When picking out a carpet for your home or business, you may be tempted to just buy the one that matches your decor without thinking about any other features. While it's true that you should keep color schemes in mind because a hot pink carpet with red walls probably isn't the aesthetic ideal you want for your living room. There are also a few other factors that go into picking out the best carpet for your high-traffic area, specifically the type of carpet fibers and style of carpet.
When it comes to picking out carpets in high-traffic areas, like lobbies, entryways, and living rooms, these features become even more important as you'll need a carpet that is durable and resistant to a lot of foot traffic. If you don't take the time to research and consider the best possible carpet for your high-traffic areas, then you'll probably pay for it later–literally. You'll need to replace your carpet often due to wear, discoloration, and stains. If you want to avoid the expensive hassle of replacing your carpets, then read on to discover the best carpet for high-traffic areas. We'll go over the best carpet types, styles, and top products, like Mohawk's SmartStrand carpet, so that you'll be able to pick out the best carpet for your home or business.
Common High Traffic Areas
In both commercial and residential spaces, the areas that tend to get the most foot traffic are transitional areas. Such areas like entryways, hallways, and staircases tend to get walked on by the most, as people need to walk there to get to different rooms. Gathering places also tend to get a lot of traffic, so living rooms, lobbies, areas near registers, workstations, and dining rooms are all susceptible to wear.
Think about the areas that people walk on the most in your home, as your home's layout may be unique, and you have to walk through specific rooms to get others. Or maybe your family tends to gather in certain rooms more than others. For example, maybe your family doesn't use a formal dining room, but you hang out in a game room daily. It's important to evaluate your family's personal habits and the layout of your home when making carpet decisions.
Tips for Choosing High-Traffic Carpet
High-traffic carpet can be tricky to pick out, as you want it to be elegant yet still durable enough to handle a lot of wear. It's important to go with the option that will be resilient and durable enough to last through the years and won't go over your budget. Here are a couple of tips to keep in mind when you are shopping for a high-traffic carpet option.
Stain-Resistant
Carpets that are known for being stain-resistant are excellent choices for high-traffic areas. They repel dirt and mud that are commonly brought into places near entryways and backdoors. Discoloration around entryways is super common, and dirty shoes are often the culprit. Having a stain-resistant carpet around this area will keep your nice light-colored carpets from having dark spots and discoloration. High-traffic carpet areas with food could also benefit from a stain-resistant carpet. Spills and messes happen, so having stain-resistant carpeting in rooms like the dining room is essential for keeping your flooring in top condition.
Resilient and Durable
Though there are a few factors that play into a carpet's resiliency and durability, one of the ways that determine a carpet's durability is ounce weight. Or the weight of fibers within one square foot. In general, the higher the weight of the fibers, the more durable the carpet will be.
Types of Carpet Fibers
There are a few popular fabric materials that carpet is usually made from–silk, wool, nylon, polyester, olefin, and triexta. The type of fibers used to create a carpet area plays a significant part in the longevity and durability of the carpet piece. High-traffic carpet areas need fibers that will be able to withstand wear and stains throughout the years. These rooms will need specific types of carpet fibers that are up to the task, as some are much more durable and stain-resistant than others.
Nylon
Nylon is one of the most popular carpet materials thanks to its durability and stain-resistant properties if it has been treated. This makes nylon a good choice for living rooms and other indoor environments. When it's coated with stain-resistant chemicals during the manufacturing process, it also becomes more resistant to tough messes and spills that are hard to clean and lead to lasting stains. When nylon is not treated with a stain-resistant coating, it will absorb spills and messes, leaving noticeable stains.
Olefin
Olefin works well as an outdoor carpet as well as indoors. It wicks away moisture well and is resistant to stains. Despite these qualities, however, olefin doesn't work very well in high-traffic areas because it tends to gather dirt and oil easily. This kind of carpet is also usually densely packed, which makes it hard to clean without professional help. For highly-trafficked areas, you are going to want a carpet that can be cleaned easily and often without using a professional service.
Wool
Wool is a natural, durable material that is resistant to water and stains. It's a pretty good carpet for living rooms and other high-traffic areas, thanks to its durability and resiliency. However, it does have a tendency to be highly absorbent, which can lead to mildew problems, so it's not a great carpet to use outdoors, in entryways, or bathrooms.
Triexta
Triexta, also known as Mohawk's SmartStrand, has built-in stain resistance and is incredibly durable and resilient. It's one of the best possible options for carpets in high-traffic areas due to these qualities. It doesn't absorb moisture, spills, or soil, making it the perfect fit for high-traffic areas like entryways, hallways, staircases, or living rooms. It's a new type of polyester that is more durable and resilient than other types of polyester.
Silk
Mohawk also has a material known as SmartStrand Silk. Much like the previous SmartStrand triexta, it is durable and stain-resistant. However, it is also much softer, providing silk-like comfort that is great for areas in the home where you rarely wear shoes.
Polyester
Polyester has stain-resistant qualities. However, it is not as resilient as nylon or Triexta. The fibers are easily crushed and don't hold up to foot traffic very well. For high-traffic areas, you'll need fibers that can bounce back quickly after someone steps on them. Mohawk's Everstrand carpet uses polyester that is engineered to be resistant to soil and spills. However, it's a bit softer than the brand's SmartStrand carpet, so it will not work as well in high-traffic areas that get a lot of footprints.
The top types of fibers available for high-traffic carpet areas are Mohawk's SmartStrand and SmartStrand Silk. These are made from triexta, an environmentally friendly type of polyester material. They are very stain-resistant, durable, and resilient. Basically, these fibers have all of the qualities you need and want in high-traffic carpet areas of your home. If you are looking for the best quality carpet that is going to last for a while, then these two options are the best.
Styles of Carpet
What do we mean by the style of carpet? We aren't referring to the color or eye-catching designs but rather the construction of the carpet. During manufacturing, fibers are put through a process called tufting. During the tufting process, fibers are pulled through the backing with a needle in different loop piles. If the carpet loops are closed at the ends, then it is referred to as a loop carpet. If the carpet loops are cut off at the ends, then it is called a cut pile. Depending on how low or high a carpet is cut, it can be firm (low cut) or plush (high cut).
Low-Pile Carpet
Low-pile carpet has many benefits in high-traffic areas, such as being easy to clean and being resistant to dirt and stains. Since it is low-cut, the carpet is smooth and flat, leaving little space for dirt and dust. Low-pile carpet is one of the best options for high-traffic areas.
Textured Carpet
This kind of carpet uses varying lengths of fibers to create a textured pattern. Textured carpet can be a great style of carpet to have in places that get a lot of foot traffic because of its ability to hide footprints well. It's very durable and resilient, which makes it great for lobbies, hallways, and living rooms.
Berber Carpet
Berber carpet is also a great style for high-traffic areas due to it being densely woven. This type of carpet doesn't get torn off easily, even when exposed to a lot of foot traffic. Its densely woven loops make it durable, resistant to moisture, and hide footprints well. However, even though it does resist water fairly well, it tends to attract other kinds of stains, like oil. Pet nails can also get snagged in the loops, making this not the most durable carpet style option for high-traffic areas.
Which Type of Carpet Is Best for High Traffic Areas?
Figuring out the right kind of flooring for different areas of your house can be challenging. You want to make sure that it is comfortable and soft and will hold up over the years as you go about your daily life. You'll want to look for a carpeting solution that won't need to be replaced every few years, which can be very costly. You'll also want to avoid carpets that are hard to clean, as hiring professional cleaning services to pick up stains and debris can also be highly expensive if you have to outsource your cleaning often.
So what kind of carpeting is easy to keep clean, durable, resilient, and resistant to messes? The best kind of carpet for high-traffic areas will use SmartStrand (triexta) fibers and a low-pile style of carpet. This combination will make it easier to clean and maintain, plus it's resistant to stains, moisture, and footprints.
This patterned cut pile with Smartstrand fibers is an excellent choice for a high-traffic carpet area. Due to its fibers, it will be resistant to stains, moisture, and dirt, while its tufting style ensures that it will be resilient to footsteps. The darker color also means it will hide discoloration and debris better, which is great for areas that get a lot of people walking with their shoes, such as entryways, lobbies, and hallways.
If you're looking to carpet areas that get a lot of foot traffic but normally without shoes, like the living room or dining room, then this SmartStrand Silk carpet is one of the best options available. Its low-cut pile ensures that it is easy to clean and maintain regularly, which is good for eating and relaxing areas that tend to get spills and crumbs. It's also super soft, which is nice for when you're barefoot hanging out in the living room.
Ultimately, your flooring needs will be dependent on your personal habits and budget. Mohawk's SmartStrand carpet is the best option in the long run, as it will eliminate the need to replace it every couple of years and is super easy to keep clean on your own. It's the best carpet fiber option in terms of value and longevity. If you're looking for the ultimate comforting experience for family gathering spaces, like your living room or dining room, then SmartStrand Silk is the best option. If you're looking for areas that deal with a lot of shoes, then a less soft option might be better, like the regular SmartStrand fibers. Whatever option you choose, just make sure to follow any manufacturer's instructions and care for your carpet to ensure that you and your family can enjoy it for a long time.
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