Do all carpets just go flat and look awful?

[Guilty87]

I've had my carpet down for a year throughout the house and all the bits that have high traffic, such as beside the beds and landing are just all trampled down and have gone all flat and worn down compared to the lovely non traffic bits which look like new still. It looks awful and I now have to put rugs down to cover it. Is this just the way all carpets go? Even expensive ones?

No, did you buy a decent one, with good under lay? Vacuum regularly? After a year I wouldnt expect particularly flattened bits as you describe.

What's the carpet made of?

It has underlay

I'm hoping someone with good knowledge on this matter comes along.

What's the carpet made of? Synthetic pile flattens in a way wool or wool blend doesn't.

long pile looks worse than short.

It sounds like you bought a longer pile in which the fibres have started to mesh together and flatten. Ask me how I know...we had to replace ours, I couldn't look at it anymore, and went for a dense short pile specifically designed for high traffic areas and it's so much better.

I’ve had my lounge carpet with a short pile for 5 years and it still looks pretty new. Went for a slightly longer pile for the stairs, landing & bedrooms and after 6 months they are as you have described. Short pile only in future.

No, but it needs to be really good quality with a high pile count preferably with some wool in it.
Your local carpet shop will be able to advise.

Annoyingly, no. We have a horrible coloured one in our hall which we’d love to change but cannot justify the expense of doing so and the thing just bloody will not stop looking new. It’s been nearly 20 years now. The colour is actually quite fashionable again now - still don’t like it. When the baby (now doing GCSEs) started crawling I hired a rug doctor and this carpet stank of wet wool when cleaned. It’s obviously a very good one. Unfortunately.

The quality of the underlay also makes a massive difference

Certain types of carpet aren’t suitable for high traffic areas. If you don’t have much of a budget loop pile carpets tend to wear well

If you go for a good quality twist pile it shouldn't flatten as the fibres are shorter than a saxony.. I would say majority of thick saxony piles will flatten over time.

I think you have to pay a lot for a v good quality carpet for this not to happen.
I've had 2 houses re-carpeted - the first just a pretty cheap short pile one in the sale - went flat within 6 months.
The second, 2 years ago, a medium to good quality wool looped one - and that's beginning to look worn in high traffic areas now, sadly. The stairs particularly.

Do you have a carpet rake? That was my household job as a child!

We were advised to go for a short pile, and that has worked well.