[k4s2]

We are looking for new carpet, as ours is matted and stained (in the traffic areas only). We have had our carpets professionally cleaned at least every 6 months since buying it.
It is olefin, which is said to be the worst for matting, but good on stains.

Carpet sellers say nylon is best... but one company (Shaw) says a polyester called Clear Touch is best. Most companies now merge a stain protectant into the fibers BEFORE the carpet is made (called Stainmaster, R2x or WearEver). We can't find ANY unbiased comparison of these products. Even with a full Google search, the only comments seem to be from the manufacturers... praising their own product. Some local merchants pan one or the other stain-protectant... then we notice they don't carry that company's carpet. We tried Consumer Research & Good Housekeeping... but none have tested carpet for years.

Can anyone find an unbiased comparison of Stainmaster, R2x and WearEver? We'd like to see them ranked on several factors, like removing certain stains (coffee, wine, etc.) & on keeping traffic areas cleaner and less matted. Thanks for any info on this one...

[skiberger]

You may want to look into a commercial grade carpet that will hold up to traffic patterns and staining.

[k4s2]

You may want to look into a commercial grade carpet that will hold up to traffic patterns and staining.

How do commercial grades differ from residential? Is it just more threads/inch? Why do they hold up better for staining and in traffic patterns?

I'm still wondering about the difference in quality between the various pre-treatment products for preventing stains (Stainmaster, R2x and Wear-Ever), which are soaked into the fiber before the carpet is made. All I could find as advice was that all of them are much better than spraying the final carpet with ScotchGuard, which only goes in 1/4". BUT... I'd like to know which ONE is best, as the salesmen are so biased we can't tell!

[Carguy]

We are looking for new carpet, as ours is matted and stained (in the traffic areas only). We have had our carpets professionally cleaned at least every 6 months since buying it.
It is olefin, which is said to be the worst for matting, but good on stains.

Carpet sellers say nylon is best...but one company (Shaw) says a polyester called Clear Touch is best. Most companies now merge a stain protectant into the fibers BEFORE the carpet is made (called Stainmaster, R2x or WearEver). We can't find ANY unbiased comparison of these products. Even with a full Google search, the only comments seem to be from the manufacturers...praising their own product. Some local merchants pan one or the other stain-protectant...then we notice they don't carry that company's carpet. We tried Consumer Research & Good Housekeeping...but none have tested carpet for years.

Can anyone find an unbiased comparison of Stainmaster, R2x and WearEver? We'd like to see them ranked on several factors, like removing certain stains (coffee, wine, etc.) & on keeping traffic areas cleaner and less matted. Thanks for any info on this one...

Dear worn out,

I owned and operated a professional carpet cleaning business for 15yrs. At this point, I have no relationship to the industry, so you could say my opinion is unbiased, and experienced.
First off, Olefin carpet will be the first to wear, or appear worn. Wear patterns that you see on your carpet are actually the way the fibers attract the light. Once the fibers begin to wear out, they do not attract light in the same manner as they did when new, and will look dirty and dingy. In all my experience, Olefin carpets always wore out, and appeared dirtier and dingy long before others would whether they had stain protector on them or not.
Second... Stain protectors have come a long ways in the past 10 yrs. Just about anything you buy from a major manufacturer with a stain protectant on it, will be a good quality protectant that will do what it is supposed to do. However, you need to keep one thing in mind... you say you have your carpets cleaned about every 6 months... well, once you have the carpets cleaned, especially steam cleaned, it is not only removing the dirt and grime in your carpet, but removing the stain protector also. So, if you do have them cleaned, make sure that the company that does it also applies another coating of stain protector when they do it.
Finally, I would not recommend a commercial grade carpet for your home. There is no need for this if your carpet is taken care of properly. I would recommend a decent quality nylon carpet with a stain protector. You may also want to consider changing out your pad at that time also. You probably have a 3/8 inch pad now, and I would consider going to a 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch, which will give you more cushion, and be a little more easier on the carpet fibers also.
Your on the right track... just make sure that when you do get the new carpet, and have it cleaned, that they re-apply a stain protector!

[k4s2]

Dear worn out,

I owned and operated a professional carpet cleaning business for 15yrs. At this point, I have no relationship to the industry, so you could say my opinion is unbiased, and experienced.
First off, Olefin carpet will be the first to wear, or appear worn. Wear patterns that you see on your carpet are actually the way the fibers attract the light. Once the fibers begin to wear out, they do not attract light in the same manner as they did when new, and will look dirty and dingy. In all my experience, Olefin carpets always wore out, and appeared dirtier and dingy long before others would whether they had stain protector on them or not.
Second........ Stain protectors have come a long ways in the past 10 yrs. Just about anything you buy from a major manufacturer with a stain protectant on it, will be a good quality protectant that will do what it is supposed to do. However, you need to keep one thing in mind.......you say you have your carpets cleaned about every 6 months....... well, once you have the carpets cleaned, especially steam cleaned, it is not only removing the dirt and grime in your carpet, but removing the stain protector also. So, if you do have them cleaned, make sure that the company that does it also applies another coating of stain protector when they do it.
Finally, I would not recommend a commercial grade carpet for your home. There is no need for this if your carpet is taken care of properly. I would recommend a decent quality nylon carpet with a stain protector. You may also want to consider changing out your pad at that time also. You probably have a 3/8 inch pad now, and I would consider going to a 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch, which will give you more cushion, and be a little more easier on the carpet fibers also.
Your on the right track.... just make sure that when you do get the new carpet, and have it cleaned, that they re-apply a stain protector!

Carguy,

Thanks so much for your professional advice. Yes... our carpets are all olefin... and look just as you describe. On the cleaning so often... it was because the carpet traffic-patterns looked so dingy so soon. With new carpets, we'll only have to clean to meet the warranty, a year or 18 months, I've heard. Some salesmen did say the newer Stainmaster & RX2 stain-repellants will last through 5-10 cleanings and THEN you reapply. Of course... they are salesmen, so maybe they exaggerate to say we'll be saving money on steam-cleaning!

The carpet we like best is a low nylon Berber with cut nylon pattern areas, with Rx2... and they advised a 3/8 pad again with it, since it's so low profile.

I was amazed they said we have to vacuum 3 times/week, for the warranty. Maybe that's part of our problem, as we do our laundry and vacuum once/week while it dries... and we thought that was fine.

We would only have used the commercial in the utility room... but I think we'll just get a lesser nylon (all low berber) for in there. Again, if we vacuum the path lots, that'll help. But... we'll get a carpet the color of the bottoms of our shoes... instead of light beige!

Thanks again for answering... as you are the perfect sort of person to know about this!

[Carguy]

The Berber would be a good choice for you. I would recommend vacuuming more frequesntly as this will improve the life of the carpet also. The dirt that gets into the fibers of the carpet will act almost as "sand paper" when you walk over it and begin to wear out the fibers, so the more often you vacuum, the less chance you have of wearing the fibers out. You can actually "over vacuum", or do it too much also. It really depends on the number of people living in the house, the size of the house and the area in question. But in a nut shell, I would say that twice a week should be sufficient. Again, best of luck.

[dyeyourcarpet.com]

Rx2 wears fast, can't be dyed easy.

[dyeyourcarpet.com]

Correction: Rx2 can be dyed buy lowering the pH in a dye bath to pentrate the inherint stain blocking properties. This carpet still sux. Lol.