Wall-to-Wall Carpet Store Serving Lewes, DE and neighboring communities

Discover the perfect carpet choice tailored for your lifestyle. Our 'Shop from Home' experience emphasizes understanding your unique household dynamics, whether you have pets, active kids, or bustling foot traffic. Dive into this guide for insights into your ideal carpet choices and what goes into the installation process.

WHY CHOOSE CARPET?

Carpet on stairs is great for traction. A good choice for pets or individuals prone to slipping and falling.

• Unmatched Comfort: Carpets offer a plush, velvety feel beneath your feet. Especially with a quality foam pad underneath, they surpass the comfort of most hard flooring alternatives. It's also the top pick for households with young kids or babies, providing a cushioned surface.

• Noise Reduction: Be it playful kids or barking dogs, carpets significantly mute indoor noise, ensuring a peaceful ambiance. They're also excellent for minimizing sound transmission between floors.

• Thermal Comfort: Enjoy the warmth of carpeting, eliminating the need for in-floor heating systems. While carpets naturally insulate spaces, they're not typically compatible with radiant heating setups.

• Safety First: Offering a non-slip surface, carpets reduce the risk of accidental falls, making them an excellent choice for children's play areas or homes with elderly residents.

• Cost-Efficient: From acquisition to installation, carpeting is often more budget-friendly than other flooring options.

• Diverse Selections: With an array of styles like plush, berber, frieze, and loop pile, you're sure to find a design and hue that complements your interior.

CARPET COMPOSITION

When choosing a carpet, its composition is critical, especially concerning stain resistance and durability.

Understanding Stain Resistance: Staining typically occurs when dyes penetrate carpet fibers at their dye sites. These sites have a positive charge, attracting negatively charged dyes from substances like sports drinks. Some anti-stain technologies use colorless dyes to occupy these sites, preventing staining. Others enhance surface tension, causing liquid spills to bead on the surface for easier cleaning. The most recent advancements focus on creating fibers without dye sites.

Fiber Durability: Carpet resilience often hinges on its fiber type and construction. Some fibers naturally offer greater strength, while supportive construction techniques bolster longevity.

1. Polyester (PET): Known for its natural sheen, PET is vibrant in color and offers inherent stain resistance due to fewer dye sites. Though not the toughest against wear, its resilience can be enhanced through dense pile and tight twisting. Notable brands, like Mohawk's Smart Strand (Triexta - (PTT)), offer top-tier stain protection and strength, positioning them alongside traditional nylon carpets in terms of durability.

2. Nylon: With an innate robustness, nylon excels in styles like frieze or shag. Despite the distinctions between Nylon 6 and 6,6, modern advancements have leveled their performance. However, nylon's increased dye sites necessitate stain-resistant treatments.

3. Olefin: This fiber lacks the bounce-back quality of its counterparts. Often used in looped carpet styles, olefin is best suited for light to medium commercial use or low-traffic residential areas.

Blending various fiber types can optimize a carpet's performance, addressing diverse needs. With so many options, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, but our experts are here to guide you in finding the best match for your budget.

CARPET STYLES EXPLAINED

• Saxony (Plush & Textured): The quintessential carpet look, Saxony offer a flat appearance, displaying fiber tips. They range from the even-textured plush to the variable lengths of textured styles.

• Frieze: Evocative of the shag style but more refined, friezes feature long fibers lying in random directions. They benefit from the strength of nylon fibers due to their construction.

• Berber: Defined by its loops sometimes of varying sizes and patterns, Berber carpets are not pet-friendly due to potential snags. If a loop is damaged, it should be immediately trimmed to prevent further unraveling.

DETAILED GUIDE TO WALL TO WALL CARPET INSTALLATION:

Carpet installation is a meticulous process, requiring both precision and expertise. Understanding the intricacies of the installation process can ensure a smooth and efficient project, from the initial preparations to the final touches. Let's take a deeper dive into each stage of carpet installation.

Preparation Phase

Before installation day, ensure the subfloor is clean, smooth, and ready to serve as a foundation for your new carpet. It is often recommended to:

• Remove Old Flooring: Old carpeting, tiles, or laminate flooring should be removed, and any remnants cleaned off.
• Subfloor Inspection: The subfloor should be inspected for any signs of damage, dampness, or irregularities. Any issues should be rectified before proceeding.
• Acclimatization: Allow the new carpet to acclimate to the room's temperature and humidity for at least 48 hours before installation.

Installation Day

On installation day, a team of skilled installers will follow a series of steps to ensure a flawless installation:

1. Room Measurement and Carpet Cutting: The room’s dimensions are carefully measured, and the carpet is cut accordingly, leaving some extra material to account for any adjustments needed during installation.

2. Tack Strips and Carpet Padding Installation:

   • Tack Strips: These are nailed around the edges of the room to help stretch and hold the carpet in place. This is accomplished with hundreds of tiny tacks that poke up and towards the wall. When the carpet is stretched towards the wall the tacks hook the carpet when it tries to spring back; preventing it from getting loose.
   • Carpet Padding: A quality carpet pad should be used. It is laid down and secured  with staples, tape or glue to provide a cushioned base and to prolong the life of the carpet.

3. Carpet Laying:

   • Stretching: The carpet is stretched tightly and hooked onto the tack strips to eliminate any wrinkles or bumps.
   • Glue down: Carpet is rolled out then when in place it is folded over and glue is spread over the
     

     Outdoor Carpet Glued Down On Porch

     subfloor using a notched trowel. The carpet is then laid into the glue and the process is repeated again for the other side of the carpet.
   • Seaming: If the room is wider than the carpet roll, seams will have to be made. Expert installers use a seaming iron to join the pieces together seamlessly when installed over pad. When carpet is glued downed the seams are carefully cut and placed together in the glue. it is important to have the backings of the two pieces just touching; not jambed to tightly but touching with no gaps.
   • Trimming: Once the carpet is stretched and affixed, the excess material is trimmed off, and the edges are tucked neatly under the baseboards or moldings.
   • Transition Strips: These are installed where the carpet meets other types of flooring to create a smooth transition.

Post-Installation Care

Following the installation, some essential post-installation steps should be followed to maintain the carpet’s appearance and ensure its longevity:

• Ventilation: Ensure good ventilation in the room for at least 72 hours to dispel any odors from the new carpet or adhesives used during installation.
• Initial Cleaning: Perform a thorough vacuuming to remove any loose fibers and dust.
• Protection: Consider using protective barriers under heavy furniture to prevent denting the new carpet.

A flawless carpet installation is a symphony of careful planning, meticulous execution, and sustained maintenance. Understanding this process's granularity can be the defining factor in enjoying a plush, beautiful, and long-lasting carpet floor. Ensure to choose seasoned professionals to achieve the best results, enhancing the comfort and elegance of your home.

GUIDE TO CARPET MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING:

A plush carpet not only beautifies your space but also offers comfort underfoot. However, the longevity and fresh appearance of your carpet largely depend on how you maintain and clean it. Proper carpet care keeps your indoor environment healthy and prolongs the carpet's lifespan.

Daily Maintenance

1. Regular Vacuuming: The most straightforward maintenance routine is vacuuming your carpet at least once a week. This removes surface dust, dirt, and debris, preventing them from embedding deeper into the fibers. For high-traffic areas, consider vacuuming more frequently.

2. Spot Cleaning: Accidents happen. When spills occur, it's crucial to act quickly. Blot the spill with a clean, white cloth or paper towel to absorb as much as possible. Avoid rubbing, as this can push the stain deeper into the carpet fibers.

Professional Cleaning Methods

Every 12-18 months, carpets should undergo deep cleaning, depending on the foot traffic and specific carpet recommendations. There are various methods to deep clean:

1. Steam Cleaning (Hot Water Extraction): This involves injecting hot water into the carpet under high pressure and then extracting the water, along with dissolved dirt and debris. It's one of the most effective deep-cleaning methods.

2. Dry Cleaning: Unlike the name suggests, some moisture is used in this method. Cleaning solutions are applied, and then a machine with rotating brushes works the solution into the carpet. After a short dwell time, the solution and dirt are vacuumed up.

3. Bonnet Cleaning: A cleaning solution is sprayed onto the carpet, which is then agitated with a bonnet or rotating brush. This method cleans the surface and can be quicker than others but might not be as deep cleaning or as steam or dry cleaning but typically cost less too.

Additional Maintenance Tips

1. Rotate Furniture: Every few months, slightly adjust the positioning of your furniture. This can prevent permanent indentations and evenly distribute foot traffic.

2. Carpet Protectors: Use protective pads or discs under furniture legs to prevent potential damage or indentations.

3. Sunlight Protection: Continuous exposure to direct sunlight can cause carpets to fade. Use blinds, shades, or curtains to protect your carpet from prolonged direct sunlight.