Carpet and Area Rugs can be a beautiful addition to your home. You may decide against carpet, however, because you believe that the experience is likely to be a difficult one. If this is you, it’s possible that what you believe is only a myth. Check out these common myths about carpets.

You shouldn’t get carpets because they get dirty

It’s a given that anything you walk on every day will catch a certain amount of dirt. It doesn’t matter whether it’s wool, nylon or polyester – soil is a given when you have carpeting. It’s important, then, to think about the soil problem when you choose a carpet color. White and light colors usually show up soil. The answer is simply to choose a color that isn’t likely to show up dirt.

Carpet is not good because it has formaldehyde

Formaldehyde was a part of the carpet manufacturing process prior to the year 1978. It was a resin hardener used in some carpet products. Modern carpeting, however, does not contain the substance. There’s a reason why the formaldehyde myth is persistent, however. It’s because home test kits are available even today, that claim to be able to test for formaldehyde in carpet. In truth, such a test kit makes no sense today.

Carpet is bad because it contains dangerous chemicals

Carpet is not a complicated product — there is fabric backing made of jute, and there is the wool, polyester and nylon yarn that is glued to the backing. These are all materials commonly used around the house in clothing and furniture. Even the glue used in carpet is made of synthetic latex, material that is even less likely to cause allergies than natural latex.

Carpet promotes mold growth

Carpet does not promote mold growth per se. It is capable of growing mold, however, when it is damp. If it tends to be humid where you live, you could have mold on your carpet, but it could grow on other surfaces, as well, including your sofas and beds. Carpet is no more prone to mold growth than any other material exposed to moisture.

Carpet is bad when you have allergies

Studies have shown that carpet traps allergens, rather than have it float about in the air. This makes carpet good for you when you have allergies. Dust and other allergens can be a problem when you vacuum carpet, however. All you need to do is to use a vacuum with a HEPA filter so that the act of vacuuming doesn’t release allergens in the air.

The thicker the carpet, the more durable it is

Thickness has very little to do with quality or durability. Some of the hardest wearing carpets are the commercial kind, and can be very thin. Rather than thickness, you need to be looking at density. The more yarn a carpet uses per square inch, the more durable it is likely to be. If you want a hard-wearing carpet, you should compare different products by density.

The longer the warranty, the better the quality

It’s incorrect to think that the carpet brand that offers the longest warranty must come with the best quality, as well. Carpet warranties often include clever language excluding all kinds of common situations. It’s important to determine the quality of the carpet you buy in other ways. Carpet can add a great deal of luxury and beauty to any home. If you love carpet, but always decided against it because you believed in a myth or two, you could now begin to reconsider.

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