Polypropylene Carpets
Read this guide to learn everything you'll need to know about polypropylene carpets before buying them.
feel & look | wear factors | price | widths | fitting | useful polypropylene links
The feel and look of polyproplene carpets
Polypropylene carpets are surprisingly similar to wool in feel, they are certainly not unpleasant to the touch. Whilst polypropylene is a man made fibre, the colours can be quite earthy like wool owing to its opacity. Many people cannot tell the difference between polypropylene and wool (especially when it has been trodden on for a while).
One way to tell polypropylene from wool is the lack of random patination such as flecks, any visual texture added will be uniform in nature (tricolour). Most people would not find lying on it any different to relaxing on wool - static shocks are certainly not an issue.
Wear factors - stain resistant; fade resistant; prone to flattening
Polypropylene is a by product of petroleum refining. It is chemically inert which makes it very resistant to fading and hence an excellent choice for conservatories. Its chemical fastness also makes it the most stain resistant fibre on the market - it will even tolerate bleach and battery acid.
Being closely related to petroleum, it has a lower combustion point than wool and nylon which makes it more susceptible to both fire and to friction wear. As a fibre it has a tendency to flatten from compression wear, although better brands produce it with two-ply fibres to help compensate.
If it is constructed with loop weaves, the compression wear will not show flattening as much, making it the ideal choice for both offices and letting properties. There are numerous "natural" pretenders all made from polypropylene - the loops tend to feel more man made than the quality twists.
Look out for manufacturers who all produce their own brands of polypropylene such as Con X Yarn, Zylon, B-Tron and a host of labels such as StainFree, StainAway and StainSafe - they are all very similar and all stain resistant by default.
Polypropylene carpets are very resistant to pet stains, food stains and mud but if anything is likely to damage it, then oil or petroleum stains will (being like for like).
Price - competitive; prone to exchange rates
Polypropylene is typicallly £5.00 to £10.00 for budget sparser twists and loop carpets, rising to £13.00 to £20.00 for tighter twists, durable loops and luxury saxony. Much polypropylene comes from northern Europe so exchange rates affect its price. Petroleum price fluctuations also affect it.
Lano is amongst the better known polypropylene brands, but look out for Cormar, Victoria (Live4Life), Abingdon and Furlong.
Widths - 4 metre the main width; 5 metre
Most polypropylene carpets come in 4 metre widths and can be quite annoying to people who choose a range only to find out they need 5 metre widths. British companies like Furlong and Abingdon have 5 metre offerings. Victoria Carpets provide 2 metre widths from their VC 4 Life polypropylene carpet range.
Fitting - standard charges
There are no special considerations for polypropylene carpets when it comes to fitting so charges will be standard.
Useful Polypropylene carpet links
Cormar - get samples
Victoria (Live4Life) - get samples
Abingdon - get samples
Kosset - get samples
Furlong - currently under construction but will feature polypropylene carpets when ready
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