Yes, triexta means Smartstrand. Yes, Mohawk makes all Smartstrand. The negative experience I have encountered in the past with triexta was the difficulty of removing soil from the fiber - long story short - it requires expertise, more time, more technique, and more effort to clean first generation, heavily soiled triexta fibers (it will come clean). Now Mohawk has developed a soil repellant, that never washes or wears off, that will bond to the triexta fiber and makes the fiber easy to clean - soil does not cling to it. This fiber has been around over 10 years (Shaw and Mohawk) and has a track record in my business of zero failures. I can't say the same thing about the soft nylon carpets that tend to ugly out way before their time - I have replaced dozens that did not meet expectations (mine or the customer's). Triexta is the softest fiber available - not my opinion - but a fact. The carpet shops you visited are not fully educated about carpet fibers.

Does your Carpet One also rebrand triexta as Innovia? At the Carpet One we visited, the Tigress(?) brand felt a lot softer than the Innovia. I'm in the beginnings of learning about backings and weight and all those things, so I understand "softness" isn't everything.

Just to make sure I understood correctly, newer triexta carpets should not have the issue you mention, correct? Is first-generation inventory still being sold out there?

Thank you. Your help has been invaluable.

Beautifully stated, couldn't agree more with everything you said!

A carpet vendor told me the number of twists and the tightness of those twists matter, as such he does not prefer SmartStrand considering the price point. (The carpet he was comparing it to was PureSoft brand.)

Looking at the two, the 50oz SmartStrand's twists were far less in number and tightness than the other carpet. Any opinions on this type of comparison?

PureSoft is polyester and should be compared to other polyester carpets. Apparent value is there, but to compare it to Smartstrand or Nylon is like comparing carrots to radishes.

Here are the strands from PureSoft (left) and SmartStrand (right). The PureSoft brand I found online is prefixed with Dream Weaver; I'm not sure if the PureSoft I saw was the same brand or something different. This one is dyed all the way through and that (allegedly) gives it similar ease of cleaning to SmartStrand.

Three different carpet installers have told me don't believe the hype that SmartStrand isn't polyester. (Not saying I necessarily believe that.)

Legally, Manufacturer's must publish the fiber content. If it is polyester, then it must say polyester. If it is nylon, then it must say nylon, and if it is ptt triexta, it must say ptt triexta. Triexta is indeed it's own category like nylon, polyester and other fibers are due to their unique characteristics. Like I said before - education level is low. Look for someone who knows what they are talking about and is not necessarily interested in just making a sale based on apparent value. Also, the carpet vendor you consulted with failed to mention the importance of fiber content in the durability formula. There is a reason polyester is not used for medium to heavy commercial use, no matter what the twist or density may be. Polyester has it's place - but not in high trafficked areas of the home. Nylon or Triexta will not perform in high traffic areas if it is not properly constructed and has a low density and small amount of twist.

Is it true that when SmartStrand first came out, it was listed as "polyester"?

The FTC put Triexta in a subclass of Polyester but the 2 fibers are very different. http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/consumer/Carpet/MohawkSmartStrandCarpetwithTriexta.xhtml

I only recall it being referred to as PTT, Corterra, or Smartstrand. It is a polyester polymer, but the structure of it is nothing like the PET polyester fiber and that is why the FTC declared it as a different fiber type. First time since nylon and that has been over fifty years ago. The reason it performs equal to or better than nylon is because of the "spring shape" of the polymer as opposed to the PET. PET has its place and I am not against it when it is properly specified and I am not wanting to get into a peeing match with your local experts. Just sayin...verify then trust.

Is powerstretching more important for certain types of fibers? E.g., is it more important for a Triexta carpet to be powerstretched versus, say, a PET carpet?

Triexta, nylon, and PET carpet must be power stretched, unless the manufacturer does not recommend that. As a general rule, all carpet that is tufted with secondary backings require power stretching - keeping in mind that each manufacturer may have a few other installation related requirements for their carpet and that supersedes all other standards that are not specifically addressed by the manufacturer. Whoever you buy from should be aware of any special considerations and make you and the mechanic aware of them and plan ahead. Some carpets require specific tack strip, specific seam sealer, specific seam tape, specific seaming techniques (cutting, seam iron/tape temperatures), stretching methods/sequences and tensions.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Theoretically, could a carpet installation for an average home be completed with only a power stretcher? Or are there always instances during an installation when a knee kicker is required?

Typically, the use of a knee kicker is needed in every installation to ensure that the carpet has the required tension and is drum tight (it can also be used to position the carpet for seam alignment, doorways, steps, etc...). A quickie test is to pull the carpet up (using your index finger and thumb) in the center of a room and if you can lift it more than 1/4" and it doesn't snap back down, then it should have more tension.

Okay, so the power stretcher is used after the knee kicker?

Knee kicker is used before and after the power stretcher.

Some literature advocates that if a power stretcher can fit, it should be used. E.g., even in a bedroom closet. Do you think that's going overboard?