You have carpet, but how much do you really know about carpet flooring?
This week, for all our clients and friends in and around Belleville, O’Fallon and surrounding areas, and especially in light of socks walking over those cushy carpets during the winter, here are eight of our favorite facts we bet you didn’t know about carpet.
- The word “carpet” comes from “carpere” in Latin, which means “to pluck.” The original carpets were made from unraveled (or “plucked”) fabrics.
- Some carpets are made from synthetics like plastic, and others are made from wool. If you do have wool carpeting, this material can become home to a small beetle grub that eats through carpets with a special mixture in their bellies that they spit up onto fibers to convert them into sugar. Nasty, yes. Preventable, yes—ask us about recommended carpet maintenance.
- Every year, several POUNDS of dirt and skin flakes collect in and under your carpet.
- In 1963, the phrase “to sweep under the rug” was first recorded in popular use in the U.S.
- All carpet should be professionally cleaned at least once every 12-18 months.
- New carpets can give off chemical emissions for a short time, so it’s important to ask your nearby carpet installer to opt for lower-emitting adhesives whenever possible
- Carpet making has been an honored trade for more than two thousand years. Even today, master carpet makers create remarkable works in both oriental and floral styles.
- Back in the day, it was hard to sell the first vacuum cleaners since people didn’t believe there could be so much dirt in their carpets! (Boy were they wrong.)
It really is our pleasure to keep our friends, clients and neighbors brushed up on flooring facts. Have more questions? Reach out to us here on the website with any doubts or curiosities you have.
