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Hardly.
Have some insulating value- yes. Even a little better with pad.
Can you tell the difference under foot? Oh, Hell yeah!
Had a H/O that did their own carpet (in the business)- did almost all wool.
She insisted I feel/experience it without shoes- if you can afford it, you won't be disappointed.
A good wool carpet is going to cost you a pretty penny but it will also last a long long time if you keep it vacuumed and dry. Also wool does attract moths and carpet beetles but I believe that the wool used by most carpet and rug manufacturers is treated with an insecticide. About 2 years ago one of my friends had beautiful patterned black wool runners installed on two of her stairways and it cost her $10,000.
Wool is a natural product and even when highly processed / treated still can attract unwanted insects. If your climate is such that insects are a known issue I would not recommend wool.
Wool, even when treated, is much more susceptible to stains and stretching / shrinking.
The pluses to wool are superior "foot feel" and generally a greater density so that "acoustic properties" are enhanced even with similar pad / underlayment.
The cost advantage of even the most luxurious synthetics is substantial -- both for material and even in many cases for installation, wool tends to be heavier and have a bit more waste than synthetics as good installers will need a bit more wool carpet than synthetic for seaming and corner trim...
Finally if your home is NOT an "upper brackets" type luxury residence I would be very reluctant to use wool carpet -- many buyers in the more mainstream price categories will NOT appreciate the cost and frankly may even be turned off by the maintenance. Folks that like to pick up a rental shampoo unit from the grocery will ruin a wool carpet....
LOVE WOOL CARPET! if you are going to be in your house for 10+ years, totally worth the investment (imho).
My two experiences:
My mother-in-law had wool carpet -- I think a broadloom -- in her living room and on the stairs. It maintained its color and softness for years and years and years. (35-40 years or so??). She was fanatic about not allowing liquids anywhere near it and your shoes/feet had better be clean before walking on it...And she had to install linoleum near the front door where people came in with wet feet -- which ruined the look at bit (imho) in the living room but apparently the carpet had gotten destroyed by folks coming in/out over the first 5 years so the carpet was ripped up in that area and a landing of linoleum was installed.
We had a wool berber in a cape cod house when we lived in CT -- no idea how old it was, but we lived there 10 years and the carpet on the stairs and the living/dining room were as gorgeous as when we moved in. The thing wore like a dream and never stained (despite new england weather and snow!). It was soft on the feet. Never stained despite spills -- we just blotted quickly. I never had the carpet 'cleaned' so cannot speak to that.
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) the bedroom is a low-traffic area, the wool carpet should last a long time.
Climate??? Price point of home??
