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Carpet Padding

The investment of time that you expend selecting the right decor for your home should also be spent on figuring out the finer details that keep your investment in tip-top condition. As you painstakingly search for the right paint color for your walls, the right carpeting for your floors and the finishing touches that add your sense of personality, you should consider how durability, stain resistance and padding play into the longevity of your hard-earned capital. While you are selecting carpeting, be sure to ask the salesperson about the importance of padding and which pad has the best benefits for your carpeting endeavor.

Carpet pad is the cushioning material that is placed between the floor and the carpet. Most consumers believe that carpet pad is installed to give a nice feel to walking on the carpet. While the padding does change the feel of carpet, the carpet pad actually protects the carpet from wear and tear. If a carpet is installed without padding, the daily use can cause the backing to stretch, synthetic materials may break down, or the carpet backing may separate from the carpet fibers. The carpet pad protects the carpet from the abuse of people walking on it.

Fact or fallacy: The softer and thicker the carpet padding the better the quality of padding. This is a big misconception by buyers. Padding doesn't make the carpet softer - the carpet itself holds the softness. Also, too thick of padding can stress the carpet, causing it to stretch and loosen from the carpet tack strips holding it down along the walls. The best prevention against this happening is to select a padding that is not thicker than ~ inch.

There are many types of carpet padding on the market and any of these will serve well for residential use. Today's waffle rubber pad is a good choice. Many people would not buy waffle rubber again because the product as it was made in the past decades deteriorated badly. However, new manufacturing processes are in place that have corrected the previous problems. Urethane foam is another carpet pad that did not perform well in the past. Here again, this pad is recommended today if a thicker pad up to half-inch is selected. Bonded cushion or rebond is the most popular carpet cushion sold today. A thickness of 3/8" is best for residential use. Rebond also has a density measure associated with it; density in the range of 5 to 6.5 pounds is recommended. A density of 5 pounds is good for most rooms while 6.5 pounds is best for high traffic areas.

If the finest quality of carpet pad is your style, then flat rubber padding will provide the superior performance your seeking. Density of this padding is expressed in pounds. For residential property, the 19 to 22 pound range does the job but at a big sticker price.

While the cost of padding will vary according to quality and style, the price is well worth its value to your flooring and carpet's life span. Take the time to research which carpet padding is right before installing new carpeting.

Elmo Theron is the owner and operator of PR Carpet Inc which is a premier resource for on-line carpet information. For further details click on his archive of articles at: http://www.rrcarpet.com/