Berber Carpet
Berber Carpet
What is Berber Carpet you ask? The carpet has big and smallish tuffs and is a specialty of a cut pile construction. The original inventors of the carpet were the Berbers in North Africa which is where the name obviously originates from. At that time the carpet of course was hand made and was a spun cloth made specifically for the tribe. They used the product also for other items such as rugs, cloaks and other fabrics. This traditional Berber carpet is still in production in parts of Africa namely Morocco as a main industry amongst Berber families. The difference however, between these traditional carpets and Berber carpet produced in the west is quite large though.
Nylon, olefin, and wool can make up the components of modern day Berber carpet. Typically however, olefin is the most common product and most affordable in the production of the carpet in today’s market. Berber is highly durable and because of that is found in schools, workplaces, and other high traffic areas. It is much more affordable than other thicker plush carpets but the only disadvantage being its difficulty in cleaning if dirt gets stuck amongst the fibers.
Berber made from Nylon is another material commonly used to produce the carpet. It’s much easier to clean than the olefin production as its resistant to soil and mildew and good for high traffic areas. One disadvantage to Nylon production of Berber is that it’s prone to static and can provide a very fiery spark.
Wool on the other hand is one of the most difficult to find of all the Berber carpets but is the best looking. It is environmentally friendly, non toxic, easier to clean and stain resistant. And for those reasons it is the most expensive out of all three.
The main advantages to Berber carpet are as follows:
- The carpet is generally much more cheaper than other plush carpets
- It’s stain resistant, and because of that, much easier to clean than other carpets
- It’s dirt resistant amongst the wool and nylon forms
- It’s a very durable and dense product and good for high traffic areas.
The main disadvantages to the carpet are as follows:
- As the carpet is so dense, it can be very difficult to deep clean and get below the surface.
- It has large loops and because of that the carpet wears quicker and it shows.
- It can be very difficult to remove oil based stains, as the oil bonds with Berber components.
It’s best to have a no shoe rule in a home with Berber carpets as it’s difficult to deep clean. Talk to your salesperson about the recommended methods for cleaning each specific Berber. My recommendation is to go for an olefin Berber carpet with smaller loops with ¼ inch padding