Many physical exercise devices advertised on television employ casters or wheels. In one of the advertisements, the person demonstrating the device rolls it back and forth over carpeting in the exercising process.

The rolling of wheels or casters of any type or size, (from desk chairs to wheelchairs), over carpeting significantly increases the wear and tear within the carpet fibers due to the fact that casters are usually hard plastic and wheels have treads. The added friction from the wheels or casters increases the abrasiveness of gritty soils contained inside the carpet thus wearing out carpet fibers sooner than normal.

Additionally the rolling effect of wheels or casters produces a rippling effect in the carpet backing. In time, repeating this practice will cause the backing layers to separate (delamination); delamination results in a bubbled or rippled appearance to the carpet area in question. Effectively delamination ruins the carpeting.

Delamination occurs normally as carpet ages, especially in high traffic pivot points such as the entry ways into bathrooms and bedrooms or on the mid-landing of staircases. The twisting action of the foot on the carpet produces the same effect as a caster or wheels however it takes many years to do so.

When wheels are unavoidable, the carpeting should be not be installed over pad but glued directly to the sub-floor. As such plush or cut-pile carpet would not be the best choice in these areas. Wheel chair persons should strongly consider hard surface flooring throughout.

Of course, with desk chairs, the problem can be eliminated by simply placing a desk-chair pad between the chair and the carpeting but this option is not without a downside. The downside is two-fold.

(A) The plastic mats create an electrostatic charge which is transmitted into the surrounding carpet fibers which in turn attracts and holds dust particles and other debris. Vacuum cleaners also create a static charge so unless the mat is lifted and thoroughly vacuumed twice a week a black outline begins to appear around the edge of the chair mat. Breaking this static charge is not easy as such prolonged use of chair mats will create a permanent black outline.

(B) The fact that a flat item is placed upon the carpet (for extended periods of time) will not allow air to pass through/over the carpet fibers. When the chair mat is lifted the result is a piece of carpet that appears brand new compared to the rest of the room. This effect is permanent due to the wear and tear the surrounding carpet receives but also by the naturally occurring air-borne pollutants and sunlight that normally fade carpet dye.

It's a no win situation so it boils down to how quickly you wish to replace your carpeting due to the use and effects of casters and wheels.