Purchasing Silk Carpet

When purchasing a carpet, in addition to the points we have mentioned in describing, there are other factors you should consider.

As with purchasing any valuable article, your budget is always the first thing in your mind. The carpet's reflects its quality, better carpets cost more. An intricate design and colors may add to the cost. Our suggestion is to buy the best carpet you can afford.

Pile weight or face weight is the number of ounces of fiber per square yard or of grams per square meter. Obviously, a carpet with a heavier pile provides a superior performance and of course costs more since more fiber is used. Generally speaking, carpets with higher pile weight are better.

Density is a criterion. This also has a correlation with the pile thickness. It basically indicates how tightly the fibers are stitched into the carpet backing. Generally the carpet containing more yarns has higher density and heavier pile weight. And higher density carpets have better appearance and provide a more comfortable surface, creating resilience to wear and crushing.

Density is expressed in ounces per cubic yard. A formula is given to calculate it by U.A government FHA: D=WX36/T; (D is Density, W is pile yarn weight in ounces per square yard, T is pile thickness or height in inches).

Twist is the number of times per inch the fiber yarns are twisted together to form the strands. Obviously, a higher and tighter twisted carpet is more durable and resists to crushing and matting. Twist can also affect the appearance of a carpet.

Durability is a term for the resistance of material to loss of physical properties or appearance as a result of wear or dynamic operation. The most accurate and reliable measure of a carpet's durability is to test it under actual foot traffic. Most carpet companies will give the rating figures according to their tests, which will help you to choose a carpet for light traffic, normal traffic or heavy traffic room.

When purchasing a pure silk carpet, the number of lines is an important element to consider. It refers to the number of warp and weft yarns per square foot. If a carpet is of 200 lines it means in one square foot, there are 200 warp yarns and 200 weft yarns woven together. The other standards commonly met are 240 lines, 260 lines, 300 lines, 360 lines, 400 lines and 500 lines. As you will appreciate a silk carpet with more lines is of high density and takes longer to finish and so is of greater value.