The best way to choose your new carpet

Carpet budgets are determined only on a first-cost basis. This is understandable if your budget is not really flexible, but you should know that if you only account for first costs, in the long term you will almost certainly end up spending more than you calculated for your carpeting.

Much smarter approach is calculating based on life-cycle costs which include scheduled carpet cleaning and maintenance. If you take long-term factors into account from the get go, you will have a budget that is more reflective of your facilities exact needs. Additional investments, like in regular budgeted carpet cleaning, will help you get the most out of your initial investment, extending carpet life and reducing life-cycle cost.

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to making an optimal plan for carpet maintenance. 

1. The first thing is the selection of the carpet itself. Of course, there are numerous manufacturers with products of varying quality, made from different materials. And there is an even larger variation in the types of facilities and spaces which need carpeting. This means there is no quick, one-shot solution for your specific enterprise or facility to choose the best option for its specific needs. Just use your common sense in this one and try think practically.

2. Carpet of higher quality and more frequent cleaning is a must for the places that have a lot of traffic. Locations that need to present your organization in the best possible light should go for aesthetics – stand out patterns or eye-catching designs, according to your taste and representing what the organization stands for. 

3. Location dictates what kind of product you need to choose The bottom line is that you need to choose the appropriate product for the appropriate location and try to keep it there as long as possible, in as good a condition as possible. This means you will get the maximum out of its life-cycle while minimizing the possibility of having to replace it early and thus make unexpected dents in your budget. Wrong carpet would just be a waste of time and money.

4. When it comes to choosing the product itself, you should consider the manufacturer, what material was used in making it, as well as color and style.Don’t go for bright and light colors at a location with a lot of foot traffic, like the main entrance to the company HQ. Don’t go with dark colors in places that lack good illumination because damage and stains may remain unnoticed for too long, making the carpet deteriorate quicker, so when you finally discover the damage, your carpet could be beyond repair.

Simple calculation will help you calculate a life cycle of your carpet: add up the initial cost with the cost of maintenance (you can get a quote from us anytime, just call or email us and we will schedule an appraisal) and the cost of carpet removal. Then, divide that number with total years of use, and you will get your life-cycle cost.

This calculation includes all the costs related to carpet: the initial carpet purchase, the removal of the old flooring material, the preparation and installation of the new carpet, the cost of business disruption, disposing of old floor covering, maintenance requirements of the new carpet and associated costs, plus the costs of cleaning. All these must be accounted for in order for you to get the most precise possible estimate of the costs involved with your carpet.

When it comes to years of use is actually a number that you yourself determine, but do make an informed estimate because it will affect your entire calculation. This number means how long you wish for the carpet to last.

Sometimes it is actually a smarter choice to buy a lower-quality product and invest a little more in its maintenance. 

Now that you have everything that you need to consider and calculate, try to use it every time you are buying a carpet.

Read more about Appearance Management St Petersburg