If you are about to buy carpet because of some warranty you were told about, or read on the back of a sample, stop and think about the following before you buy.

To begin with warranties have conditions. These conditions are often not explained to the consumer. For example, lets look at the "10 YEAR WEAR WARRANTY" offered by most carpet makers. The salesperson tells you this carpet has a 10 year wear warranty. The conditions of this warranty are rarely mentioned. In this case the conditions often require that you lose 10% of the fiber, and that if you do in fact have an area of the carpet that has lost 10% of its face weight, the mill, under the 10 year warranty, is only obligated to replace that area of the carpet that has lost the 10%.

Another variation on the warranty above is extending it to 20, 25 or even "lifetime" wear warranty. This is usually done by dealers that want to make their product appear of a higher quality than that of their competition. However, their "25 year" product is often found at another dealer under a different name and really only carries a 10 year wear warranty from the mill.

A second popular warranty is the "STAIN WARRANTY". The newest stain warranty is from the Stainmaster people. This warranty is no longer covered by DuPont, but by Invista (the company DuPont sold their fiber division to). On the surface this sounds too good to be true. Invista, however is the first to tell you no carpet is STAIN PROOF! Also, this warranty excludes stains from:

a) Non food and non beverage items i.e. your cat pukes on your carpet; No Warranty.

b) Certain foods and beverages that contain strongly colored natural substantive dyes as found in mustard or herbal tea, No Warranty.

c) Substances that destroy or change the color of carpet i.e. bleaches, acne medications, drain cleaners, and plant food, No Warranty.

d) Vomit, urine and feces, No Warranty.

Invista further limits the stain warranty by stating that "there can be some slight loss of stain resistance in high-traffic areas such as stairs (and hallways, in front of doors). The warranty excludes any residual stains that my occur in those areas. " Invista also wants you, the consumer, to only clean the carpet using certain procedures, and if unsuccessful in removing the stain, to call a professional cleaner. If the professional cleaner cannot remove the stain, and it did not fit into the limits above, then, and only then, will Invista consider your claim under their stain warranty. Be sure to have that receipt from that professional carpet cleaner handy because you only have thirty days from the date of the cleaning to contact Invista.

A third popular warranty is what is touted as the "NO CRUSH, NO MAT WARRANTY". If you read the fine print, what they are really talking about is texture retention. If your carpet has this warranty then it is most likely better constructed than many other carpets without it. However, like all carpet warranties, this one too is limited. You must maintain your carpet by having it professionally cleaned every eighteen to twenty-four months, and stairs are expressly excluded from this warranty. Furthermore, the twist level in the fiber is what determines if the texture is damaged enough to warrant replacement.

When you shop don't be misled by the warranties. In general, the more you pay for a carpet, the longer it will wear. Make your buying decision based on your faith in your carpet dealer; not based on warranty claims.

*Invista's warranty was used here as an example. Honeywell (Anso) , BASF, Solutia(Wear Dated), etc. have similar warranties.