The short answer to this question is yes!
There are many reasons why it is an important part of your installation. By choosing a high quality underlay, you are ensuring the longevity of your carpet. Primarily underlay provides a barrier between your hard sub floor and your new carpet. Without the use of underlay, the footfall and friction of movement between these floors would seriously reduce the lifespan of your carpet.
Another aspect that could be important to you is heat insulation. The insulation in your underlay can do an amazing job at preventing heat from dissipating through your floor. You might be surprised to hear that underlays have their own tog rating. Just as with your duvet, the higher your tog rating the better your insulation will be!
If you have children or musical activities within the house or even sensitive neighbours, you may want to consider the sound insulation offered by your underlay. This is really useful for helping to reduce the sound of walking or thudding within the house as well as reducing sound transferred between floors.
For those of you with lots of pets in your home, or even one room in your house that is for your pets, you may want to consider a different type of underlay. There are special types of underlay that help to absorb odour and moisture in a non-harmful way. Some underlays can ever offer antimicrobial agents that help to prevent anything unhealthy living in your carpet.
Of course, it's not all about the functionality of your underlay. The added benefit to cushioning the impact of foot traffic is providing extra comfort underfoot. Many customers are keen to have that 'sinking' feeling as you walk across your new carpets, most associated with luxury. It would be easy to assume that you need a thick underlay to achieve this feeling but actually there is a little more to consider.
There certainly are a range of thicknesses to choose from but the important aspect to look at is density. For high traffic areas, a 9mm product of ultra-high density would tick all the boxes but for those cosy spaces in your home you may prefer an underlay with a bit of bounce. We love to use an underlay made from polyurethane foam. It is the most popular type of carpet underlay on the market – and it’s easy to understand why. Not only is it known for its luxurious and comfortable feel underfoot, it’s also lightweight and easy-to-handle whilst offering superb protection for your flooring along with heat and sound insulation.
If you need any specific advice feel free to get in touch with us and we’d love to help!
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