Frieze carpet is made up of thick, independent carpet fibers that move in different directions to help hide prints, stains and other messes on your carpet. Freeze carpet is often mistaken as shag carpet. Shag carpet is the thick, messy looking decorative carpet choice that was popular in the 1970s. Frieze carpet looks like shag because it, too, is unruly. However, the fibers and coils that make up the carpet are shorter than those in shag carpeting.

Frieze carpet tufts include two pieces of yarn that are twisted together roughly five times. This is considered a high twist level for a carpet. If you look at the carpet closely, you can see how they twist together. The twisting makes the carpet fibers move in different directions.

Like shag carpet, frieze carpet has made a real come back in the last couple of years. Homeowners are once again installing it in high traffic areas of the house and making it a part of their décor. It also adds a little something as an area rug placed on a hardwood floor.

Why Choose Frieze Carpet?

The greatest advantage to putting frieze carpet in your home is that it's incredibly durable and it hides blemishes. Frieze carpet is usually made of thick wool, so it can withstand being placed in heavily trafficked areas. Carpet experts recommend frieze or shag carpeting for commercial areas because these areas are heavily traveled. Other carpets are made of smaller, softer and less durable fibers. These carpets should be placed in rooms that don't receive a lot of foot traffic.

Frieze carpet's durability is attractive to families because it hides blemishes and dirt that are tracked in by kids and dogs. Frieze carpet has short curly fibers that move in different directions. They sort of swirl together to hide the dirt that's underneath. However, this doesn't mean that you don't have to vacuum your carpet!

One disadvantage to frieze carpeting is that it is more expensive than non-textured carpets. Non-textured carpets are manufactured differently and generally aren't considered to be as durable as frieze carpeting. Since frieze carpet is so durable, it makes it a little less painful to pay the extra cost for it. If you depreciate the cost of your frieze carpet over its lifecycle, it will be just as much or less than other carpets.

Why Go with Carpet?

Carpet serves a lot of different purposes. For starters, it absorbs a lot more noise than wood floors and other floor coverings. So, if you're trying to cut down on the noise in a certain room, you might want to carpet it. Carpet also acts as a thermal incubator. It helps keeps rooms cool and warm. This can help you save money on heating and cooling bills, which is always an advantage.

If you do decide to get carpet, don't forget to take a look at frieze carpet. Frieze carpet is a long-term, cost effective option for homeowners.

Shaw carpets are known for quality and longevity. Shaw has so many carpets it would be nearly impossible not to find one that fits your needs. They have 1,687 child friendly carpets, 1,595 residential carpets, 289 pet friendly carpets, 273 commercial carpets and 859 heavy traffic carpets. If you can't find something among these thousands of carpet choices, where can you find a carpet?

So, Shaw has a lot of carpet, but how do you choose the one that's right for you? Don't worry. Shaw has a fantastic, helpful Web site. The Shaw Web site is extremely helpful in finding a carpet choice. When you get to the site you can look up carpet by style, flooring, room or type (residential, commercial, etc.). This system makes it much easier to find what you're looking for.

Shaw prides itself on providing a valuable product to customers for a decent price. Shaw carpets also has SoftBac Platinum, which is a backing system that helps keep carpets flexible and wrinkle free. Without this feature, a carpet may pop up in the middle of your room and cause and unsightly wrinkle.

Shaw So Soft

One of Shaw's most touted carpets is the EverTouch carpet series. This line of carpets was designed using what Shaw deems to be "revolutionary" carpet fiber that makes the carpets softer than other fibers. The fibers are made of fine-denier filaments. The smaller these filaments are, the softer the carpet is.

Just because this carpet is soft doesn't mean that it's weak. Shaw carpets wanted customers to able to use this carpet throughout the house so the company made sure that it could withstand some wear and tear. Shaw carpet did several tests on the durability of this carpet type before putting on the market. What Shaw carpet found was that EverSoft is as durable or more durable than its nylon-made counterparts.

EverSoft carpets usually come with Shaw carpet's SoftBac Platinum, which uses stain and soil resistant treatment to protect the carpet. This stain resistance product has been recognized nationally as one of the best carpet stain products on the market. This product doesn't have to be used with the EverSoft line. It can be used on other carpet types as well.

Go Green with Shaw

One nice thing about Shaw carpets is that the company does its best to look after the environment. Synthetic carpet and the materials used to lay carpet do not decompose easily. This is because these materials are man made and do not come from the earth.

Shaw carpets has an Evergreen Nylon Recycling facility in Georgia where it recycles Nylon 6 carpets. The recycled product is used to produce new carpets. This process helps reduce the number of carpets and synthetic materials clogging up the country's landfills. Shaw carpets collects carpets from all over the country and sends them to this facility for recycling.

Carpet stair treads are an effective, affordable way to protect your stairs from daily wear and tear.

Why You Need Carpet Stair Treads

Carpet stair treads are placed on your stairs to protect your stairs from becoming worn out or scratched from day-to-day use. Your stairs get a lot of action. Unless you have an elevator in your house, your stairs are the only way you can get from the upstairs to the downstairs. Other carpeted areas of your house — the living room, your bedroom, etc. — simply don't get the traffic that your stairs get. When carpet gets a lot of traffic, it starts to wear out. It can become discolored and weak compared to the rest of the carpet in your house.

To protect yourself against having to replace your carpet too frequently, get some carpet stair treads. Carpet stiar treads cover your stairs. They usually go right down the middle of the stairs because this is where your stairs receive the most carpet. But, they can extend all the way out. Carpet stair treads are made of plastic, braided material, polypropylene and various other materials. They come in different colors so you should be able to find something that matches your decorating style.

Another benefit to using carpet stiar treads is that is that they add traction to your carpet. When people are flying down the stairs, they can gain too much speed and trip on the carpet. These treads add traction to prevent slipping. Many carpet stiar treads can also be used on wood floor.

Finding the Right Carpet Stair Treads

You can get any number of different carpet stair treads. Some carpet stair tread is specifically designed for carpets. Other carpet stair tread is more multi-faceted and can be used on different surfaces. This is beneficial if you have more than one surface you want to tread. For example, if you need tread for your carpet, but you also need tread for tile, you should look for carpet stair tread that meets both needs.

Some carpet tread is used for an entire surface, not just stairs. These treads come in large quantities and are generally used in commercial areas such as theaters, restaurants and clubs. This type of tread is very sturdy and can withstand high heels, spilled alcoholic beverages and greasy popcorn. Your typical household carpet stair treads are usually designed to protect against less harsh conditions. Dense tiles and hard surfaces, such as vinyl and terrazzo, require a different kind of tread.

If you're not ready to invest in carpet stair tread and you only need to fix one in-house surface, give anti-slip tape and carpet rods a try. These options are cheaper and can often fix your problem. If they don't, go ahead and look into getting some carpet stair treads.