Should I Be Concerned About the Carpet Padding I Use? Why?

• Question: I went in to purchase carpet for several rooms in my home, and the salesperson was great, but she was insistent that I choose a particular kind of carpet backing, or padding, I guess. I though carpet padding was carpet padding, that pretty much the same kind of padding was used for all carpets. Is there something I should know about carpet padding?
• Answer: Carpet padding! It’s far more fascinating – and important – than most homeowners know! Getting the right pad for your new carpet can literally make or break your carpet purchase because it’s so critical to how your carpet looks and wears. Carpet padding is a sheet of resilient, soft, cushioning material that goes right underneath the carpet itself. People generally think that carpet padding is what you use to make the carpet more comfortable, but it’s real purpose is to preserve and prolong the life of your carpet! Your carpet padding is what protects your carpet from everything it will have to survive in the course of its lifetime –from the floor underneath, to all the feet, paws, bodies, and furniture that will trek across it from the time you lay it down to the time you rip it up!