With so many fiber options on the market, why should I choose wool for my Floors or Area Rug? While it is true that there are many synthetic yarn fibers that will suffice for your home design needs, the reason becomes somewhat clear when you keep in mind that all man made fibers are basically “Plastic” and that means that they are not as environmentally friendly as wool. Wool is a 100 percent natural fiber that is made from the fleece of a sheep. Most good quality wools that are used to make rugs in the far-east and middle-east are now imported from New Zealand. If you care about such things, Australian wool has had a bad name for quite some time now because of their shearing techniques and the deliberate harm it does to the animal. I won’t go into the graphic details for this article as I am merely making a comparison of wool vs. man-made products. So the first positive for using wool for your rug choice is that it is a natural and environmentally friendly fiber.
    When we compare wool to other natural fibers we also find some distinct advantages. Cotton rugs a fine for low traffic areas that are not susceptible to stains. Cotton does not resist stains the way that wool does (more about this in a moment) and has a tendency to pack down or flatten out in high traffic areas. Some types of cotton rugs are handy though. If you have a small, low, tight pile cotton rug without a secondary backing on it, it can just be washed in the washing machine. Or hand washed and pinned on the clothes line to dry. But for larger area rugs this is not exactly practical.
    Wool is the king of natural fibers when it comes to stains. The natural oils in the fleece itself naturally repel staining. That is not to say that is stain proof, no fiber is stain proof. However it is more resistant to stains than other natural fibers and this is due to those naturals oils such as lanolin, cholesterin and keratin. Lanolin and cholesterin help naturally repel stains to the fibers of a rug and keratin is the natural preening oil that is found on bird feathers that keep them dry when it rains and also inhibit the growth of microbes and fungus. Nevertheless some people are allergic to wool so if you have found this to be true of yourself, a wool rug, of course would not be the best product for you.
    Wool is also highly resistant to crushing or flattening. That makes it a great rug to use in high traffic areas in your home. Most inexpensive rugs are made from synthetic fibers like olefin or polyester and these rugs will crush down in just a short amount of time. The most popular rug for bathrooms is the fuzzy, polyester rug with a latex backing. This particular rug is a crime against nature. They do not last long, they are horrible to try to vacuum (if you have to get down on the floor and pick out the dirt and lint from your rug with tweezers… Well, most of you know what I am saying). You gain no advantage if you constantly have to buy new cheap rugs to replace the crushed ones you already have. Then we have to contend with the latex backing which (some will say) was designed with your safety in mind, to keep the rug from sliding around in a wet environment. But there is a trade-off. This same latex does not allow your floor under the rug to breathe. I have seen many, many expensive floors ruined because someone put a cheap latex-backed rug on top of them. This is the same rug that they thought would help save the expensive flooring. Spend that little bit extra to get a wool rug with a standard backing or no backing at all and you will have a rug that holds its shape and looks good for a longer period of time.
    So there you have my opinion on why wool is better. It is natural. It resists staining. And will hold up to the traffic of a busy household far better than most other fiber choices for a long time to come.