Pros and Cons of Wool Carpet
Whether you’re building a new house, or remodeling one you’ve lived in for years, the best place to start is from the ground up.
Flooring is the starting point for most interior projects. Without a good base, your room won’t function as you had hoped. Without the proper flooring in place, you may be disappointed with the results.
For many homeowners, carpet is the most logical choice. While people across the Front Range prefer hardwood for living spaces, carpet is still one of the leading flooring choices for other rooms throughout the home. Carpet still accounts for over 48 percent of the flooring market, making it a great choice for your needs.
If you’ve decided to purchase carpet, the first choice you’ll make is type. A quick search brings up many options: acrylic, nylon, polyester, wool. If wool carpet has shot to the top of your list, congratulations. It’s a great choice for people looking for green options, wanting a natural flooring choice, and are truly looking to invest in luxury carpet.
If you’re ready to dive a little deeper and learn more about wool carpet, let’s look at the reasons to keep this natural material at the top of your list.
What are the advantages of wool carpet?
Durability
Before you consider wool as an option, think about all the things you demand from carpet. Chances are durability tops the list.
Once installed, we want it to last for a long time, and to look good in the process. The last thing we want is buyer’s remorse almost from the moment we install it.
Wool carpet is manufactured from short lengths of wool taken from sheep. Think of all wool goes through – it protects sheep from the heat of summer and the coldest days of winter. It’s hardy no matter what conditions sheep face out in the fields. When converted to fiber, those same factors continue forward as they are turned into fiber.
Because wool fiber has a naturally coiled structure, it maintains well over time. Synthetic fibers try to imitate it, but they can only duplicate it for so long. That’s one of the biggest reasons wool carpet can last for decades if properly cared for, while synthetic carpet has a much shorter lifespan.
Wool carpet also handles better under pressure. Have lots of heavy furniture that will sit on top? See lots of foot traffic throughout your home? Wool carpet bounces back time after time. It springs back continually, and retains its original qualities much longer.
Cleanability
One of the biggest things homeowners worry about when it comes to carpet is how easy it is to maintain. If it attracts dirt, is easily stained, and is difficult to keep clean, carpet can become an eyesore quickly.
If you’ve ever had those thoughts, push them aside if you invest in wool carpet. Sure, it will require regular maintenance. Vacuuming periodically will ensure it always looks good and stays clean. An occasional steam clean (according to manufacturer’s guidelines) will pull the deep dirt up, and ensure your carpet continually looks good.
Homeowners enjoy the lasting results of wool carpet because it holds its color well. It also fades less than with other carpet materials such as nylon. That means if it occasionally gets hit with the Colorado sunshine, you’ll have less chance of the color fading over time. That makes sense when you think about the chemical makeup of wool. It’s a protein-based molecular structure that readily accepts color and holds it well. You’ll find wool carpets in a wider range of colors and patterns, giving them the highest level of aesthetic appeal you’ll find on the market.
Environmentally friendly
The reason more homeowners turn to wool carpet than any other is because of its natural qualities. Wool is an effective insulator – sheep do well in all kinds of weather. Wool’s insulating properties will be noticeable no matter where it’s installed. In winter, it’ll hold heat closer to the floor, making you feel warmer. It also naturally absorbs water vapor from the air, which helps with moderate indoor humidity, which naturally occurs in the summer as you run your air conditioner.
Here in Colorado, that also gives you an added benefit of wool’s moisture absorption properties – it reduces static electricity. If you’re tired of feeling those static shocks in this dry climate, wool carpet may be the perfect choice for your home.
It’s also biodegradable and recyclable. That means when it’s reached the end of its lifecycle, it won’t end up as long in the landfill like other carpeting choices.
Flame-resistant
In case you need even more advantages for making wool carpeting your choice, consider it’s also naturally flame-resistant. It has a higher ignition point than other materials, which is the temperature where it combusts and burns. That makes it less of a risk factor than synthetic options. If matches, cigarettes, sparks, wood-burning, or other factors are a part of your home, this pushes wool carpet to the top of the list. You’ll often find wool carpet in commercial applications like airports and casinos because of this feature.
What are the disadvantages of wool carpet?
Sold on wool carpet? Before you sign on the dotted line, it’s important to understand the few disadvantages it has.
Cost
The biggest issue for some homeowners is cost. Wool carpet is priced according to the source of wool. Overall, that puts it at the higher end of the spectrum. It typically costs twice as much as synthetic carpet such as nylon and polyester.
Cleaning
While wool carpets have a lot of advantages for clean up, it is important to note that the messier the spill, the more it can sink into wool carpet. Oily or greasy spills can quickly penetrate the fibers, and once there, be there permanently. It’s important to jump on all spills immediately to ensure they don’t set and be there for life.
Shedding
Wool fiber tends to shed over time. Wool is woven into yarn that ultimately creates carpet pile. These short strands lie on top of the carpet, and can be easy to catch as your kids play, pets run across it, or you move heavy items back and forth. That can cause piling, which can accumulate quickly if you don’t pick it up. Luckily, a lint roller will easily remove them, but it can cause you additional work.
Is wool carpet a good investment? Yes. We consider wool carpet to be the top of the line luxury carpet you can bring into your home.
How long will a wool carpet last? When well cared for, wool carpet can last for decades.
Are those reasons enough for you to push wool carpet to the top of your list?