Find a Carpet Term

Antistatic
A carpet's ability to dissipate an electrostatic charge before it reaches a level that a person can feel.

Backing
The fabric and yarns that make up the side of the carpet that lays next to the floor. In tufted carpets there are two types of backing.

Primary backing
a woven or nonwoven fabric through which the yarn is inserted by the tufting needles.

Secondary backing
Fabric that is laminated to the back of the carpet to reinforce it.

Berber
A loop-pile carpet that offers great durability, a full comfortable texture and a casual, informal look. Often, these carpets incorporate flecks of color that contrast with the primary hue. The term Berber has expanded to include many level and multi-level loop carpet styles.

Binding
A special stitch, band, or strip sewn over a carpet edge to protect and/or decorate it.

Bulked Continuous Filament (BCF)
Strands of synthetic fiber (such as nylon or olefin) that have been formed into bundles of yarn. The fibers have undergone a texturizing procedure that makes the formerly straight filaments either kinked or curled.

Burns
Any burns should be taken care of immediately. First, snip off the damaged fibres, then use a soapless cleaner and sponge with water. If the damage is extensive, see a professional about repairs.

Cable
Carpet with casual cut pile construction featuring chunky tufts and long pile height.

Carpet Odour
Some new carpets and padding may have a noticeable odour. Such odours usually disappear within a few days with ventilation and frequent vacuuming.

Crushing
Furniture and traffic may crush a carpet's pile. Frequent vacuuming in high traffic areas and glides under heavy furniture can help the problem. Rotating the furniture to change traffic patterns can also help minimise changes in appearance. A light steam iron on lowest steam setting may help to remove dents from furniture.

Cushion
The material placed under a carpet for softness and support. It helps reduce noise, increase insulation benefits, and contributes to a softer feel underfoot. Purchasing an incorrect type of cushion may invalidate your warranty. Also known as padding or underlay.

Cut pile
A carpet in which the yarn loops are cut to create a textured look and feel.

Pattern Cut Pile
Made from saxony yarn, this carpet features a sophisticated look created by running cut pile and loop pile on a level pile height.

Density
This describes the amount of fiber or yarn in a carpet and how close the tufts of fiber are to each other. In general, the denser the pile, the better the performance.

Density
Filament - A single, continuous strand of natural (such as wool) or synthetic (such as nylon) fiber.

Fluffing
Loose fiber fragments remaining from the manufacturing process that appear on a carpet surface. This condition is remedied by vacuuming and carpet use. Also known as "fuzzing" or "shedding".

Frieze
Tightly curled or twisted yarn that gives carpet a textured appearance good for hiding footprints. Pronounced free-zay.

Fuzzing
Occurs when fibers from the carpet slip out of the yarn with use or sometimes after wet cleaning.

Gauge
The distance between two needle points in knitted or tufted carpet. It is usually expressed in fractions of an inch.

Hand
How a carpet feels.

Heat setting
A process that sets the twist in a carpet pile with heat or steam. This process allows fibers to hold their twist over time, allowing them to bounce back with great resilience whenever they are stepped on.

Level loop
The fiber in the carpet is stitched in uncut loops of the same size. It creates a smooth, level surface.

Loop pile
The fiber in the carpet is looped and uncut. Can be either level loop or multi-level loop.

Pile
The visible surface of a carpet, consisting of yarn or fiber tufts in loops that can be either cut or uncut. Also known as the "face" or "nap" of a carpet.

Pilling
A condition, often caused by heavy use, in which fibers from different tufts of carpet become entangled in one another forming hard fiber masses or "pills." These pills can be cut off with scissors.

Plush
A cut pile carpet in which the individual carpet fibers appear to be cut the same length. The carpet offers a smooth, luxurious surface.

Power Stretcher
A tool used to install residential carpet that prevents wrinkles and ripples.

Resilience
The ability of carpet pile or cushion to recover its original appearance and thickness after continued use.

Rippling
In wall to wall carpeting, high heat and humidity may cause rippling. If the carpet remains rippled during normal humidity, have a professional re-stretch the carpet with a power stretch, not with a knee kicker.

Saxony
The carpet fiber loops are cut and twisted to create a relatively dense, consistent look. Saxony carpet presents a smooth, luxurious surface and is generally for formal settings.

Seams
The line formed by joining two pieces of carpet. The pieces can be sewn together, or fastened with various seaming tapes or other adhesives.

Shading
Shading (also known as pile reversal) is a common characteristic of fine cut pile carpets, in particular wool carpets. Household traffic causes the pile to assume different angles. As a result, the carpet appears darker or lighter in such areas. Frequent and thorough vacuuming and hot water cleaning by a professional will help this condition.

Sisal
A type of woven floor covering originally made of vegetable fibers such as grass and jute. Now synthetic alternatives are available that offer a more comfortable feel as well as interesting textures, patterns and prints.

Snags
Sharp edged objects can grab or snag a carpet fibre. When this happens clip the snag off. If the snag is especially large, call in a professional.

Soiling
A build-up of soil particles and similar materials that cling to carpet fibres. Thorough and frequent vacuuming is the key. If vacuuming is not enough, it's time for professional cleaning.

Soil retardant
A chemical finish applied to carpet fibers or surfaces that inhibits the attachment of soil.

Sprouting
Occasionally, you may find small tufts of fibre sprouting above the carpet surface. Simply clip with sharp scissors. Don't try to pull them out since you may also pull other fibres out in the process.

Stains
In most cases, spills and stains must be tended to immediately. Their severity is affected by the type of carpet fibre, colour of carpet, how long the stain has set and cause of the stain.

Stitches
The number of yarn tufts per running inch of a single row in a tufted carpet.

Stretch-in
The procedure for installing residential carpet over a separate cushion using a tackless strip with a power-stretcher.

Tackless trip
Wood or metal strips fastened to the floor near the walls. The strips have two or three rows of pins angled up toward the walls on which carpet backing is fastened during a stretch-in installation.

Tuft bind
The force required to pull a tuft from a carpet.

Tufted
A method of manufacturing carpet. Tufts of fiber are inserted through a carpet backing to create a pile of cut and/or loop ends.

Twist
Winding the fiber around itself to strengthen a fiber's resistance to crushing.

Underlay
The cushion or padding that lays underneath rugs.

Woven
Carpet that is manufactured on a weaving loom in which the lengthwise yarns and widthwise yarns are interlocked to form a fabric.

Yarn Ply
The number of single fibers twisted together to form a plied yarn.