What is Carpet Backing?
Well, at the risk of being overly simplistic, carpet backing is exactly just that, the back or underside of the carpet. You never see the carpet backing unless you are a carpet installer or are shopping for new carpeting. The carpet backing has no esthetic value but it does play an important role in the manufacturing of carpeting and in the installation of carpeting in your home. The carpet backing provides shape and stability to the carpet and protects the carpet pile from contact with the floor.
Carpet backing consists of two parts, the primary backing, and the secondary backing. The primary backing is the part of the backing that provides shape and stability to the carpet. It’s the part of the backing that the carpet pile is woven through. The secondary backing has no structural function but provides support for the carpeting and insulates the carpeting from moisture, mold, and bacteria, which could seep up through the floor below.
The materials that carpet backings are constructed out of vary from carpet style to carpet style. The materials used vary from natural fibers to polyurethane fiber. Polyurethane is water-resistant and forms a barrier between the surface beneath the carpet and the carpet pile. Polyurethane backings would be the backing of choice if you were laying carpet on surfaces prone to wetness, such as a below grade concrete floor.
Carpet backing is one of the most important things to consider when shopping for a new carpet. Carpeting is expensive and the cost of having a professional install it amounts to a sizable investment. Choosing a carpet with the right type of backing material will protect your investment and will protect your carpet, keeping it looking beautiful for years to come.
Carpet backing is exactly what it sounds like: the back of a carpet. It is the section of a carpet which does not face up, so consumers rarely interact with it. However, carpet backing is extremely important, providing shape, structural stability, and protection to the carpet it backs. There are a number of different styles of carpet backing, and it can be made from an assortment of materials, ranging from natural fibers to polyurethane. There are two main components to carpet backing, which can vary from carpet to carpet. The first is primary backing, which forms a structural element of the carpet. It is the coarse material through which the fibers of the carpet are woven or tufted. Secondary backing is not structural, but it provides support to the overall carpet, and it may help to insulate the carpet from moisture, bacteria, and mold which could seep up from the floor below; it tends to be less coarse, since it is not a substrate for tufted material. There are a number of things to
