Can't believe you asked this.

I just ordered replacement carpet for two of my girls bedrooms after 4.5 years (wincing). It was a wool and nylon blend sisal.

I planned to order the same thing again (I view such carpet as a neutral akin to wooden floors and it is what I have in all bedrooms and I like the continuity). However, they do not make it anymore.

The salesperson showed me a few options, I took them home and the one I liked best was nylon. Quel horreur. I have never bought nylon.

Here is what my carpet guy, who seems an ok sort, told me:

" ...wool blend carpet is usually a bit more expensive than good quality nylon but not usually a better choice. The nylon in this case will wear and clean better than the blend. They now blend wool with polypropylene or polyester to get the feel and look of wool at a lower price point. They perform reasonably well in the right color but give up some to a branded nylon for the look mostly. Your carpet which I had in my kids bedrooms when we built our home was blended with acrylic yarn which looked better but was a bear to clean."

FWIW We are getting something called Tuftex.

Tuftex is a division of Shaw, a Berkshire Hathaway company--Warren Buffet's company. Our carpet is Shaw Anso nylon in a twist style. We bought it two years ago. Nylon has excellent stain, fade, and crush resistance. I did love the softness of Mohawk Smartstrand but I found a Shaw style that was just as soft. I trust nylon more than Smartstrand, and I admire Mr. Buffet, so went with that. I bought from a flooring store rather than risk the subcontractor installation from Lowe's or Home Depot.

Yeah, TBH, I thought Shaw was cheap. I admire Buffet too but would not eat at Dairy Queen IYKWIM! The Tuftex is costing more than my wool blend did but then when I got that I got 7 bedrooms/offices of it so maybe there was a discount

No, IDKWYM but my point is that nylon is a good carpet and Anso nylon is a good brand of it. I don't feel the need to apologize for buying nylon carpet. I'm just a normal middle class person who's not out to impress anyone with what I put in my home.

Oh gosh I don't think anyone would have any idea what my carpet is made of; I certainly don't know. I was just under the impression that wool was better, but apparently it is not so straightforward! That's my point to the OP.

PS and I meant that Buffet is a shrewd and (sort of, sometimes) likable character but that does not mean that because he finds businesses attractive that their products are right for me. But Sees Candies, now we are talking!

I wasn't aware that carpet had visible labels on it indicated what it is made of and how much it cost.

Wool is not necessarily best, the choice of material(s) depends on the room and the use of the room.

My niece loves Dairy Queen Ice Cream (milk) cakes and when she got married four years ago her wedding cake was a DQ Ice Cream cake. So unique and fun.

I think polypropylene (olefin?) types are better than nylon if you have pets- better with stains and cleaning products I think...

(love me a small soft serve vanilla dq cone every now and then!! :)

I don't know what our medium height Frieze carpet is made of but it's heaven under our feet. We installed it in the entire upstairs 10 years ago and it still looks new.

Lukki, I'm heartened to know that. I've been wondering how well frieze carpeting wears over time. Ours is, of course, new - but we really like it and hope it serves us well for many years.

We put Dream Weaver carpet on our stairs and throughout our entire second floor. It's a newer company making polyester carpet. The warranties on it are great. The one we chose is pretty soft and we like it. We chose it because it needed to go in an area that takes a beating (staircase), and because we have pets and kids.

How are nylon carpets when it comes to building up a static charge and then zapping you when you least expect it?

My LR and DR rugs are polypropylene and have held up well to chucked hair balls.

berber.

No zaps. Our carpet has flecks so you don't see spots. Our old carpet was solid and everything showed.

I think our old carpet was olefin and it changed color in a few spots from sunlight. It wasn't very old either.

Berber is a weave not a type of fiber and there are different qualities of the berber weave as well.

All the Berber I have had - albeit always installed by someone else so possibly cheap Berber - has gotten nasty pulls across the whole length of any seams when vacuumed. Dealing with this issue now in our playroom.

Getting a carpet runner installed on our stairs and were recommended nylon for best durability in that application at the carpet store. We had smart strand at our old house which held up well to stains but got packed down in high traffic areas.

AJ, I love the way ours feels under foot, it's heavenly. I'm sure you'll be happy with it over the long haul. Our's has a blend of colors, cream, a couple of shades of golden brown and a tad of black; nothing shows on it.

Not to get off topic, but it's super easy to clean when accident's happen too. The trick is to use a tiny bit of laundry soap w/luke warm water on a water logged towel. Squeeze the water over the stain to get the spot wet, blot the soap in a bit, blot up the excess water with a dry towel, repeat with clean water to get the soap back out, then blot again with a dry towel. Once it's almost dry, I vacuum so that the threads dry in their natural shape. Don't rub it because you'll fray the threads. Ten years and only routine vacuuming, it looks brand new and there is not one stain anywhere. The stairs do show some wear but I think it's because we didn't vacuum them as often as we should have...still doesn't look bad though.

I can't have berber because I have a cat. I want nothing with loops.

I believe I have Mohawk Smartstrand (7+ years) and have been very happy with it. It's very soft and even cleaned up after a horrendous mess from when I took care of my son's dog during her last days. Never noticed the extra dust mentioned. I hated the berber in my last house. Maybe it was cheap, but it stained badly and matted down and just looked awful.