Carpet Padding Buying Guide From Your Carpet Repair Experts
While choosing carpet may seem pretty straightforward, selecting the best carpet padding for your home can be a bit more challenging to decipher. Picking out a new carpet for your home is fun! There are multiple options available and varieties in materials, colors, and thicknesses. However, buying carpet padding isn’t quite as exciting, but it’s necessary. Whether you’re replacing damaged carpet or picking carpet for a new build, the padding is crucial for you and your family’s comfort. We’ve put together a buying guide for you to help you decide on the best carpet padding for your home.
Why Do I Need Carpet Padding?
Carpet padding usually consists of a foam underlayment designed to go under the carpet. There are multiple benefits to carpet padding, including:
- Comfort. To keep that new thick carpet comfortable, you need to install padding underneath it. Carpet padding absorbs the impact of footsteps, and it helps to make your carpet as comfortable as possible.
- Acoustics. Carpet padding improves the sound-absorbing ability of your carpet. This quality is especially useful for two-story homes, condos, or apartments.
- Extends the Carpet’s Life. Carpet padding significantly impacts the life of your carpet. Carpet without padding deteriorates twice as fast as carpet with properly installed padding.
- Insulation. Carpet padding provides thermal insulation to the home, meaning that it can help retain heat or prevent cold air from escaping. This property can help keep your energy bills lower and your home more comfortable.
What Thickness of Carpet Padding Do I Need?
Carpet padding comes in multiple different thicknesses, depending on the area of the home and the level of traffic it sees. The general rule of thumb for carpet padding is that it should not be thicker than one half of an inch.
- High-Traffic Areas Such as Hallways and Entryways: High-traffic carpet areas such as a residential hallway or a commercial building require a thin carpet pad with a heavy weight.
- Living Rooms and Bedrooms: Living rooms and bedrooms are perfect areas for thick carpet padding to increase your family’s comfort.
- Areas with Short-Pile Carpet: Certain carpet types, such as Berber carpet, can sustain damage if used with thick carpet padding. In these cases, make sure that the carpet padding is no thicker than 3/8″.
How Much Does Carpet Padding Cost?
Carpet padding costs depend on the type of carpet padding you choose. However, you can find carpet padding between three and six dollars per square foot. Keep in mind that certain types of carpet padding can cost significantly more than this, though.
What is Carpet Padding Weight?
The weight of carpet padding is also referred to as its density. The weight of carpet padding is calculated by pounds per cubic foot, and most carpet pads are between three and ten pounds per cubic foot. For residential carpets, we recommend at least a six-pound carpet pad, but eight pounds will provide maximum durability and comfort.
What Type of Carpet Padding Should I Buy?
As you may have gathered from the information provided so far, different types of carpet padding make the most sense for different homes. Here’s a look at some of the most popular types of carpet padding and their benefits:
Bonded Foam Carpet Padding
Bonded foam carpet padding is the most popular type of carpet padding, and it’s made from 100% recycled materials!
The most commonly used carpet padding is bonded foam carpet padding. 85% of the carpet padding produced in the United States is bonded foam, and it is made of 100% recycled foam. Bonded foam carpet padding is multi-colored due to many different foams used in the production process. Additionally, bonded foam carpet padding comes in numerous different densities and thicknesses. However, for high-traffic areas such as commercial settings, a different carpet padding may be a better choice for durability.
Prime Foam Carpet Padding
Prime foam is also used in mattresses and furniture, and it’s firmer than other types of carpet padding. The prime foam allows for a soft step, and it’s relatively inexpensive. However, prime foam is not ideal for high-traffic areas as it will collapse after time.
Frothed Foam Carpet Padding
Frothed foam carpet padding is a dense, durable foam made by injecting gas into the foam while it’s in a liquid state. This type of carpet padding is incredibly durable and has a long lifetime, but it’s more expensive than other options. Frothed foam carpet padding can resist damage from crushing impact and furniture indents, and it’s great for high-traffic areas.
Memory Foam Carpet Padding
Memory foam carpet padding is similar to frothed foam carpet padding, but with another element. Memory foam gets weighed down over time, and it’s not an ideal choice for a high-traffic area. This type of carpet padding is incredibly comfortable. However, since memory foam is a newer material, it’s unclear how well it holds up over time.
Fiber Carpet Padding
If you pick a Berber carpet, the manufacturer may recommend you install a fiber carpet pad to maintain the warranty. Fiber carpet pads are durable and an excellent choice for commercial carpeting and other short-pile carpets. Natural fiber carpet padding may mold, so be sure to pick a synthetic option.
Do You Still Have Questions About Your Carpet Padding?
No problem. Call your local carpet experts in Chandler, Arizona, here at Magic Touch Carpet Repair And Cleaning. Our team of qualified technicians has decades of combined experience distributed amongst them. We provide carpet stretching, carpet patching, pet damage, and carpet transition services. Call us today for a free carpet repair estimate or to answer any of your carpet-related questions!