CARPET WIKI

The words that decide
how your floor gets cleaned.

Fibre identity is the first thing established on any job, because it decides the chemistry, the temperature and the method — nylon, polyester, olefin and wool each behave differently and the wrong approach causes permanent damage. These are those terms in plain English, with what each one means for your floor.

Nylon carpet

Nylon is the most common carpet fibre — durable, resilient, and responsive to cleaning, which is why it holds up in high-traffic homes. It takes fibre protection well and recovers from crushing better than most fibres, but it still grays if oils build up and the protective coating wears off.

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Polyester carpet

Polyester carpet is stain-resistant and soft with rich colour, but it is less resilient than nylon and can mat down in traffic lanes over time. It holds oily soil, so regular oil removal matters more with polyester to keep it from looking worn and gray in walkways.

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Olefin carpet

Olefin is moisture- and stain-resistant and common in Berbers and basements, but it is oil-loving — it attracts and holds oily soil, which is exactly what causes graying. Olefin especially needs the oils removed regularly, and it can be damaged by friction heat, so technique matters.

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Wool carpet

Wool is a premium natural fibre — soft, durable and naturally resilient — but it is sensitive to high heat, high pH and over-wetting, all of which can damage it. Wool needs a cleaner who identifies the fibre and adjusts temperature and chemistry, never a one-size-fits-all approach.

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Berber carpet

Berber is a looped carpet, often olefin, that hides soil well but can wick stains back up and snag. Because it is frequently oil-loving olefin, it needs regular oil removal, and spills should be treated at the source so contamination in the backing does not wick to the surface as it dries.

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Carpet padding

Padding is the cushion under the carpet that affects comfort and carpet life — and it is where pet urine soaks and hides. Surface cleaning never reaches the pad; deep urine requires high-pressure injection into the padding, or in severe cases, replacement of the pad and sealing of the subfloor.

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Fibre protection

Fibre protection is a coating — essentially a layer of glue — that binds carpet fibre so oils and sand cannot grab hold. Most carpet comes protected from the factory, but that layer wears off. Reapplying it over clean, neutralised fibre each cleaning means the customer wears off the new layer, never the fibre itself.

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Traffic lanes

Traffic lanes are the grey pathways worn into carpet where people walk most. They form because oils build up in those areas, sand sticks to the oil, and every step grinds the fibre until it blooms and grays. Traffic-lane grey is permanent once the fibre has bloomed, and the only defence is taking the oils out on schedule.

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THE MECHANISMS

How it actually
goes wrong.

The wiki says what a thing is. The carpet science section explains the mechanism behind it — including blooming and wicking, which live there rather than being repeated here.

The carpet science · 17 terms →Blooming →Wicking →Questions answered one page at a time →Guides and pillar guides →Carpet cleaning →

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