It has been great. We bought it for the basement playroom and my artist studio. Ours is also patterned/textured, high/low. After over 10 years it shows no signs of wear, even on the stairs. Not even any matted down tracks from walking paths. We picked multicolored too, since I spill stuff in the studio all the time.

We had it for 4 years and the only problem was that our dog caught a carpet loop in her claw and then proceeded to tear a VERY wide patch of the rug up. :(

We've had it for several years in an above garage apartment. It wears well & cleans well, but we've also had it catch & pull in a couple of places. All & all I'd do it again. Just have to be kinda careful about snagging it.

I have it everywhere we have carpet, in the whitest, I could get at the time and love it!! it's down 12 yrs. already and looks the same as when installed,(the pattern does not even show wear) in choosing the white, after a hurricane and roof leakage onto carpet, this left an ugly rusty stain, which was no problem because with Berber you can use bleach on it, which I did, and then used my steam cleaner, and looks like new again...other then our tile, would never have any other carpet but Berber!!!

Thanks everyone. Your comments make me feel so much better! It's just DH and I, no pets or kids, so hopefully snagging won't be a problem. We have a lot of in/out traffic to the back yard and leaves/grass debris gets tracked in. Does it vacuum up okay? I read that to vacuum berber your vacuum cleaner should have the beater bar/rotating brushes turned off? Is that true?

susieq, I love white/very light carpet and after hearing your comments I may go even lighter than I was intending!

Any other comments, good or bad, are certainly welcome!

I had berber a few years ago but wouldn't install it again.

Mine wasn't very easy to clean. For me, it was difficult to scrub hard enough to get the stain up but not so much that it frayed the yarns. I also had pets and they snagged it in quite a few places.

After about 5yrs the carpet started to look "fuzzy". I have read that this happened because my vacuum has a beater bar (uhm, whose doesn't??) Not sure if this is true, though.

Jennifer

I love Berber and it's the only type of carpet I would ever get, other than a shag perhaps. We had berber in our old basement. Looked great when we sold it 6 years later.

You can use bleach on Berber?!?
I did not know that.
I am going to be the one one to not rave. My mother has it in her family room, sliding doors exit to rear patio. It's held up well through in/out traffic, but one of the grandkids spilled something in front of the TV, (kind of a darker stain, looks like watered down Pepsi.) I can't for the life of me get that spot out. I've tried all kinds of spot cleaners, it might go away for a week or two but comes back, so maybe it's in the padding?

Machine cleaning hers is frustrating. (High/low pattern.) She has a Hoover Steam Cleaner and it doesn't clean her berber well, can't get in lower parts of patten.

I should try my Charlie's Soap on that stain. It got black slush out of my SUV carpet from winter. Otherwise, I don't know what to do. Surprised bleach works since it's a synthetic material, but maybe I could test it somewhere it wouldn't be noticed first.

I had it in a previous house, and while I don't ever want carpet again - if I had to have it, I'd only want berber. I did have a slight issue with snagging from animals, so you do have to be careful in that regard. But other than that, it wore very well and I found it easy to keep clean. (Well, as clean as carpet can be kept anyway.)

We put it in our sun room and also on the landing and up the stairs to the second floor. Mine is a traditional one color oatmeal like color, it steam cleans beautifully. But we were not at all pleased with how it held up to daily use on the stairs. It was a Karastan berber so it wasn't the cheapest either. I probably wouldn't use it on the stairs again.

You can bleach certain carpet fibers, such as olefin. It really depends on the fiber the carpet is made out of, if you can bleach it or not.

Berber refers to the way the yarn is affixed to the backing of the carpet. Berber could be made out of olefin, nylon, wool or any other common carpet fiber.

Please check to see what your carpet is made out of before trying to bleach it. Or test it in an out of the way corner.

Here is a link that might be useful: Info on carpet fibers

moonshadow, based on my research you can use bleach on olefin or polypropylene (different names for the same thing). Other carpets the color is topically dyed into it after manufacture, but the olefin or polypropylene the color is solution dyed so it's pretty much colorfast. Try it in a closet area or hidden place first though.

we have had many berber carpets in the past and I have only good things to say about them. I think they are very clean looking and durable as well as comfy. I think you will be pleased.

Have no idea what fibers are in ours. Basement rec room. But we have a couple places where our son's friends must have spilled a drink or something. When we clean it, it's good for a while but then the stain returns. I'd love to try bleach on it - Our's is about 12 years old.

Thanks for that extra info!
Will test in a dark nook somewhere.
My mother would be thrilled if I could get that stain out for her.

i don't care for berber...i don't like the way it feels (if sitting/playing on floor) and you need to use a firmer/less thick pad under it, so not nearly as comfy if you're on the floor! i also found that it looks dirty more often and seems to hold the stain more than plush carpets we've had....but i do have dogs and kids. some berbers are quite attractive tho...

In a previous home, we had light beige berber for about 5 years and I hated it. We also had the snags problem but it came from the heels of MY shoes...on the days that I wore taller, thinner heels. I finally learned to remove my shoes the minute I entered the house, but by then the carpet was not pretty.

I had a couple of big snags from my dog. Was able to use an upholstery needle to pull the loose yarn though the carpet to the underside, so they do not show. After 10 years of kids and an old dog, it is not looking so great anymore. Some stains don't come out with vacuum, steam or spot cleaning...but I will probably replace with berber again next time.

Another vote for Berber. It has held up so much better than the 70's shag carpet. No traffic patterns after 15 years. I have the Hoover Deep steam carpet cleaner, which I use about 2 times a year. I notice that in the spring or anytime we get a lot of rain, that the carpet appears to have stains. I think it's the moisture in the air, that is bringing the stains on the padding up to the surface of the carpet - IMO. We are renovating another place & I would like to have Berber there, but DH wants to try the frieze. But I heard that I won't be able to shampoo the frieze carpets like I do my Berber. So I'm not sure I will give up the Berber.

Ok, I will give the vinegar a try in the rinse water next time. Thanks for the info. Do you let the carpet dry after shampooing & before rinsing? I used to, but now I take the easy way out & rinse right after I shampoo.

RE: vinegar and water in rinse solution - that won't mess up the machine? I mean apparently it doesn't if you've had success. But I'll tell you why I'm leery of trying it. I cleaned a coffee machine with that once when we were newly married and it just burned a hole right through a tube (or something in the innards) and that was the end of that machine. Was telling a friend and she said the same thing happened to a friend of hers. Mamasita would not be pleased if I trashed her expensive steam cleaner, lol. ;D

We've had berber in both our basement family room and our main floor living room (very casual) for the past 13 years. Lots of use in both cases and both still look great! I've only cleaned them twice (shame on me), but they still look clean. Both have held up extremely well, but one thing not mentioned was seams. The berber in our basement has one seam that is very obvious whereas the berber in our livingroom has a seam that is barely evident. The carpet layer said it had to do with the type of berber. Berber doesn't seam as well as other carpets so if you're having a seam, place it in as least obvious a spot as possible. The one in the basement gets more direct sunlight so perhaps that's why it's more evident. Just something to think about.

We had berber in our last house.. I don't know if the quality was great b/c it snagged a ton of tines, and as a previous poster mentioned, once my dog got a hold of the snags she went to town and completely ripped it up. I know you said you ddn't have pets or children so that may not affect you..

We are currently building a house and putting berber in our master bedroom and the adjacent rooms (a small hallway, 2 closets and a study). We won't put it in our kids rooms b/c of the pulls/ wear etc. but i think as long as you don't skimp on the quality of the berber it is great. we made that mistake last time around.. YOU DEFINITELY GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!

weav, I've never waited for the carpet to dry either, just rinsed right after shampooing.

moonshadow, I've never had a problem using vinegar. It's diluted one cup to a gallon which is 1:16. I'm guessing you were using a stronger solution, I've used it 50/50 in coffeemakers but wouldn't do that in my steam cleaner.

hilltop, did the same installers do both your basement and main floor installations? I've heard that seaming berber is trickier than regular carpet and takes some experience to get really good at it. I hope my installer is good because the rec room is very large and there will be a seam right across the middle of the room in an open area. It's a family owned business and the son is one of the installers and has been doing this for many years.

sharon - thanks for the info & good luck with your Berber!

I hate the berber- too difficult to clean and too easy to snag. I'm going to remove it from my walkout basement as soon as I can afford the tile I want.

We have berber upstairs and it cleans beautifully and wears well. We did not skimp on the cost for it. Our only complaint, which was fixed by the installer, was several seams that where quite obvious after installation.

Re your vacuuming question-yes do not use the beater bar on your berber. In our other house, a snag got sucked into the beater bar and that 'strand/yarn' wound around the beater bar so fast!!! It was like a run in a nylon stocking. That said, we use both the vacuuming tools on our Berber. It has worn like iron on our stairs & hallway which get alot of use. I put it down as a temporary carpet 10 years ago while renovating, and it is still there. It has seen many many big work boots. It has one small stain i cannot remove, which I think is Liquid Nails.

Moonshadow - when you pretreat (or just treat that stain)treat the stain, then cover the stain with a damp cotton rag and put a weight on it the size of the stain. A full liter soda bottle works great for a smallish stain. do not use anything that will rust! Change the rag when it dries out. The stain will wick into the cotton rag. Keep doing this until the stain is gone. Pet spots (like vomit) may take a week. It really does work, becasue the stain continues to be wicked to the surface and removed to the rag. I've used this method for years. the down side is sometimes the result is a really clean spot & you realize your carpet needs cleaning :)

I'm actually surprised to hear lots of people like it. IRL I don't know a single person who does. They've always complained about the snagging. If there aren't pets or kids you might be ok. I'm a plush carpet type of person so I don't like how it feels but do think it looks nice.

I have Berber carpet in my family room. Love it. It was installed in 1994 and still looks as good as new. Went through 3 kids and now 2 dogs. We haven't had an issue with snagging at all. I purchased the carpet through one of the mills in Georgia and it was shipped to an installer here. They have lists for your area but don't make recommendations.
This place also sent samples of the carpets along with sample padding.The key is to get a very tight weave and use a dense 1/4 inch pad and have a great installer. Ask for one who has done quite a few installations. We have a seam and you can hardly see it. Berber is also difficult to get a good installation on stairs b/c it is so thick.

Thanks sharon_midtn and magothyrivergirl! I will try the blotter tip first, then clean it afterward for her and put vinegar in the rinse, it's about due for a cleaning anyway.

I don't care for the way the seams show on berber. We had it years ago and it looked good at first then seemed to really show tracking (should have taken off shoes, I guess) and the seam continued to look awful. If you have a narrow room and don't need a seam you wouln't have that problem. Some berbers are really flat (we had that type) and I think they are even more difficult to match up when installing.

Here's a pic. of my berber, and I remember one snag/pull, all I did was punch it down,prob thru backing, never to be seen again..don't remember what it is made of but it feels like cotton? and I was told, I could use bleach on it, as far as seams, that depends on how good the installers are at their job, I don't see any seams, you can see my pattern here, which I really like, this carpet is in bedrms. and greatrm. the rest of my house is all tile.

I have central vac. very strong, and use power head with brush or sometime reg. carpet head no power, and I use my steam cleaner Bissel and all work great np's., there isn't any stain I can't get out, of this I am 100% certain..and P.S. we requested the best, thickest under padding..

I think Berber is perfect for a basement. I had it running clear through a previous house I lived in and it snagged and got very rough wear. It held up fairly well except for the snagging. Another option for basements is the carpet tile; they are very good looking, I think, nice tight weave and practical. Just my 2 cents :)
Good Luck!

Hate it! Removing it as we speak.It was suppose to be quaranteed for life but of course only to the purchaser, they put it in right before we bought the house and I had stains that would not come out. I had a central vac and stanley steemer to no avail.
Mine was a plaid type weave and dog claws kids toys etc always pull it . I felt the uneven weave made me unbalanced when walking. We are putting down tile at last.
If I was to put carpet in an area like you want it would ONLY be a professional grade indoor outdoor.
Have fun redecorating!

Have had Berber in more than one house, rural farm area with house pets. Would put it in again and love it. Current house is all wood floors.

Berber is difficult to install, seams should not show with a good installer. Even Berber which looks like it doesn't have a pattern, does and takes a sharp installer to do it.

I never had a problem with pulls, except one install. There are different Berber qualities and production processes. You can look at the back of the samples or even pull on the edge and see if they will be a problem. An unraveling would be a no for long term use.

Stains were a small problem, I used washing machine soap and hand cleaned. Rinsing is really important for all carpets. Some professionals have a tendancy not to use the rinse process well enough. Seeing a stain reappear has happened and really irratating.

Any carpet needs their own unique care. One thing to never use is Oxyclean if you don't know the content. This will turn wool yellow and you can never go back.

We have Berber at work and snags are a problem. I thought I heard that there was a non snag berber but nothing came up when I googled it. I don't think it's very comfortable either. I wouldn't use regular bleach on any color but white.

We got Berber in our kids bedrooms. I wanted something durable that would hold up to when our boys become teenagers, so Berber is is. The carpet still looks brand new, and it's been in for 5 years in one room, and 3 in another.. granted, right now they are only toddlers. I haven't had a problem with snags or staining. But, I did get a color(s) that would hide stains really well.

I don't think it would be a carpet I would love to have all over my house because it's not that comfortable IMO. My husband and I got frieze in our bedroom. I love that, and I've steam cleaned that about 5 times. I'm kind of nuts about steam cleaning carpets at least every 6 months.. more in the main living areas.

DO NOT GET OLEFIN/POLYPROPELENE CARPET.

Get the nylon. Pay more. The other kind is lousy to clean and lousy on foot traffic. Trust me.

dgmarie, what I'm considering is the olefin/polypropylene. It's my understanding that it's very stain resistant and also won't fade which is very important as we have huge windows with southern exposure. I was told that nylon would fade under those circumstances.

Just wondering if those who didn't like the berber also had the olefin/polypropylene? and those who did have good luck had the nylon or wool?

Magofthyrivergirl: thanks for answering my question vacuuming without the beater bar! That's helpful and I'll turn off the beater bar on my hoover. It it's not powerful enough I'll invest in another vacuum.

I had an olefin berber in my last house. I both loved it and hated it. There was nothing on this planet that could stain it. My daughter even had an ink pen with pink ink spill on it and it came right off with a paper towel, not even a hint of pink left. By the way, my carpet was off white, so no staining was amazing. I never did have a "run" in it despite having a dog the whole time. It was a high quality carpet, and I did have a thicker pad under it, I don't know why people have said you have to have a skinnier pad. My carpet was soft and cushy to walk on. Here's the reason I hated it: Seams. They just show. I had mine laid throughout my house over a period of time as I remodeled it, so there just happened to be different installers each time and I carefully got recommendations from friends as to who was the best installer, etc. No matter how experienced and knowledgable the installer, there are going to be noticeable seams if your carpet is light colored and if the sun shines in your room. You can choose a Berber that comes available in a 15 foot width if that will do your room, but if your room is wider, plan on an ugly seam. The only way to avoid it is with a darker carpet in a darker room. (Mine had large loops and small loops so you'd think it would have hidden them.)

Just sold my house where I had a the same off-white wool Berber carpet for 21 years. It still looks good and we had pets and 6 kids . We did get it professionally cleaned every year. Other than that, spot cleaner or pet cleaner when needed. I am looking for some like it for my new house.