Which carpet is best suited for stairs?

Which carpet is best suited for stairs

Stairs are the most common place in the house where there is a carpet, yet they are also the most delicate. Choosing a carpet for your stairs can be a little more difficult than choosing one for other areas of your home. In fact, in addition to having to decide on the style and color of the carpet, it must be of adequate durability and thickness to be installed on the staircase.

The mats ensure safety on the stairs

Even if you prefer hard surfaces like wood or laminate, carpeting on the stairs is always a good idea, even in the form of a rug. Having carpet on your stairs is infinitely safer than having your stairs covered in hard flooring. Hard surfaces are very slippery and can easily cause a fall. In the event of a fall, carpet offers a much softer landing point than hardwood or laminate, which can help reduce the risk of injury.​

Quality of the carpet

Stairs are the busiest area of ​​every home, not only because they are used often. The impact of foot traffic is greater on stairs than on flat surfaces due to the greater force of gravity as you descend the stairs. This means you need to use the highest quality mat and cushion possible. While an updated one is an additional initial cost, it will definitely save you money in the long run because the carpet will need to be replaced less frequently.

Durability of the carpet on the stairs

Stairs are considered a high traffic area in a home. Therefore, it is essential that the carpet covering them is durable enough to withstand heavy traffic while remaining beautiful. This means that if you put a carpet in your rooms, hallway and stairs, the one suitable for your rooms may not be suitable for your stairs. When choosing a carpet for your stairs, you generally want to go for the longest lifespan you can afford, in the style you prefer.

Thickness consideration

Many people think that thicker carpet is more durable. This is not always true because some of the strongest carpets have thinner profiles and other thicker carpets are filled with air.

Thickness is an important factor in the suitability of carpet for stairs. A carpet that is too thick can be a source of safety hazard because when it wraps around the nose (front edge) of the stairs, it acts like a handrail for your foot. A very thick carpet can cause slips and falls, which no one wants to happen on the stairs.

Additionally, carpet installers often don’t like working with thick carpets on stairs. As you can already imagine, it is more difficult to wrap this type of mat around the nose and through the posts. It is best to purchase a rug with a pile height of 1/2 inch or less, a rug padding of 7/16 inch or less, and a pile density of at least 8 pounds.

Soil resistance

There is a difference between stains and dirt. If you opt for a carpet that only covers the stairs and not other areas, stain resistance is not a top priority because the carpet is unlikely to be subjected to enough spills. However, you should always look for a carpet that is very resistant to dirt.

Oils on the soles of your feet can leave marks on your carpet when you go up or down stairs. This can be avoided by wearing socks or slippers at home. However, if you have pets or simply prefer to go barefoot, make sure you have a dirt-resistant mat so that debris doesn’t stick to the fibers and attract dirt particles.

Style and appearance

Any type of carpet can be used on stairs. Many people worry about how the carpet will look where it wraps around the edge of the stairs or where it needs to be trimmed around banister posts. Common concerns include being able to see the carpet backing as it wraps around the edge (especially with a looped carpet, such as Berber) and being able to see the stitching where it has been assembled around a pole.

You will not be able to see the mat backing except in the absolutely lowest quality product. Typically, even entry-level or construction-grade products will not show support when wrapped around the edge of stairs unless they have been installed properly.

The carpet has a specific pile direction and the direction should be from the top of the stairs to the bottom (not sideways). This not only improves the performance of the carpet and ensures a good seal, but also prevents you from seeing between the “rows” of fibers when folding the carpet.

When people take a section of Berber carpet and fold it back, they can sometimes see the backing between the rows. This is what we in the industry call a “smile”. Usually when a person does this, they fold the carpet the wrong way.

The rows of loops of a carpet are usually sewn lengthwise onto the roll. When you see the carpet smile, it’s because it has been curved sideways, so that the rows go from one side of the sample to the other.

With proper installation, the seams where the carpet was joined around the posts should not be too visible. Some types of carpet hide seams better than others; longer piles like friezes and saxes hide them better than short or curly piles.

Open stairs

If the stairs are open laterally, the carpet can be folded in two ways: longitudinally on the front of the stairs or longitudinally on the side. In these cases it is likely that the smile appears at the side of the stairs.

To avoid sideways smiles, look for a high-quality Berber with larger loops, which can help cover the space between rows when folded sideways.

Crossbars

Stringers are the lateral supports of the stairs. If the stairs are closed, the stringer will run along the wall at the same angle as the stairs. Should you carpet them or paint them?

The answer mainly depends on your tastes and preferences. The carpet on the side members is purely cosmetic; it is of no use to anything else. If the stairs or stringers are uneven, such as in an older home or a difficult DIY job, it might be a good idea to cover the stringers with carpet to hide any imperfections. Otherwise the look of the carpet on the silt might be considered a little dated. The most contemporary style is to leave the stringers exposed and paint them the same color as the trim or stain them the color of the hardwood stairs.

In conclusion, the best stair carpet is the one that satisfies all the factors described above: durability, adequate thickness, resistance to dirt… So, you can now choose your carpet based on these parameters.