How Do You Choose Carpeting For Stairs?
Most manufacturers rate their carpeting for light, medium, and heavy wear. Heavy-wear rating is best for stairs. If a carpet is not rated, you can judge its durability by the density of the fibers. Roll a corner of the carpet around your 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 you do buy plush or velvet carpet, choose one with a lower pile. Avoid light and dark colors and piles with extreme variations in height. Back your 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, you can have an extra foot folded
