Consumers
The right carpet pad can give you a comfortable feel underfoot, and enhance the appearance and long-term quality of your carpet. Carpet installed over Leggett & Platt’s carpet pads will last longer and retain its quality appearance for a longer period of time. While the continuous quality of carpet is evident, the comfort benefits of padding are something that can be felt. See and feel the benefits of Leggett & Platt carpet pads beneath your feet.
FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO A GLOBAL INDUSTRY
Rug-making has been a popular form of art for thousands of years. Middle Eastern countries are well-known for their fine rug-making, including Turkish rugs and Persian carpets. However, it wasn't until the 20th century that people began adding a layer underneath their carpet for comfort and insulation.
As people realized the benefits, carpet pad usage expanded. Early carpet pads were comprised of cattle hair, a byproduct of the leather tanning industry. The resilience and durability of cattle hair made it the popular choice for carpet padding. However, with the increased growth in tufted carpet sales between the 1930’s and 1950’s, cattle hair became scarce. To accommodate this scarcity, the composition of carpet padding changed and became comprised mostly of the jute plant due to its similarity to cattle hair.
By the end of World War II, sponge rubber carpet padding emerged to meet the ever-increasing demands for tufted carpet. This new carpet pad was made out of natural or synthetic rubber substances tire companies developed during the war. Sponge rubber is produced as an elastic mass containing interconnecting cells. The sponge-like effect of the carpet pad is reached by combining blowing agents and rubber, and subjecting them to intense heat.
In recent decades, synthetic fiber carpet pads have seen rapid growth, although they still account for only 5% of the carpet pad industry. Synthetic fiber carpet pads are made using recycled carpet fibers such as nylon, polypropylene, and polyester. These fibers are needle-punched together using a process by which matted layers of synthetic fibers are punched with needles into a scrim and intertwined.
Today, the majority of carpet padding is made of repurposed polyurethane foam. Approximately 700 million pounds of polyurethane foam trim is collected from manufacturers around the word. The trim is shipped to carpet pad manufacturers across the U.S., where it is reused for bonded carpet padding. This makes repurposed polyurethane foam one of the world's most widely recycled materials.
Throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, carpet padding has become more sophisticated. This has allowed performance to improve through new and innovative processes such as DuraPlush® and Rubber XD® technologies. These advancements in carpet padding not only make the home more comfortable, they are designed to insulate and make the home more energy efficient. They can also reduce noise by diminishing airborne sounds, and some feature antimicrobial to inhibit the growth of mold, mildew, and odor-causing bacteria.