For those of you who are in the market for new carpet here is quick comparison of two types of synthetic fibered carpet available: nylon and polyester. There isn't one that is ultimately superior to the other, as it depends of you needs and lifestyle, take a look!
- Cost
There isn’t much to say regarding this particular category other than polyester is usually about half the cost of nylon. Of course there are exceptions, a higher quality polyester can cost more than a cheap nylon. On the whole however polyester is definitely more cost effective.
- Durability
Durability refers to how the fibers hold up to ware and weight, and this isn’t much of a competition. Nylon is known to be a much more durable carpet fiber then that of polyester. Nylon has a high resilience that polyester lacks. Especially in high traffic areas polyester will start to show signs of crushing much sooner.
- Stain Resistance
As I had mentioned in the last article, both nylon and polyester are pretty safe bets when it comes to stains. That said, the nature of polyester fibers protects against stains more so than nylon. Because polyester doesn’t take dye sets it won’t be affected as much by spilled wine or other colored stains. That isn’t to say you can’t add carpet protection (a service we provide) to ramp up stain and soil resistance to your nylon carpet.
Another thing to note about these carpets and stains is that polyester carpet is not resistant to bleach stains. For the same reason it is resistant to colored stains, it cannot be spot dyed to correct bleaching. Nylon however can be spot dyed.
- Environment Impact
So this is a bit of a tossup as to which is more sustainable for the environment. While polyester is made out of recycled materials, it cannot be recycled. Nylon on the other hand can be recycled, but is not made of recycled materials.
Hopefully you found this further dive in to the benefits and draw backs of synthetic carpeting helpful. Whether you are deciding on new carpeting or just wish to know more about the carpet you have!