How to Choose the Right Carpet for Your Facility.

If your customer needs new carpet, it's up to you to make the multiple decisions involved, from fiber type and construction to performance, appearance retention, cushion type and weight, and installation procedures. There are many factors--such as color, room type and traffic levels--used by designers for determining which carpet to specify for a particular room or area.

Where do you start? Location, location, location--the real estate battle cry is also a key concern when specifying carpet. To maximize performance, architects, designers and facility managers must first decide where the carpet will go to determine what type of carpet is most appropriate.

Where should carpet be used in the workplace? Carpet is the norm in health care, education, offices, hotels and retail locations. It is used in all common public areas of facilities, such as corridors (for sound absorption, slip and fall safety), waiting rooms, lobbies and offices (for beauty and versatility). It is also being used more and more in patient rooms and nurseries in healthcare centers (for warmth and comfort) and almost exclusively in elementary and pre-school classrooms in educational facilities.

Currently, carpet is not usually selected solely by a designer. Facility managers are much more involved in the selection process because they know about the demands of their tenants and traffic patterns in a building. The traffic in a location will determine criteria for both carpet construction and performance.

Construction specifications deal with appearance or the look desired. On the other hand, performance specifications deal with appearance retention. Construction specifications inform the carpet mill, in exact terms, how the carpet must be made. The specifications will determine the floor covering's look, size, weight, construction type and coloring method. For a carpet to retain its new look, a specifier must match face weight and density to the amount of foot traffic.

To ensure appropriate performance, a specifier may simply request a specific performance level from the manufacturer. It is better to specify …

Ref: Carpet & Rug Institutes Carpet Maintenance Guidelines Products I Like To Clean My Carpets: Febreze Carpet care