Whether it’s used in styling a brand new home, or the refurbishment of an existing one, carpet is still the most popular choice of flooring in the UK today.

Wood or tile floors are a good option for some rooms, but most homeowners still prefer to install carpeting in living rooms, hallways, stairways and bedrooms.

So… what is it that makes carpet such a popular choice?

1) It Adds Beauty And Style:

Carpet is a very flexible flooring option, allowing considerable scope for creativity.

There are literally thousands of patterns, cuts, colours and styles of to choose from. Carpet can provide a neutral foundation or add a decorative element in any room, enabling you to create your own individual style.

2) It Has Excellent Wear Properties:

Most quality carpets have excellent wear properties, which means that many years of comfortable service can be expected if the right carpet is selected in the first instance.

3) It Provides Warmth And Comfort in the Home:

Carpet instantly brings comfort to a room.

It also has very good thermal insulating properties, efficiently retaining heat within its pile and backing material.

4) It Provides A Non-Slip, Cushioned Surface:

Carpet provides a cushioning effect and has excellent orthopaedic properties.

It also offers better traction than other flooring options, reducing slips and falls. Furthermore, if falls do occur, the softer surface reduces their impact - an important consideration if you have children or elderly people in your home.

5) It Has Very Efficient Sound Reduction Properties:

Carpet can make a big difference to the acoustics in your home by absorbing and dampening sounds. It creates a sound barrier between floors, reduces the noise from foot traffic on stairways, absorbs airborne sounds (such as talking), and even lessens noise transmission to adjoining neighbours.

6) It Improves Indoor Air Quality:

There is a perception that carpet is a poor choice for maintaining good air quality, and that people who suffer from asthma and allergies should avoid this type of floor covering in their home. In fact, the opposite is true.

Although we might not normally associate carpet with improved indoor air quality, it does actually have a very positive effect. Gravity causes common household particles, such as dust, pollen and pet and insect dander, to fall to the floor. Carpet fibres trap these particles, reducing their circulation in the air, and holds them until they can be properly removed through vacuuming and professional cleaning (providing this is undertaken regularly of course).

7) Its A Relatively Low Emitter of VOCs:

VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) can contribute to what is known as ‘sick building syndrome’, causing occupants to experience a host of health problems (including sore throats, coughs and allergic symptoms). Carpet has lower VOC emissions than many other common flooring choices. In fact, it’s one of the lowest emitting products used in new construction and renovation.

Maintaining Your Carpet

Carpet does, of course, need regular maintenance to keep it looking good and to retain its life expectancy, as well as remove the deep-down soiling and contaminants that its fibres so efficiently trap.

The first thing you will need to do to maintain your carpet is vacuum frequently. You should also have your carpets regularly professionally cleaned. This will remove the contaminants deep within the pile that vacuuming alone cannot reach.

Never be tempted to try and clean your carpets yourself, however, as home cleaning methods are relatively ineffective and may lead to damage.

Members of the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) are professional carpet cleaners who are trained to a high standard. They will be able to clean your carpets both safely and effectively.

A brief intro about Paul Pearce:

"I am married to Sandra, now celebrating 42 years and have 3 sons Liam, Matthew & Jay.

I started in the carpet cleaning industry in 1972. In those days, all the carpet cleaning was done using rotary machines with a high foaming shampoo.

I had small offsite works where we cleaned rugs & carpets. This was very basic but involved beating rugs etc., with a flail beater, thoroughly immersing them in running water and shampooing them, then a rinse and into a 48’ hydro-extractor. The drying room was basic but had multiple fans around the room with a gas fired boiler assisting several radiators. Rugs and carpets dried overnight.Mid 70’s saw bad winters where there was a lack of loft insulation and therefore burst pipes were common place. I very quickly became a trade carpet cleaner drying and re-washing flooded carpets for the trade. We were never without work.

In 1984 I joined the Carpet Cleaners Association (now NCCA) and moved on to their board in 1985 and very quickly got involved taking on the post of Trading Standards.

By now I had an interest in training as I had taken 3 schools with the Carpet Cleaners Association and 2 with Prochem. Next, I attended a 3-day Carpet Appearance Course run by an American company in the UK. By 1990 I was working with the training team of the NCCA of which I took over the running of the training side in 1995, where I changed it to a residential course over 2 days from 3 individual days spanning many months.

I took multiple classes through various IICRC educators and eventually became a Master Textile Cleaner which assisted me in becoming an Approved Instructor through IICRC in 1998. I have continued learning from various technical courses which include Cleaning Research International, BTTG and the dry cleaning industry. Indoor Air Quality Management schools both here and America, including a 5-day conference on Indoor Air Quality in Edinburgh 1999.

I teach carpet and upholstery cleaning along with other industry-specific courses for the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA), I recently developed a course on The Fine Fibre cleaning of cellulosic textiles which has proved popular given the current Designer climate. I am also an approved instructor with the IICRC for CCT, UFT, RCT, CCMT & HCT. I also teach for WoolSafe in the UK as well as many private companies.

During my time in the industry, I have been President of the NCCA twice, President/Chairman of IICRC & Chairman of the British Cleaning Council. I am currently the Technical & Training Director of the NCCA and Chair of Instructors & Schools for IICRC.

My day job is either teaching a course somewhere in the UK or assisting one of my many clients to solve their cleaning problems. I have cleaned and clean for many celebrity clients as well as royalty and enjoy the challenges this brings. I am also a Senior Carpet Inspector through IICRC as well as WoolSafe carpet inspector.

I also love to travel and have been fortunate enough to do this through my cleaning & training programs. One of my passions is reading of which I have an extensive library of books relating to the industry I love.

There’s always something new to learn and I make it part of my business to do so."

"Please, can you suggest the best way for cleaning a chenille sofa? My fixed-cover chenille sofa is 13 years old and in need of a refresh."

Chenille is classed as a novelty fibre and is made up of 3 elements. Which are the core, effect & a binder to keep it all together. It is then woven into a fabric and the surface will have a velour feel to it. After 13 years it would be normal for upholstery to collect a lot of soil.

When cleaning a chenille sofa, the first thing to do is to vacuum it well to remove as much dry soil as possible. This will reduce the possibility of the soil attaching further once it’s made wet during the cleaning. Sprucing up the whole sofa is quite a challenge as too much moisture can cause unnecessary staining. That's why its best to treat spills as they happen by absorbing the moisture as soon as possible. There are proprietary cleaning agents that can deal with surface soils on upholstery although adherence to the manufacturer’s instructions is important as the excess solution can cause staining as well as attracting further soiling.

If applying the cleaning agent it is important to dry off with clean white cotton towels as soon as possible, this will reduce drying times which enables the sofa to be used quicker. Some fabrics can absorb and retain moisture more than others so caution is always advisable and where ever possible the use of a professional upholstery cleaner from the National Carpet Cleaners Association is recommended.

All members of the NCCA have undertaken a recognised professional carpet and upholstery cleaning course and reached the required standard in the examination. These courses offer a thorough grounding in all aspects of carpet and upholstery cleaning. This ensures that all our Trusted Local Cleaners have essential knowledge for the safe and effective cleaning of carpets and fabrics.

["Cleaning a chenille sofa" was snswered by NCCA Technical & Training Director, Paul Pearce, and featured in the 'Ask the Expert' section of the November 2018 issue of Your Home magazine]