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Carpet Foot-Traffic Test
What Grade of Carpet Should You Select?
Here's a simple test you can take to help determine your level of
Carpet Foot-Traffic. You can't choose new carpet wisely unless
you select a carpet that is capable of withstanding your own specific level of foot
traffic.
I have created this simple test you can take to help
determine your level of foot traffic based on several simple, but relevant variables.
After you
are finished, you can continue on to see which Carpet
Fiber and
specifications will best suit your budget based on how long you want your
new carpet to last.
Carpet Foot-Traffic Test
Start Here:
To
determine your Carpet Foot Traffic Score, consider the following questions
carefully and add up your points on a separate
piece of paper:
How many
adults live in your home?
Do you
have children, teenagers or pets?
-
Each Child
(add 4 points for each child)
-
Each
Teenager (add
6 points for each teen)
-
Each
Small pet
(add 3 points per indoor pet)
-
Each
large pet
(add
6 points per indoor pet)
Do you
entertain often?
Do
you have grandchildren?
How often
do you vacuum thoroughly? (be honest)
-
Never
( add 15
points)
-
Once
or twice a
week
(add 7 points)
-
Three
or four times a week (add
5 points)
-
Five
or six times a
week (add
3 points)
-
Everyday (add 1 points)
How often
do you have your carpets professionally cleaned?
-
Once
a
year
(add 2 points)
-
Every
other
year
(add 0 points)
-
Every
third
year
(add 4 points)
-
Never (add 12 points)
How big
is your home?
Now Add Up
all your points and click on the appropriate traffic level below to go on to the next part of
my Carpet Foot Traffic Test.
Pet Urine
By
the way, if you have a pet or pets that has frequent urine accidents, then this
foot traffic test is not going to be accurate for you. No carpet is designed to
tolerate frequent wet pet accidents. No matter what carpet you choose, even if
they say it is pet-accident friendly, you will not get the results you are
hoping for.
Spending
more for a pet-accident friendly carpet is a waste of money. You will just spend
more and get less. You would be better off buying a cheap carpet and padding and
then plan on replacing your carpet and padding much more often.
-
If
your pet has more than one urine accident per week then you have a serious
problem that needs to be considered before choosing new carpet.
-
Pet
urine accidents left unchecked can quickly ruin any carpet in short order,
regardless of the carpet cost, fiber type, or quality level. To limit your
financial loss from pet damage, you might be wiser to select a less
inexpensive carpet and pad and plan on replacing your carpet and padding
more frequently.
-
It
is very difficult to get urine odor and stains out of carpet regardless of
the source (dog or cat). I have tried dozens of products and have found that
few do any good at all. Of the products that do work to some degree, they
are not a miracle spray that works instantly like those you see on TV.
-
Removing
urine stain and odor requires diligence, elbow grease and a commitment to
addressing the problem quickly, aggressively and thoroughly. Once urine has
soaked into the carpet and has dried, it is almost impossible to remove the
odor completely with any product on the market today.
-
Avoid
padding upgrades. Don't waste your money on fancy or newfangled carpet
padding in an attempt to limit the damage caused by excessive pet urine.
Moisture-barrier, anti-microbial and odor eating pads are not effective if
your pet has frequent urine accidents. You might be better of in the long
run if you reduce your padding cost by using a lower grade pad.
-
I
recommend selecting an apartment grade carpet and pad designed to last about
5 years. You can get the whole job done for about $15-20 per yard which
includes a nylon carpet, 6-pound, 7/16" Rebond pad and installation
(including haul away of your old carpet and pad) email me to learn more
-
How
long do you want your new carpet to last? With a serious pet urine problem,
the answer should be 3 to 5 years.
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