About Carpet Captain
At Carpet Captain, our mission is to provide you with floor buying advice without a sales pitch.
You can’t buy flooring here, but you’ll learn how to buy it.
And we believe learning from someone who’s not selling to you is important. It’s hard for even a perfectly honest salesman to not be biased toward the flooring products that put more money in their bank account.
Plus, it’s just less stressful learning online in your own home.
We can’t count how many times I’ve been helped for free on the internet, and this content will be no different. We don’t offer “premium advice” for an upcharge. Never ask for your credit card. The site is 100% advertisement-supported, and all of Carpet Captain’s knowledge is free to you.
How does Carpet Captain plan to help you shop for flooring?
Carpet Captain will help you research before you step foot in a store.
It starts by helping you choose which floor you should buy.
Already know which type of floor you want?
Then, you can move on to our unbiased flooring guides. Here you’ll select the type of floor you’re buying, and it’ll take you to a step-by-step guide on Carpet Captain’s years of experience on how to best buy that floor. You’ll learn:
- what floor features make the most sense in your situation (eg. stain protectors, coatings, moisture barriers, pet protection, whether or not specific quality “certifications” make any difference, etc)
- interior design tips (not my expertise, but I get help from others)
- what specifications have the biggest impact on the floor’s durability
- how to get the best deal
All of this will get you up to speed exactly what you need quickly, hopefully leading got smart, regret-free buying decisions.
Who is the Carpet Captain?
Here’s the short story of how Carpet Captain evolved:
In 1986 [the roots/pre-story]: Carpetech is born in Indianapolis. Ron launched this full-service carpet cleaning company with a mission to build his business by word of mouth between homeowners. The goal wasn’t to be the biggest business through advertising and marketing, it was to be his customer’s go-to source when they had any questions about flooring.
In 2012 [Carpet Captain is born]: Ron enlisted his son Brandon to start a website helping people like his customers buy carpet. Brandon chose the name Carpet Captain—it seemed easy to remember and is a tribute to Ron’s service in the Navy. The new website was created with a few founding principles: always be for the “little guy” (the shopper and not the big businesses selling to the shopper), always be unbiased, and keep learning.
In 2022 [where we are today and new owners]: Carpet Captain outgrew Brandon, and at the end of 2020, Carpet Captain was sold to new ownership. The ownership may be different, but the plan for Carpet Captain is the same: provide unbiased advice to help you buy flooring.
If you ever have questions for me, I make every effort to respond to all emails. You can contact me here.
Best of luck on your floor shopping journey,
The Carpet Captain
Will commercial carpet hold up better than residential carpets, (stain, wear)? Are there any commercial carpets that ‘feel’ similar on the feet as residential carpets? We have used a commercial product in the past but it was a darker color and in a small area (20×20) and now we need a lighter beige product.
I’m installing a UCL tufted 100% wool carpet in the living room and was wondering if you had an opinion on the padding that is being recommended. The padding is the Leggett and Platt Valencia Rubber XD pad.
Thanks, I appreciate your help.
We recently bought a townhouse which has carpet and 3mm cork underlayment under it (But this is easily 10 yrs old) in upstairs bedrooms. We do have two small kids which makes impact noise very loud. We are looking for options to change our flooring because it is pretty old . But while we are there, we want to pick the right flooring and underlayment options that would give us the best soundproofing so we don’t constantly tell our kids, DONT RUN or JUMP ! I have been leaning towards cork flooring with a 3 or 6 mm cork underlayment with acoustic caulk around the perimeter of the room as a plan but talking to many people, cork flooring doesn’t look like a great option for resale. But keeping that aside for a moment, what combination would you recommend for a great soundproofing of the floors. Also learnt a lot from your site, thanks so much for your detailed explanation.
No kids might be your best options 🙂 You’re on to something with cork. I have a page on soundproof flooring. Check that out and let me know if you have any questions there.
I am replacing carpet in a music room with a drum kit. I would like to get a high density flat rubber pad to help absorb pad. Most carpet stores will not use the 22 lb pad because it will void the warranty on carpet. Some store recommend against 22 lb pad that does not have a moisture barrier. Do you think a 22 lb pad would help reduce noise over a 8 lb pad on a concrete slab? What is the best kind of carpet to install on a 22 lb flat rubber pad?
Yeah, I think it would. I have a page on sound proof flooring. Basically, heavier will help “air noise,” which I think is what you want. I’d go with a heavier weight carpet which will also help some. At the end of the day, if you’re jamming out, it’s going to be heard downstairs. If you really need sound dampening, insulation can be put between walls.
Hi Carpet Captain,
My name is Cristina and I work at a flooring store in Seattle, WA. I’ve read almost every article on this site, and I just wanted to say I am blown away by the amount of information on here. I feel much more confident, now, when talking to homeowners and helping them make selections for their projects. I’ve used information on this forum to educate homeowners (I emailed your vacuum guide to a homeowner considering a wool Berber) and I also use the information on here to keep our sales reps in line! I asked a Stanton sales rep if they ever had any issues with their polyester attracting oil and he looked confused and said he hadn’t heard of it but that he’d look into it, haha.
Thank you for all of this, it is definitely a wealth of knowledge, and has helped to better educate me as a flooring sales associate.
Kind Regards,
Cristina
Hi Cristina – glad you’ve found Carpet Captain helpful, and appreciate you passing the site on to help others! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you or your shoppers (I can be emailed here). And always feel free to contribute to the site if you feel something is missing!
Need to know where you’re located at or how to contact you
You can contact me through the contact page. If you can’t get through there, let me know. Carpet Captain isn’t a physical store, so there isn’t a retail location; I just help people buy flooring.
I appreciate the content you have here on your site. Thank you!
Feedback always keeps me motivated. Thanks!
question for you????? Where could I get carpet with a latex back to cover my deck. I am thinking if I do this, I will not need to pay to get my deck cleaned in the spring. I would pick up the carpet in the spring and then lay it back down in the fall to protect the deck from getting so dirty in the fall and the winter. Does this make sense. What do you think of my idea, will it work? Is it cost effective. A professional want $400 to clean my deck in the spring.
Thanks ahead for giving me an answer.
Sherye
Are you wanting outdoor carpet? I’m a little confused on the question.
VOC in carpeting help my husband has severe asthma and I have been on your sights for months reading and educating myself since we really need to put new pad and carpet in our home. We live in idaho and the cold and winds are relentless. i am trying hard to keep carpeting out of our home but it seems impossible. especially in our lower part of our home. I am very worried about the toxins for all of us with new pad and carpet but i am extremely worried for my husband. Any information or help I would truly love
Sorry about your situation. The good news is carpet isn’t necessarily worse for VOCs than other floorings (they all have VOC issues to worry about). The other good news is there are organizations that “credential” certain carpets as low VOCs. This page on VOCs and carpet should help you out a lot. Feel free to post comments there if any questions.
thank you so very much…. I have been well educated just reading all that you have shared with us on your expertise…Sam, my carpet flooring go to was impressed with my knowledge…thanks so much and i will so share your site with anyone I know who
plans to invest in carpet… you rock !!!! ????
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed the read.
No problem! Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m trying to find a good carpet for my great room. I have a dog and dog sit for my daughter. I have two daughters who also have their own dogs and often bring them with them when they visit. My carpet is 14 years old. After many accidents by all four dogs, needles to say, this carpet is way past shot. The smell is driving me crazy. I have been researching carpets for the best, stain, urine resistant carpet that I can find. I initially thought that the Shaw Pet or H20 carpet would be the way to go. After Googling it for more information, I found that there were many complaints from people regarding the carpet itself and invalidation of Warranty issues by Shaw.
I definitely do not feel comfortable going with those carpets. I then looked at a higher end carpet, Masland in Batik. It was a lower pile. I wondered if a higher quality equaled longer lasting and easier to clean. I can’t seem to find anyone to give me an answer. If I go that route, will I be left with an expensive carpet that smells like dog urine in a short amount of time?
Thanks
Unfortunately, I think there’s a chance. Dog urine can be a tough issue. There are carpets that do better against it, but most of it comes down to the material of the carpet and possibly moisture barriers. It’s worth checking out those two articles and probably going through the whole carpet guide, which will lead you to some articles on pets. Hope that helps, and one final thing: if you’ve had pet urine problems in the past, sometimes it’s absorbed past the carpet and pad and into floorboards. That’s worth checking before having the new carpet installed.
Olefin Berber carpet is such a good buy compared to Nylon that I am tempted to buy it. As 336 sq bedroom using Nylon was quoted to me for $2494 installed. An Olefin for the same room quoted by another company is 945.00. That is a difference of $1549. Read all about the pros and cons of each but can not decide what to do.
Depends on your goals but all else being equal, nylon will last significantly longer (probably twice as long). For me, it’s worth not having to replace it as often. However, if you have very little foot traffic or don’t mind replacing your carpet more often, the olefin could be a good choice.
I was surprised there was nothing said about Berber carpet. 20 year ago, I installed Berber carpet in my home. It went from the front door through the living room, dining room and into the kitchen/family room.
This Berber carpet was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Not only was it beautiful (a soft slate blue/gray) but it was as durable as steel.
About three months after having it installed, we had a flood in our kitchen when the ice maker water line going into the refrigerator came undone. We were not home at the time, and the entire kitchen floor area flooded.
I did not even need to call a professional. I used my carpet cleaning extraction machine to suck up the water. It dried quickly (about a day and a half) and there was no lasting damage.
Stains did not set in this carpet and greases and oils (well, I’m not sure where they went, but they never showed up). When we sold this house five years later, the carpet was the main selling feature as it still looked brand new.
Melissa, great to hear about your carpet. When Berber is good, it can be an amazing carpet. It’s tight weave make it hard for some stain to penetrate into the fibers. I wonder if yours was made of wool? Sometimes that will improve the durability, too. Here’s an article on Berber: https://www.carpetcaptain.com/carpet-buying-guide/berber-carpet/ (need to update it soon)