Much attention and energy is devoted to selecting carpet, but pad is a crucial part of your flooring and should not be forgotten.

Pad makes carpet feel better.

Every step you take creates hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch in your floor covering. Carpet padding, or cushion as it is sometimes called, helps alleviate that pressure. The decrease in pressure helps make your carpet feel richer, thicker, and softer.

It will make your room quieter and warmer.

Carpet cushion can significantly improve a carpet’s sound-absorption and improve its thermal insulation properties.

It will help you keep your carpet cleaner

Dirt can grind down carpet fiber the way sandpaper wears down wood, and thus shortens carpet life. A quality cushion makes cleaning more efficient because it raises carpet off the subfloor and provides an air space underneath, allowing the carpet to breathe. When you vacuum, that space allows more air to come up through the carpet, carrying more dirt along with it. The result is more effective cleaning every time.

And most importantly, it will make your carpet last longer.

A quality carpet cushion helps decrease pile crushing, the acute compression of fibers in a high-traffic area, particularly in hallways. The pad allows the carpet to maintain its pile height and stay looking new for much longer. Industry studies have shown that quality cushion can actually increase the useful life of carpet as much as 50%

Information provided by Shaw Carpet.