South West Fl Realty

Carpet Capers: Picking the Carpet that Suits your Lifestyle

There is no other flooring option that offers the comfort and quiet of carpet. Now there are not only many colors and patterns of carpets to choose from there are also a variety of types to suit any household and dcor.
Carpet is a good choice because it is warm and soft, particularly on children when crawling or playing on the floor. Carpet is much quieter than other flooring options, particularly hard wood surfaces. Carpeting is also an economical option because the product itself and installation fees are much lower than other flooring types.
Here is an overview of the main carpet types of the market today.
Saxony: Saxony carpet is smooth and has a cut-pile surface. It is used mainly in traditional or formal rooms.
Textured Saxony or Shag: This type of carpet has a more relaxed appearance and is very popular for families. The textured surface of this type helps to hide footprints, which means less upkeep for you.
Velvet: As the name might imply, this is a type appropriate for very formal and elegant rooms. It has a very fine sheared surface. Because of its suitability to formal rooms and the upkeep required, this is not as popular an option as other carpet types.
Frieze: This kind of carpet is extremely durable so it is perfect for rooms that see a lot of activity. It has a textured almost knobby appearance, which makes it a less popular option even though it does stand up well to wear.
Cut and Loop (or Random-Sheared): Cut and loop has a very distinctive appearance with cuts and loops of different sizes on the surface. It works in a variety of rooms since the multi-colors and multi-layers help hide traffic and stains.
Level loop and Multi-Level Loop: These two types of carpets are made up of loops (with level loop, all the loops are level, whereas with multi-loop there are different levels of loops). Both of these are very durable and stand up well in high traffic areas. They have a casual rather than elegant appearance.
Once youve decided on the type of carpet you want to put in, you need to keep a few other things in mind.
You will need to take into consideration the different types of carpet fibers: nylon, olefin, polyester, acrylic and wool. Nylon is the most popular of these fibers because of cost and its ability to hide wear and stains. The other types of fibers have other benefits, but there is nothing that can match the durability and brilliant coloring of nylon fibers.
Knowing about yarn twists will also come in handy. With carpet, the rule is the tighter the yarn twist is the better. You want to look for a carpet with a shorter nap. The longer the nap the more difficult it is for the carpet to be crush resistant. Your carpet will look newer longer if you choose one with a shorter nap. The stitches per inch also contribute to the crush resistance of a carpet. Try to choose a carpet that has more yarn or stitches per inch to increase your carpets matt and crush resistance. If you are buying a looped carpet, then you need to look at the density of the loop and the amount of space right in the middle of the loop, because the tighter the loop, the better the wear will be.
Once youve decided on the type of carpet (taking into consideration the fibers, nap and yarn twist), youll need to pick a pattern and a color. There are many, many options out there nowadays. You may want to consider a solid, neutral color that will go with many wall and furnishing colors and patterns. You dont want to have to change your carpet every time you redecorate, so try to select something that is versatile.
To help keep your carpet looking new, there are some basic maintenance steps to follow. You want to vacuum regularly and remove carpet stains as soon as you notice them. The longer a stain sits, the most difficult it is to remove. You can also practice some preventative measures (like using mats and runners in high traffic entry ways) to reduce the wear on your carpet.

You have just seen the house of your dreams but you have had credit problems.

How to Diagnose a Smoky Fireplace


Its cold and you want to use your fireplace, but youve been having problems in the past with it smoking. You can correct your smoky fireplace issue with a few easy steps. Take a gander at these fireplace tips to correct any issues of a smoky one.

This list of tips should help you correct any problem with a fireplace that fills your house up with black silt smoke. Not only does it need to be done because you cant use your fireplace, but smoke from a fireplace ruins walls, carpets and drapes. This type of smoke is almost impossible to get out of any fabric including your clothes. Besides it not healthy to breathe in the smoke and its especially true with anyone suffering from allergies of any kind.

1. Stoke up the Fireplace Chimney. Be sure to open your damper. Its usually found in front of the fireplace and its a simple switch to pull back. Next warm the chimney air by burning newspaper or any other type of safe material in the fireplace. The goal is to get the air warmer in the chimney so itll push the cold air out and away. Colder air pushes the warmer air down and smoky air can occur.
2. Use Seasoned Wood. Dont burn green timber in your fireplace. Large fireplace logs tend to cause more smoke because it takes them a while to get hot enough to burn off residue. Small logs are the best choice.
3. Open Windows. Sometimes theres not enough draft in a room to catch the fireplace to light. Its not as big of a problem if you happen to live in an older house. Older homes were not built as energy efficient as newer models are, theres not much of a draft to circulate for the use of a fireplace. So open one or two windows to help your fireplace start burning.
4. Purchase Fireplace Bricks. Even though youre using a grate at times it doesnt provide enough air circulation under the wood for it to catch. Smoke is the result that billows into your house. You can buy extra fireplace bricks to build up your grate to a higher level. This will help stop smoking by creating enough draft under the grate.
5. Scale Down the Fireplace Opening. Extra large fireplaces have more of a problem heating an area. This is usually because the chimney is much smaller than the open hearth part. The trick is to balance the size with the chimney. Certain fireplace stores carry reducers that can be installed. Also look for a shield to catch any smoke that may circulate into the room
6. Turn Down the Furnace. Smoky air can be created when theres not enough air in the house. For example when it heats the air in the chimney the fan returns it to the house in the form of smoke when your furnace is on. So turn down the furnace to a level thats acceptable for the other rooms, or if you can bear it turn it off.
7. Clean out Pipes or Raise Them. Sometimes the pipes outside can get clogged from debris or even bird nests. At other times pipes are not long enough and need to be replaced. Cutting back high growing trees and branches will help cut down on smoke in the fireplace too because the air is not stopped from circulating, and pushed back into the house as smoke.
8. Hire a Professional Cleaning Crew. Smoke from wood can give off a substance known as creosote. This is a natural by product of burning wood in your fireplace. Have your fireplace checked once a year and cleaned. Fireplace maintenance is a safety issue too.


Your fireplace should be something for you to enjoy and not fret over. However fireplaces are like other things around the house that need care and attention. Remember just because it doesnt run off electricity doesnt mean that it can be ignored. It sits patiently for autumn to roll around and to provide you with warmth. In the mean time make sure your ready to go by inspecting it and having it cleaned. In the autumn and winter months you can sit back and enjoy the warmth of the fire and a smoke free house too.