Nylon vs Polyester Carpets: What’s the Difference?

Out of the thousands of materials for carpets, nylon and polyester are the most common materials used for carpeting in almost every household. Now, why is that? Let’s talk about what makes these materials so special.

Nylon Carpeting

Nylon was first invented in 1935 in DuPont. After researching various ways to utilize nylon, it was first introduced in the fashion market for women’s stockings in 1939. However, it was also used outside of fashion, like fishing lines and toothbrushes.

In the 1950s, they began trying to implement nylon in carpeting form. After six years of trial and error, they successfully implemented their carpeting in the Hotel du Pont. Many years later, DuPont introduced to the world their bulked continuous filament nylon.

In 1959, nylon became a newly revolutionized material for carpeting. It was the first purely synthetic fiber that became the criterion in the carpeting market.

Many consider nylon to be the standard for carpet fiber. What makes nylon carpeting so unique is its durability. Its resiliency from its chemical compounds allows the nylon to be repaired through steam cleaning. After being stepped on all the time, the heat from steam cleaning can restore the carpet fiber to stand back up.

It is essential to do steam cleaning every 12 months to keep its shape and durability. However, one thing that nylon has a problem with is it’s permeable to spills. Spilling colored drinks can cause a permanent stain if not treated immediately. Before that, it would be best that the nylon carpeting was secured with a stain treatment beforehand.

Polyester Carpeting

Polyester is a well-known carpet fiber because of its luscious looks and feels comfy. DuPont once researched on polyester before their discovery on nylon as their main-focused carpeting fiber. However, they decided that they would work primarily on nylon and left their polyester research behind.

A decade later, two British scientists, John Whinfield and James Dickson, started researching alternatives to other carpeting materials in the market that would be cheap and easy to produce.

After tons of research, they rediscovered that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a perfect candidate and would patent it. PET, widely known as polyester, is now a staple in the carpet market.

There are plenty of unique features of why many would choose polyester carpeting. Many would say its appearance and eco-friendliness. Polyester carpeting is easy to customize, so producers have created many beautiful colors that can be used in various areas.

This type of carpeting is usually vibrant and full of color, but can also be designed to have a matte look as well. The feel of polyester carpeting is noticeable too. When touched, the carpeting has a smooth and puffy feel to it.

Although most synthetic fibers aren’t eco-friendly, polyester is considered the “cleanliest” of them. It is one of the easiest fibers to be recycled. To this day, most polyester carpeting is from recycled PET bottles.

Recycled PET can save millions of dollars in production costs and help clear out landfills too.

When talking about polyester’s durability, it is not great. High traffic areas can cause permanent damage and stains to the carpeting. Due to its weak endurance, it would be best to place this type of carpeting in a place with less traffic.