In a lot of homes today, rugs and carpets are essential accessories that can liven up our living spaces. They have been used since ancient times across many cultures to add warmth, color and an aesthetic effect to our dwellings. They are favored because of the easy way they blend in with the decor of the rooms and their ease of installation. Carpets and rugs are made out of many materials. Most of them are made of silk, wool, cotton, sisal, rayon, sea grass, jute and many others.
Basically, the materials used to make carpets can be classified into two; natural fibers and synthetic fibers. They all have advantages and disadvantages in terms of durability, retention of color, resistance to stains, vulnerability to chemicals, ease of cleaning among other factors.
Here we will examine the pros and cons of three natural and synthetic fibers to help you determine the type of rug you should get based on the material it is made of. More importantly, you can also consider its features so that you know which material would go well with your flooring.
- Cotton: Cotton is used more often in making the base of a rug more than its pile. It is most commonly used in making throw rugs, handmade and area rugs. They are stronger and feel softer than woolen carpets but it is less flexible and wears out worse than wool in high traffic areas of the house. It can be easily maintainable through the means of vacuuming and machine washing. The cons of cotton rugs are that they are prone easily getting torn, absorb a lot of moisture, have low crush resistance and flatten over very quickly.
- Sisal: This natural fiber is a great choice for high traffic areas in your home. When tightly woven, it presents itself to be very durable and flexible. They are highly stain and dirt resistant. Their only disadvantage is that if placed in a wet place, they easily absorb a lot of water.
- Wool: Produces soft, stain and dirt resistant, anti-static and durable carpets. Though expensive, they are the most common material used to make quality rugs. It is also crush resistant which makes it more durable than other natural fabrics. They are quite flexible and retain their shape. They are ideal for people who suffer from allergies as they absorb dirt and other pollutants suspended in the air. Their main con is that they are expensive to acquire.
- Nylon: A synthetic fiber that is popular because of its availability, ease of dying, resilience, mildew resistance, abrasion resistance and high color retention due to resistance to the fading effect of sunshine and age. Their only problem is that they are prone to staining.
- Rayon: This is a synthetic fiber made by processing cellulose found in wood or cotton pulp. An advantage of rayon rugs is that they can make cheap area rugs. The cons are that they turn yellow when exposed to light and moisture due to cellulose browning. They are vulnerable to heat, humidity and are easily ruined by solutions with high alkaline content.
- Olefin: A very cheap synthetic fiber. It is recommended for outdoor and light indoor use. It is resistant to molding and the fading effects of sun exposure. Its cons are that it is color fast and is vulnerable to oil stains too.
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