. . . and now it begins I had SPECIFICALLY insisted that the carpet be power stretched. It was written on my order. It was written on the installers' job sheet. So what do I find when I check on their progress? A stinger. Which punches holes in the carpet and is explicitly prohibited by the CRI. I took a picture of it and emailed it to Lowes, and told them that the installer had violated the Mohawk warranty requirements. And hopefully didn't take chunks out of my subfloor in the process, but probably did. The installation team manager called Mohawk to confirm what I told him, and they said yes, stingers are a no go. So, I told them they are going to have to do it all over again, with new fresh materials, and do it right. more fun.

What an interesting thread. I've had these holes appearing in my shirts, which has been costing me money to replace and headaches to deal with. At first, I blamed my desk at work for creating abrasion points. The desk is old (20+ years) and has edges that have degraded. I initially put scotch tape over the rough edges that quickly wore through so thought I had confirmed the source. I then bought 5 foot long plastic corner protectors, so thought I had solved the problem. Not so. The holes persisted in more shirts (both thrifted and new ones). The final straw was when I saw the holes in a nightgown. How is that possible? I am not inclined to do much in my nightgown--other than sleep. I don't see the belly button protein theory as the issue given that I have psoriasis so there would be more than that one spot vulnerable. Then I thought weight gain (blame COVID and aging). I don't wear belts often so can't blame that. Also my jean wearing has been next to nothing since the weight gain and limited access for shopping so no jean snaps in use. The nightgown holes cancel out the seat belt theory for me. That leaves me to consider the washer, detergent, toothpaste splatter, or pill bugs. I have seen pill bugs in the past, but why would they be active only recently and not all these years? Washer is not an option for me as I've seen damage from an old washer and it does not restrict itself to one small area. Same for detergent. So, what's left? Cheaper cotton? But why only in the one spot? It's quite the mystery.

Floorman for over 40 years now retired but when wanting carpet to last you either go to wool (which is not soft to touch) but wears great then continuous nylon which needs treatments ( scotchgard or carbon in yarn, etc) can be soft to touch and wear quite well. Not familiar with newer yarns but stay with these 2 and not blended with another yarn like polyester. Companies try to push polyester because they can make cheaper prices and it's softer than nylon and color looks better and a good way to close the deal but it sheds yarn and wears terrible. You will pay a little more for nylon but be well worth the extra money. For softer walk go with a 1/2" pad ( any higher it won't hook real good on tack strip) but more dense (which means less air in it) 8 lb was the most dense in my day (have not laid floors for 5 years because of stroke) on steps I prefer 1/2" nylon fiber pad it is firmer but less risk of sliding down the nose of steps and wears better also better throughout the house if in wheelchair. Name brands mean nothing or colors it's all about how much yarn is in 1 sq. yard, the more yarn the better wear because less yarn you walk on sides instead of the top and causes the twist in yarn to fray out and mat. Commercial carpet must be sold in oz. like FHA requires 24 oz. and that is just the yarn and does not include total weight. Which is a way to cheat the buyer. This is just a brief review how to purchase a good wearing carpet. Can use cheaper carpet in rooms that are not used to much as long as it's not walking like halls around bed and dresser which are traveled all the time.

Denise, you are correct that Triexta is its own animal. It is different from polyester. Dupont has a patent on it, and licenses it to Mohawk for carpet. It is hydrophobic, so the fiber itself is stain resistant and won't absorb any moisture. It is also as resilient as nylon. A friend of mine has had it in her house in a high traffic area for 12 years and it looks as new as when it was first installed. Several of my sales colleagues have it in their home and are very pleased with it. Having said that, Nylon is also an excellent choice. Nylon 6,6 is the best nylon choice in terms of resiliency and stain resistance, and typically is warrantied again the 3 pet P's: pee, puke, and poop. As someone who sells carpet, the margin on a carpet is determined via negotiations, and differs from organization to organization. I don't believe you can make a blanket statement that Mohawk gives retailers a higher margin than other carpet manufacturers. The way to incentivize salespeople is through spiffs, and Mohawk doesn't shine in that area.