4 Carpet Buying Mistakes to Avoid

Recarpeting a room—or your entire home—can be an overwhelming project. It’s easy to get frustrated or confused and make a few mistakes, so we wanted to talk about four of the biggest carpet buying mistakes we see and how to avoid them.

1. Buying the Carpet You Want Instead of the Carpet You Need

We’ve talked before about how traffic affects which carpet you should choose for different rooms in your home—and we’re going to do it again since it’s the most common carpet buying mistake we see! Sure, that plush white carpet might look gorgeous in the showroom surrounded by perfectly curated furniture that makes it seem like the right choice for any room. The reality is that if you have pets, children, or have a tendency to spill things, that carpet might not be right for your home.

How to avoid this mistake

In a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to deal with pet hair and dirt and spills and stains, but carpeting in real life has to account for these things. That doesn’t mean you can’t have gorgeous carpets; it just means that homeowners can benefit from choosing their carpets based on if they have pets and families with active kiddos. We have tons of options with flecked patterns that will hide dirt stains over time, or you can try Shaw’s LifeGuard Carpet.

2. Thinking Two Similar Carpets Are Exactly the Same

You’re choosing between two carpets, they look and feel the same in-store, so they’re basically the same thing, right? Nope, not so much. Two different carpets can have completely different lifespans and perform differently over time—and it’s not necessarily going to be the more expensive carpet that lasts longest!

How to avoid this mistake

Make sure that when you’re comparing two carpets that have the same fiber, style, and quality, or that you understand what these different terms mean so you’ll have a better idea of what you’re paying for when considering each option. It’s also important to compare the manufacturer’s warranty on each carpet since it could work out to be more cost-effective for you to pay more up-front for a carpet you know will last longer.

3. Choosing Inexpensive Carpet Padding

There are different types of carpet padding, from expensive to cheap, so it might seem like a clever lifehack to save some money on carpet padding since it’s not going to be visible, but this is a mistake! Different types of carpet padding are meant to be used with different types of carpet, and using a lower-quality padding than your new carpet needs can cause the carpet to wear out quickly.

How to avoid this mistake

Use the best-quality recommended carpet padding that you can afford. Saving money by buying lower-quality carpet padding (or no carpet padding at all—don’t do this!) would be like painting your walls without using a coat of primer; it saves money up-front, but over time you’ll have to pay more in maintenance than you initially saved.

4. DIY Installs

Oh my, we have seen some things! From uneven cuts along walls, to scraps of carpet put together where patterns did not match, to shifting carpeting that was never pulled taut—not to mention that one time a client’s friend of a friend had tried to install their carpeting with craft staples.

How to avoid this mistake

DIY carpet installs are a good idea if you have a plain square room to carpet, you’ve measured and calculated the square footage twice, and don’t have any little details to work around (like AC vents in the floor), otherwise, please leave carpet installation to the professionals. We have specialized tools and advanced knowledge to guarantee you’ll be happy with your new carpeting—and you won’t spend years snagging your socks on loose staples!