7 Secrets on how to keep your carpet beautiful. #5: Understand your carpet warranty.
Although the warranty is used as a selling point, some carpet stores don’t readily give information on carpet warranties. You have to ask for it. Read the fine print. Most carpet manufacturer’s warranties are the same. Here are a few excerpts from some of the biggest carpet manufacturers:
Trustmark (A division of Shaw, the world’s biggest carpet mill): Exclusions in warranty: “Matting and crushing, or any change in appearance retention, are not manufacturing defects and are excluded from this warranty.” “Carpet installed outdoors, on stairs, or in areas subject to other than ordinary shoe traffic is excluded from this warranty.” “Trustmark warranties that carpet will not exhibit significant loss of texture from foot traffic for a period of five years.”
Shaw Industries will replace a percentage of your carpet cost for up to 10 years. At nine years, they would pay 20%. They will only cover “manufacturing defect in the material or workmanship.” In other words, the warranty does not cover normal wear.
Dupont Stainmaster Limited Five Year Stain Resistance Warranty: “No carpet is fully stainproof. Therefore, this warranty excludes stains from: 1-non-food and non beverage substances; 2-such foods and beverages that contain strongly colored natural substantive dyes as found, for example, in mustard and herbal tea; 3-substances which destroy or change the color of carpets such as bleaches, acne medications, drain cleaners, plant food; 4-vomit, urin and feces.”
Most warranties exclude any pet contamination as well as pile distortion from wear. So, it is up to you to keep your carpet in good appearance.
Be aware that some manufacturers require a yearly professional carpet cleaning to keep the warranty valid. If you get a carpet with a 20 year warranty, maintenance is still required.