The Ins and Outs of Berber Carpet Construction

First created several thousand years ago, the first Berber carpets were handwoven affairs that took months or even years to complete. Over the ensuing millennia, the process has been streamlined to quite an impressive degree. Nowadays, the average Berber carpet can be completed in a matter of hours with a level of quality unknown in the ancient world. Here is how modern manufacturers do it:

The right materials – Traditional Berber carpets were woven exclusively from wool fibers while modern ones use a variety of other materials such as nylon and olefin. Nylon is easily the most comfortable underfoot as evidenced by its use in women's stockings, but olefin is renowned for its overall strength and colorfastness as well as its resistance to abrasion, staining, mildew and fading. In short, nylon Berber is usually used in residential settings while olefin based ones are more commonly found in commercial settings.

An exacting manufacturing process – Modern Berber carpets are mass produced on industrial sized machines that churn out thousands of feet of carpet per hour. Nevertheless, they are more accurately constructed than anything ever produced by the most meticulous human hand. The finished, loop pile product not only mimics the look of traditional hand woven knotted carpets but also surpasses it in terms of durability and longevity.

Coatings that last – A final tiebreaker in favor of modern Berber carpets – versus the traditional ones – is the array of coatings that are typically applied to them. Most notably, synthetic carpets are covered in a stain resistant coating that does not allow mud, oils or food stains to seep into the interior of the carpet pile. Instead, the adulterants pool on the surface of the carpet where they are easily removed if dealt with in an expeditious manner.

For additional information on the pros and cons of the modern incarnation of wool Berber carpet in particular or on other flooring options in general, please contact us at Great Western Flooring. You'll will find us online at www.greatwesternflooring.com or you can reach us directly at 630-357-3331.