Twist Carpets
Man-made Twist Carpets are generally made out of Polypropylene, which is a synthetic compound ( a type of plastic) and/or another compound, such as polyamide or nylon. While the word ‘plastic might be ringing in your ears, don’t be alarmed. Yes, it is made from a plastic compound, but it has advantages. This means the carpet is made in a colour, instead of being dyed in the colour, such as a wool carpet. This process means the dye cannot be washed out of the yarn, making it bleach-cleanable. You can then use high-strength cleaning solutions without worry of affecting the carpet, making troublesome stains a thing of the past. These are ideal for young families or busy households. As Twist carpets will have shorter threads or piles to them, these are again, ideal for busy families as well as being durable and looking better for longer. Ideal for stairs and landings.
Wool Twist carpets
Wool Twist Carpets are known for being durable and hard-wearing. This still remains true today. Wool is a natural fibre and due to this fact, it tends you look better for longer and keep its shape better. Let us dive a little deeper and find out why that is. Why does wool tend to look better for longer? well, simply put, it’s self-cleaning. Yes, you heard me right, it’s self-cleaning. As it is a natural fibre, (sheep’s wool), it sheds over time. So, the troublesome stains you see today will have lightened in 6 months, and then almost disappeared in the space of 1-2 years. How does it look better for longer? Natural fibre tends to spring back to its original position better than ma-made fibre. As they are twisted together in the factory to create this effect, wool has the natural tendency to do this anyway, giving it that great appearance.
Wool Looped Carpets
Wool Loop Carpets and textured carpets are available in many different styles and combinations. Two main styles can be separated initially, the first being a loop that runs 90 degrees to each other and doesn’t loop over each other. This has been the most popular style over time, but the cross-over loops have been increasing in popularity over the last decade or two. The cross-over loops have many different combinations that created different looks and designs that can inspire you.
Saxony carpets
Saxony Carpets are quickly becoming the UK’s favourite carpet, behind wool twist carpets. Saxony Carpets have longer yar or thread than a twist carpet and are also made in the colour, not dyed. This, just like a Twist Carpet, allows it to be cleaned with a bleach solution or high-strength cleaning solutions, making stains much less of a worry in a busy household. The thing that really makes Saxony Carpets stand out, is the softness and comfort attained in your home through these carpets. Your toes sink into them when you get up in the morning, giving that essence of luxury to your home. These are great for bedrooms, lounges & snugs.
Bedroom Carpets
When looking for Bedroom carpets, there are a few things to take into consideration. There are a few different types of carpets that can go into your bedroom, depending on what you are looking for, such as a thick and soft carpet or a harder-wearing carpet that has a denser pile (all close together). You might already know what you want depending on the type of feel you’d like. A few things to take into consideration before you pick your new carpet are, do you want it to last a certain amount of time? Do you want a certain feel in the room? Is there a specific colour you want in the room? Depending on which of these is more important, you are more than likely to have a certain trade-off between the first two, and then have it affected by the latter. The general rule of thumb is that the harder or firmer it feels, the longer it’s going to last. The reverse is then the softer it feels, the more luxurious it feels, and the quicker you will start to see flattening in the carpet which gives the visual impression of wearing. There is a sweet spot in the middle somewhere that we are all looking for, when the question is asked, “I’m looking for a soft carpet that’s hard wearing”. There is always a slight trade-off but one of the variants between soft and hard-wearing will always be the more dominant factor in your decision, thankfully there are a few that sit in this specialist category, but it’s best to talk them through with an advisor.
That tussle between soft bedroom carpets & hardwearing bedroom carpets has been a long one. Do you want to wake up in the morning to that special carpet that brings joy to your feet as soon as you step out of bed in the morning? or is practicality your main prerogative and a consistent visual effect and any years of consistency your main tole for your new carpet?
While it is normally the softer carpets that are favoured for bedrooms, this decision isn’t one won by a vast majority. The V & A recommendation would be to also take the size of your bedroom into account. If not a larger bedroom, very little time is spent walking on the floor. Take that into account when making your decision.
Sitting Room Carpets or Lounge Carpets
Deciding what carpets to put in the sitting room or lounge, can be one of the hardest decisions to make for any homeowner as there are many more decisions to be made. The vast majority would rightly look for comfort as it’s the room in the house where everyone gathers to relax, catch up, have friends and guests over and watch TV together.
Any type of carpet can work well in the Sittingroom, it just depends on your situation or your home design which would suit you and your home better. For example, if your sitting room is a throughway to another room in the home or outside, it would see even more traffic than normal. If you chose to go with a soft luxurious carpet in this room, you must accept that it will show visual signs of wear quicker than a shorter piled carpet (hard-wearing carpet). That would be the trade-off for comfort. This time scale of wear would then also depend on the size of your family and how often you entertain. The shorter and denser the pile the longer the carpet will appear newer is the rule of thumb. Wool Carpets are also the bookmark for a longer-lasting carpet. Its natural fibres bounce back quicker and for longer, this is done naturally, keeping it looking better for longer. Wool also sheds as it is a natural fibre, this shedding also helps remove slight stains over time, a benefit often overlooked or forgotten about.
Wool Carpets would be the suggested option in most cases if looking to keep it looking better for longer. In the case of a young family or you are about to have children, we’d recommend a man-made carpet. These are easy to clean and maintain which is vital for a young family. They are also less expensive which helps keep the bills down and makes it slightly more affordable to replace when the worst should happen.
Our suggestion would normally be man-made when you have a young family, then change to wool when they move out of the house. This is just a general guide, as we are all different, and have different tastes and requirements.
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F.A.Q & Contact Information
Ordering Carpets
How long does it take to order carpet?
Do we have to have it fitted?
We offer a collection service which means your fitter, or yourself, can come and collect the carpet once it’s been delivered from our warehouse in Trowbridge. We have a large, insulated, warehouse which allows us to keep your carpet safe and ready for collection.
We can also deliver the carpet (Locally) to your home if required. Please contact us for more information on delivery.
Can i collect the carpet or have it delivered?
Yes, we offer a collection and delivery service.
We have a large, Insulated, warehouse in Trowbridge from where you or your fitter can collect your flooring to have it fitted.
We can also deliver your carpet to your home within Wiltshire. If you live in Bath, Bristol or the surrounding areas please contact us for more detail on delivery options.
Do i have to have my carpets measured?
If you are happy for us to use your measurements, please note that we take no responsibility if the sizes prove to be incorrect.
Our measuring service is free of charge to help prevent any incorrect measurements or any other issues that could prevent the fitting being completed on the set day of fitting.
Do you have a showroom i can visit?
We have a showroom for Carpets, a Showroom for Wood flooring and yet another showroom for Luxury vinyl tile and Laminate flooring.
It does help to see the flooring in larger samples when unsure about your selection.
Can you bring samples to my house?
Yes, we have numerous amounts of sampling to bring to your home to help you make a decision.
While we have many samples to choose from, sadly, we cannot bring all the samples with us to your home. Our experienced staff can help you narrow it down over the phone or by letting us know your requirements or what you are looking for from your flooring. Are you looking for something soft and comfortable, hardwearing, durable or something unique with a style or pattern to it? We can then bring a selection which meets your needs to help you make the right choice.
This also allows us to measure the areas for you and give you an accurate quote at the same time.
Please contact us to book an in-store appointment or a free home measure, or you can book one online via our website out of hours.
General questions
What carpet is best for stairs?
When deciding on carpets for stairs, there is a lot to take into consideration.
Ideally, the best carpet for stairs would be a very dense, short pile carpet. This would allow the carpet to look better for longer on your stairs. The short, dense bristles allow then to stay upright for as long as possible to delay flattening of the carpet.
A tightly looped carpet is also very good for stairs, this is less likely to flatten and look better for longer. It isn’t advisable to choose these if you have cats in the home. Looped pile carpets tend to offer some resistant for cats which promotes clawing at the carpet.
While a long piled creates a more comfortable and luxurious feeling underfoot, they will flatten sooner than other carpets on the stairs.
This is a risk you will knowing need to decide on when deciding on the stair carpet, either comfort or durability?
Underlay also plays a very important part in looking after your stair carpet.
What carpet pile is best?
Wool carpet tends to keep its shape for longer, with the twist pile bouncing back quickly as it’s a natural fibre.
Short pile carpet is less luxurious but looks better for longer as the shorter pile has less to flatten.
Longer pile carpets feel softer and luxurious, which allow you to feel the comfort and the pile getting between your toes. While the comfort levels can be very high, these tend to flatten quicker and less likely to retain their original shape because of the long pile.
To conclude:
Generally, the shorter and tighter pile is better as you can retain the softer feeling with a better or softer underlay while still retaining the appearance of the pile for longer.
Which carpet underlay is best?
Underlay is a fundamental part of buying a new carpet. It’s important that you do some research before replacing your carpet, making sure that you choose the right carpet underlay for each room in your home.
Often when we are choosing a new carpet, we focus on buying a beautifully soft carpet that feels really luxurious and soft, only to be disappointed a couple of years later when the carpet feels really hard and flattened. While this is partly because of the type of carpet, underlay also plays a big part in the feel of your carpet. This plays an even larger part over time.
It’s definitely recommended to buy new underlay when you replace your carpet, rather than using the existing underlay. The best type of carpet underlay will provide thermal insulation, reduce noise, make the carpet feel softer underfoot and will help the carpet last longer as it acts as a shock absorber.
In short, we highly recommend the new blown rubber underlay. It’s recycled, recyclable and has great heat retention. It keeps its original shape for longer whereas PU (foam) underlays tend to flatten over time.
When choosing a PU underlay its very important to select one that is very dense and doesn’t give way very easily. While this will portray the effect of being softer now, it will give way very quickly and won’t look after your carpet as well in the years to come.
What carpets are easy to clean?
Carpets that are made out of polypropylene, can easily be cleaned by using a 20% bleach solution on any marks or stains. This makes polypropylene carpets the easiest carpets to clean, as with the bleach solution you can get almost all if not all stains out if treated properly and quickly.
Polymide mix carpets make for amazingly soft and luxurious carpets and make them easy to clean and maintain. sadly they don’t retain their shape over time and use due to their soft nature. Unfortunately, these can not be clean with a bleach solution.
Wool carpets have been dyed and lose their colouring when cleaned profusely. Wool carpets can be cleaned, but not by using chemicals. While wool is harder to clean when having big spills, it is however a natural product that sheds over time. Thus, you might find when staining or marking your wool carpet, they lighten or even disappear over time as the pile sheds (6-12months). Thus almost cleaning itself.
Store Hours
Monday: Closed
Tues- Friday: 10am – 4pm
Saturday: 10am-3pm
Sunday: Closed
Call us:
01225 300826
Email Us
Find our Carpet Shop in Trowbridge
V & A Carpets
Call
01225 300826
Address
4-6 The Long Barn Barn, Paxcroft Farm, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 6JB
Opening Hours
Sunday - Closed
Monday - Friday : 10am - 4pm
Saturday : 10am - 3pm