both parameters, it is not necessary to call the department of integral equations of the chair of applied mathematics to solve the problem.

Think Before You Buy Carpet

Just reflect and ask yourself a few simple questions:

• Where will it be placed?

• How much use and tread will it have?

• Will it be within the reach of children or pets?

• Will you have any specific requirements (chairs with wheels, friction, etc.)?

Before analyzing we will establish a golden rule:

• There is no carpet so delicate that, put in the right place and with the correct use it will not last us many years.

• And on the other hand, there is no carpet so resistant that subjected to excessive or improper use it does not end up deteriorating sooner or later.

Because if it were so, there would be no excellent and very expensive delicate carpets nor would it be possible to make them last for many years. Simply, any carpet is valid as long as we adapt the use and care to the resistance of the carpet.

Carpets Classified by Resistance: Natural versus Synthetic

We will classify the resistance of the types of carpet from less to more.

You will notice that there is a certain relationship, although not exact, between carpets of natural fibers compared to those of synthetic fibers, which in general, and as you will see, have an advantage in this field.

Silk carpets and Kashmir

The most delicate natural carpets and therefore, less resistant would be those of natural silk, Kashmiri wool, or similar.

It is a type of carpet that will give us many joys as long as we keep it away from the hard treatment. They should be limited to places of little passage, without pets that touch and scratch and children that dirty and play.

Jute and sisal carpets

Jute, sisal, and similar fibers are ideal for making great ethnic style rugs with a rustic and informal touch. In terms of texture and appearance, they are unrivaled in their style.

But we must admit that by their very nature and by the fact that their fibers are not the most resistant in nature, they will not stand out, particularly in this ranking.

They will last you a reasonable time in busy areas, and well maintained you will enjoy them for many years, but do not put them in passage areas such as lobbies or corridors, unless you do not mind changing them with some frequency, or collecting loose fibers at all hours.

Viscose carpets

Viscose is also known as artificial silk, for its silky touch (worth the redundancy), its shine and cozy appearance.

It is an artificial fiber made from natural fibers. Although it is not as delicate as natural silk, they are not carpets to place in the passage to the cabin of the lumberjack team.

They are carpets for domestic use that overunderstand that you are going to treat them with affection, softness and delicacy, in exchange for which they will return exactly the same thing, for many years. But they will age more than the account if they suffer intensive use and we are forced to clean them frequently (they are not very friendly to liquids).

Chenille rugs

The jacquard technique of chenille, usually made with cotton as the main thread, results in very showy and cozy carpets with short hair.

Although they may have a delicate appearance, do not be fooled by their texture: they are not so fragile. Of course, they are not carpets especially indicated for the corridor or places of high traffic, nor for the room of the children.

Use them in the living room or the bedroom of the elderly and you will have carpet for many years.

Carpets made of polyester and other synthetic materials

Polyester, acrylics, polyamides, microfibers... this universe of materials for the manufacture of commercial carpets is too varied to draw a conclusion written in stone.

But if we talk about their resistance here we find the turning point in which synthetic carpets begin to reveal themselves as clearly more resistant than natural ones.

The vast majority of polyester or acrylic carpets are very resistant, trotters, and gladly accept the ordinary treatment that a carpet receives in today's homes, including children's and youth bedrooms and passage areas. They are carpets with a great price/resistance compromise ratio.

Wool and cotton carpets

In terms of resistance, not all carpets of natural fibers are the same...

Wool carpets are generally very hard and resistant, as long as we are careful to avoid stains, because although their resistance is great, they are not as easy to clean as synthetic carpets.

Cotton carpets, not only the most elaborate chenille type, but the most popular multipurpose carpets type jarapas or farrapos are very durable, imitate wash after wash and are a solution with an optimal compromise between cost and resistance.

Plastic carpets

Very popular for outdoors, these carpets are designed for hard treatment, although their prestancia, especially indoors is not the same as a synthetic carpet of another type.

Even so, and taking into account that the demand of the weather is much harder than indoors, plastic carpets can last us several seasons at full capacity.

Bamboo carpets

Our podium of resistant carpets would have in third place the bamboo carpets. They are natural carpets, made of wood, which has great resistance to vertical pressure and intense use.

That is why they are used not only for living rooms, bedrooms, and lobbies, but they are also very good as pasillas carpets.

Although it must be admitted that the day comes when despite its practical character and trotter you can see something used or faded, or some sheet may have said enough. That's when their great virtue comes into the picture: they are so economical that it doesn't hurt to replace them, and start over.

Polypropylene carpets

In the second place of the podium we come to the vinyl-type carpets, in particular to the polypropylene carpets. Because this is when the term resistance applied to carpets begins to acquire a sense of truth.

Polypropylene carpets are still (and surprisingly) great unknowns. And we say surprisingly because they bring together the best of both worlds.

By that we mean that they are very versatile carpets, capable of adopting multiple styles, textures, colors and shapes. Which they rival practically any type of natural or synthetic carpet that exists in the market.

Think of any type of carpet and you will find some polypropylene carpet similar in texture, shape or style.

With the advantage that, where other carpets are fragile, delicate or complicated to maintain, polypropylene carpets do not even flinch.

Treat them and you'll see that they're like Clint Eastwood's face in a shootout: they won't get upset even to blink.

They are waterproof and therefore washable with water. They are super resistant and suitable for wheelchairs with wheels (except those with long hair), passage areas and a lot of jogging.

Vinyl carpets

And the winner is... it is not necessary to make drum vinyl roll, because vinyl carpets are modest and austere by nature. But they occupy the first place on our podium, and for many reasons.

Vinyl carpets are made with the same material as polypropylene, but unlike these, these do not keep commitments of styles or designs that are not their own.

They have their own style, modern, Nordic and minimalist, with a point of conceptual austerity that in their early days not everyone understood.

Today vinyl carpets have already been accepted as carpets for all uses and for any place. And to achieve that acceptance has been key the new generation of textures, colors and designs that makes there is a vinyl carpet for each house.