Choose Carpeting For Stairs

Online, March 2, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Most manufacturers rate their carpeting for light, medium, and heavy wear. Heavy-wear rating is best for stairs. If a carpet is not rated, judge its durability by the density of the fibers.

Roll a corner of the carpet around fingers. Little or no backing should be visible at the base of the fibers. Look too for a strong backing to which fibers are firmly attached.

One needs to consider how the carpet will look when it gets lots of day-to-day traffic.

Good choices are tweeds, patterns, and tightly looped or highly twisted textures in medium colors.

Any of these will show fewer footprints and less soil than plush or velvet. If doing buy plush or velvet carpet, choose one with a lower pile. Avoid light and dark colors and piles with extreme variations in height. Back carpet choice with the best quality of padding available.

To prolong carpet life, vacuum stairs frequently and shampoo them about every 6 months. To attain additional life, having an extra foot folded under the front of the top or the bottom riser when the carpeting is installed. Then, before heavy wear at the front of each stair tread becomes obvious, move the carpet up or down by a few inches or so.

An important tip to remember is whenever carpeting any stairs or any part at home; make sure it is a tight installation because loose fitting carpet on steps can be dangerous and potentially cause harm if someone should slip or trip due to poor installation.