Choosing the Right Carpet Padding


Choosing the right carpet padding need not be difficult. Carpet padding is one of those products for which the modern axiom, “follow the manufacturer’s instructions” is particularly well suited. Selecting the right carpet padding for your home requires that you pay careful attention to the instructions provided by your carpet’s manufacturer. Don’t simply assume that thick carpet padding is always better. Nor is the most expensive carpet padding always the best. Each carpet is different and requires a different level of softness or firmness for the underlying padding.

The most common error consumers make when purchasing carpet padding is making the assumption that thicker, softer, padding is always better. While this logic may make sense when you consider the matter from the perspective of walking around your home in bare or stocking feet, the effect of overly thick or soft padding on your carpet can be quite detrimental. The problem of selecting carpet padding that is too thick or soft is most easily recognized by considering an exaggerated situation. Imagine what would happen if you were to use four inch thick memory foam mattresses underneath your home’s wall-to-wall carpeting. While such padding would certainly be soft underfoot, it would also be disastrous for your carpeting. Every step would cause your carpet to stretch as your foot sank into the padding and the next step would do nothing to relieve the impression left behind by the last step. Your carpet would constantly be stretched in different directions as each step compressed the padding underneath. After even minor foot traffic your carpeting would be uneven, bumpy, lumpy, pulling out from the sides of your room, bunching up in places and stretching thin in others. In short, your carpet would be a total mess. Soon your carpet would begin to wear and tear and break down because it simply was not made to conform to such an elastic base. The same is true, though to an obviously more limited degree, when you consider the problem of overly thick or soft carpet padding. Too much give in your padding will result in uneven, stretched, wavy, ruffled looking and prematurely worn carpeting.

On the other hand, overly thin carpet padding will leave your floors hard and uncomfortable to walk on. It will also reduce the insulating effect that your carpeting has on your floor. Cheap carpet padding is more liable to break down over time and this itself can leave your carpets lumpy and uneven. There is no need to go to extremes in either direction. The solution for choosing the correct carpet padding for your home is as clear as it is simple. Don’t try to guess at the appropriate thickness or material for your carpeting. Follow the manufacture’s instructions.

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