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.

I got the Pender type installed by Lowes last April when they had the 18 month no interest deal. I really like it and so far very pleased. I read comments on here about not using lowes but I saw the same carpet at carpet stores and it cost almost a thousand more once installed.

Hmmmmm. To my knowledge, Mohawk hasn't published any recommendations for central vacuum powerheads, so I can't say for sure if yours would work okay with the SS Silk products. But-- like I was saying, the vacuum difficulties really are limited to the premium soft carpets. I have not heard of any problems vacuuming traditional Smartstrand products ie Sorona They may not be classified as "premium soft", but believe me taditional SmartStrand carpet is still crazy soft. Prior to Mohawk introducing the SS Silk, Smartstrand was by far the softest carpet on the market imo. If you're unsure about Silk, then my suggestion would be regular Smartstrand. If you are the type that keeps carpet for 25 years, I think you'll like it a lot. Its a lot easier to maintain than nylon because of it's built-in stain protection that never wears or washes off. Kudos on doing your homework- it will pay off! Hope this helps

They do not show many entry level products online...It's an odd business..believe me...more angles than you could ever imagine. Call your dealer and tell them to call their rep. The only one they will not be able to cross over or talk about is a Mohawk Portico label and this is not one of them. Good Luck.