Soft fibers are all the rage in the carpet industry. They’re luxuriously beautiful, comfortable, have a hand like mink and give the consumer a much needed upgrade to soft surface products. They shimmer with luster and look rich. This is a wow product. It should attract the consumer who has discretionary income or a budget that allows for them to have whatever they want and also those that aspire to a luxury product. This is something you as a dealer have to understand.

What makes these products unique is the fine denier fibers. Denier, in the most easy to understand explanation, is the thickness of the individual fiber that makes up the yarn that goes into the carpet. Just like some people have fine hair and some have thick hair or a course hair or soft haired dog. It’s that type of make up that give a hair or fiber its “hand” or feel. But we also have to be concerned with the overall performance of the product. In lab tests conducted in the industry, there is very little if any difference in the performance of soft fibers versus coarse fibers. In practical terms I can tell you from experience that the soft fiber products perform well. We have such a product from Fabrica in our master bedroom and it is performing beautifully. In my opinion these products exude elegance and luxury but most importantly they do in fact perform very well.

Proper construction for any fiber, regardless of weight, density, heavy, fat or thin fiber, is the twist and heat set. To optimize performance the better the twist level the better the yarn, and the fiber in it, will perform. So the most influential factor in creating maximum performance, particularly in a cut pile residential carpet, regardless of the denier of the fiber, is the twist and tip definition. The way each manufacturer processes the yarn and the quality in which they perform this task is paramount to its performance. Branded fiber such as DuPont Tactesse, Honeywell Anso Caress and Solutia DuraSoft or the carpet manufacturers own brands, are designed, constructed and engineered to perform because they have good twist and heat set. There should be no difference in the performance of these nylon yarn systems compared with other premium systems you’ve sold in the past. Actually, these yarns are constructed to eliminate problems such as tip blossoming, excessive matting and crushing. They should offer a higher level of performance simply because they’ve been categorized and designed to work in carpet constructions that will compliment their performance.

Just because the yarn is soft doesn’t mean it won’t perform or that you should be paranoid about selling it. Certainly you still have to understand what types of products work best in a particular application. You wouldn’t want to sell a soft fiber into a super high traffic area the same as you wouldn’t want to sell a plush cut pile into the same location. This type of product would not be aptly suited for that type of use. You still have to use common sense and qualify the end use and end user. As an example, you wouldn’t buy a luxury car to haul around freight, for that you’d buy a truck. You sell a luxury carpet to perform in a luxurious application where you hope it will be well cared for and not subjected to a lot of abuse. For heavy traffic and abusive type usage you’d sell a low profile, level loop carpet with a busier pattern in a soil hiding color. These attributes would help to mask the heavy traffic patterns and soil it’s certain to receive.

Soft fiber carpet will appeal more to the emotions of the consumer. The feel under bare feet of the carpet could be expected to elicit a euphoric, sensual response. A coarser, level loop, busier type carpet would be looked upon as more utilitarian and be expected to deliver higher performance. People aren’t stupid; they know what clothes are their “Sunday Best” and which ones are worn to work in the garden. Same goes for the carpet on the floor. For that matter, any product sold to go on the floor has limitations, whether it be soft or hard. It’s your job to know what those limitations are. It doesn’t mean you can’t sell any of the floorcovering products you carry successfully, you just have to know where the work best. If you were selling trucks, lawn tractors or tires you’d be guided by the same principles. If you put everything in its proper perspective you’ll be successful and avoid claims and complaints. No need to be overly concerned about soft fiber carpet and how it will perform. It will work just fine in the right application. Just keep in mind what you’ve just read and fit the right product to the right place.

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If at any time you need help, have a question or just need to see if your decision on a problem makes sense, call me. The phone consultation if free.