Hi Jake--like you, we did lots of research on the carpet for our new home. Your understanding of the stain resistance properties being built into the fiber is my understanding as well. We chose Mohawk Smartstrand for it's stain properties, unbeatable softness & that due to the fiber its made of it should not get matted down even in high traffic areas. Our local dealer had a slightly better price than Lowe's and the name on his version was the Intelligent style. There were 4 weights on display and this one was the 3rd level up (weight was maybe 60oz?). Due to the mat resistance we were not worried about the strand length.

My girlfriend got her Smartstrand at Lowe's about 2 years ago. She went with the lowest level one in their home as she was hoping it would be easier for the vacuum to remove pet dander from shorter carpet fibers. While her carpet is nice, it is by no means plush. I would have at least gone up 1 more level. She has 3 large indoor/outdoor dogs who routinely track red clay dirt & mud into the house + 2 young school age children. She has not had any problems with getting the dirt/mud out of the carpet--it looks as new as when it was installed.

We have only been in our house for 4 months, but so far the carpet feels & looks great, shows no sign of matting & the stain features have been stellar. Our 7yr old son cut the bottom of his foot and didn't realize it. He tracked blood across the hardwoods through the mudroom, kitchen and family room before hitting his bedroom with the off-white carpet. He walked all the way across the room to his bathroom and then back across the room to his bedroom door leaving quarter size blood stains behind with every step. It looked like a white & red dalmatian in there--I about had a heart attack! I got him cleaned up & bandaged up and then attacked the stains with--are you ready for this?...a clean terry wash cloth dampened with plain tap water. All the stains came right out with barely any effort and you can't even tell the carpet was ever anything other than off-white!

Based on my personal experience, I would buy this carpet again in a skinny minute & I would recommend it to others as well. Our local dealer stated that when we replace this carpet it will not be because it is worn out or stained, but because we are redecorating and need a different color to work with the new color scheme. IMHO it is definitely worth the price!

Hope this helps & good luck!

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

We bought a Smartstrand frieze from Lowe's along with a Shaw 10lb carpet custion with moisture block. Long story short, the cushion was bad (some was hard and some was overly soft). Turns out when tested the hard pad was 18lb and the soft pad was 6lb and came from two different manufacturing lots. Lowes replaced all of our carpet cushion with Mohawk Smartcushion. They also sent a better crew out the second time that taped all of the carpet cushion joints. The first crew only did some of the rooms. So far we really like the carpet, but I think we would have gotten better installers from a carpet retailer that employs their own crews. Moving all of our belongings out of all of our rooms to have the carpet done twice was really a pain.

Not sure if you've made your purchase yet, but I've done similar research as we look to carpet the entire 2nd floor of our new build, and I think your point about installers is right on. My biggest concern was with the installation from the big-box guys, but my local Lowe's was very willing to share the name and background of their subs. While both were local and experienced, the installer we are getting has 15 years experience from a respected independent flooring retailer.

I opted for Lowe's because the price can't be beat, I have a 10% off coupon on top of that, and the installer passed every test I could think of while he was here measuring. I won't have the carpet until April, but I have a great deal of confidence that the job will be done right, at a price I can afford. (I like very much to keep my business local, but with a price difference of around 30% and a build that's gone over budget, I'm doing what I have to do.)

Thanks for the info.

I am taking to heart what you said about the installation.

Thanks

I have had my Smartstrand what will be 3 years in June. I didn't buy mine at Lowes - got mine through the same carpet place where we bought our original carpet 20 years ago.
Anyway - about a month after it was installed, I was printing out some photos and you guessed it - the printer malfunctioned and the ink just sat on top of the paper and when it "shot" the paper out, the ink continued on - all tiny spots on my carpet. After a moment or two of panic - I got out my wet and dry vac and a pitcher of water. I started with a couple of spots and when the water hit it, the spots spread. Oh crap, I'm thinking but I recall reading that would happen and to just keep flushing and sucking up the water. It worked!
After I got all the ink up, I just kept blotting up the area with plain white paper towels. Once it was dry - you couldn't tell where the ink had been.

Now - I still don't take any chances. Anytime I print on
photo paper, I put a plastic table cloth in the area where the printer is. And I don't use glossy paper anymore.

I did just have the doorways restretched as I was having some "fraying" where the carpet met the tile. The original installer came back to do it and he admitted that his helper at the time had not done it correctly. I have a 3 year warranty from the carpet company on the install as well as the warranty from Mowhawk. Didn't cost me anything and the guy told me that my carpet looked like new. I was considering having it cleaned but he told me if it were in his house, he would wait as long as possible. I do have a few spots, mostly from my grandson, guess I will spot clean them.

I have the Smartstrand pad - with moisture barrier. I was really impressed when it was installed - no odor from the pad or the carpet.

When I boutght my 7 twist frize (not smartstrsnd) a long 10 years ago, I went to both big box stores in our area and found a low cost dealer in our area that beat their price by a bunch. If I recall one didn't carry that high end of a carpet and the other wanted $32 a yard. I got mine for $24 a yard. The place I chose did not have installers but had a list of the local instalers and the sales clerk was kind enough to select the ones customers favored for me. I found that one of those was the very same one that had previously done a marvelous job installing the designer solarian in our foyer and kitchen. I later got a poor installation from an different store when we decided to extend the solarian into our dining room. The good guy had retired.

Mohawk does require that smart strand carpet be professional cleaned every year to 18 months to keep the warranty up to date.

I am also considering purchasing Smartstrand but do have a few questions:
Has anyone purchased the berber Smartstrand and how does it wear in heavy traffic areas? (living room/stairs/den).
Is there any other brand of carpet that should be considered?
I was told by a carpet dealer -"It will look like new and clean far longer than you can imagine"-true???
Will it need to be cleaned differently than other carpet brands?
Thanks so much-much appreciated.

I have had my smartstrand down for 4 years now throughout the house and it still looks great. It has hardly needed cleaning but when it does I use Stanley Steamer - pretty simple.

Sharon, after you use Stanley Steamer to clean the carpets, does the smartstrand still have the great soft feel?

LRam m l me