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Give Your Feet a Treat: Carpet Just Feels Better
(ARA) - It's not just coincidence that the floor covering of choice for more
than 70 percent of the floor surfaces in the United States is carpet. There are
many inherent features that make carpet the best choice, but perhaps the most
understated of all its benefits is the fact nothing quite says "inviting' in a
home, workplace or schoolroom like carpet does.
Choosing carpet as a floor covering provides warmth, beauty and sound
absorption, not to mention the numerous safety benefits derived from it. The
visual beauty and comfortable, home-like, atmosphere it creates continue to make
carpet the most popular of surfaces, with almost 2 billion square yards sold
annually.
Have you ever gotten out of bed in the morning and stepped on a cold floor? If
so, then you know how nice it is to step onto carpet. It provides the warmth
your bare feet seek. Also, carpet helps insulate your home, and works to
maintain a warm atmosphere during the winter months. Physically, the pile
construction of carpet is a very efficient thermal insulator, reducing energy
consumption for heat and air conditioning. The surface temperature of carpet is
substantially higher than that of hard surfaces, thus reducing coldness at foot
and ankle levels.
It used to be carpet was commonly associated with the residential sector, with
wall-to-wall carpeting blanketing homes during the 1970s. Today, not only have
those carpets gotten more durable and aesthetically pleasing to the eye through
a myriad of designs and colours, but they've also branched out to take the same
warm and comfortable atmosphere virtually everywhere.
Businesses, schools and healthcare facilities have all jumped on the carpet
bandwagon touting the many benefits the floor covering provides. The bottom
line, though: It just feels better.
Businesses are finding it's not enough to get people into their stores, it is
essential to keep them there for a longer period of time. The comfort of carpet
on the foot, and the home-like atmosphere it creates provides just the right
motivation. The softness of carpet also can contribute to employee productivity
and comfort, and provides a quieter atmosphere as well as a reduction of
liability from slips and falls.
It is also being used more and more in patient rooms and nurseries in healthcare
facilities (for the warmth and feeling of home), and almost exclusively in
elementary and pre-school classrooms in education facilities.
Carpet as a floor covering choice in nursing homes and assisted-living
residences are increasing in popularity. As a result of increased competition,
these facilities are making even greater efforts to provide a pleasant
atmosphere more like a home environment for patients and visitors. Carpet is a
floor covering material that provides visual enhancement in addition to a
variety of functional benefits. Carpet in all healthcare facilities represents a
market estimated to be more than 22 million square yards annually, and it is
growing.
The prestige that carpet lends to any nursing facility is widely recognized. The
sophistication of carpet dramatically enhances the feeling of quality and
comfort in interior design and has the ability to "deinstitutionalize" a
building. The atmosphere improves both patient attitudes and staff morale.
Soft floor coverings are highly effective in controlling noise, by reducing
ambient sound and surface noise up to 70 percent and reducing impact sound
transmission from floor to floor. Carpet with attached cushion, or with a
separate cushion, controls noise even more than uncushioned carpet attached
directly to the floor. In actuality, the cost of carpet should be compared to
the costs of other flooring materials plus an equivalent acoustical treatment,
to appreciate this aspect of its total value.
Wet or polished areas are a major contributing factor to most indoor "slip and
fall" injuries. By contrast, carpet reduces the incidence of falls and cushions
any falls that do occur. This ability to cushion falls and reduce serious
injuries means savings in patient comfort, medical costs, workman's compensation
cases, and insurance claims. Carpet also reduces reflected glare, minimizing the
patients' disorientation, and reduces the staffs' leg fatigue associated with
walking on hard surfaces, therefore, increasing productivity.
Today's American population is focused on creating a work and leisure
environment that is more comfortable and safe for human activity. Carpet's
inherent benefits are factors that provide answers to these needs. The softness
and cushioning nature of carpet is ideal for family activity, whether it is the
first steps of a toddler, the deliberate steps of a grandparent, the hurried
steps of a busy adult or teenager, or the many steps of the homemaker.
Courtesy of ARA Content |
