(Note: This story appears in the January 2022 issue of ED Magazine)
Comfort and durability are known as the pillars of gentlemen’s club carpet. But as Marsha Mills of Alpha Patterned Carpet explains, the advantages of high-quality carpeting extend to areas beyond the familiar.
Have you ever stopped to look at your carpet — not scouring for stains, spills or trash — but really appreciating what’s underneath your and your patrons’ feet? Have you took the time to consider the many different areas of your club operation that are impacted by your carpeting, outside of the general needs for “comfort and durability”? As you’ll understand after reading our interview with Marsha Mills of Alpha Patterned Carpet, carpet is not simply something you walk on, and certainly not something that should only be considered once every decade.
“The life of the carpet is all in the maintenance such as vacuuming, interim cleaning and deep cleaning,” says Mills. “We offer our customers a suggested cleaning schedule to help ensure their purchase will perform above and beyond expectations.”
Alpha and Mills have long been a mainstay within the gentlemen’s club industry — both as an EXPO Tradeshow exhibitor and as a consistent event sponsor — and offers a vast selection of beautiful and customizable patterns to enhance any club’s décor.
Right now, Alpha’s carpet du jour is their Elegant Lace II. “The name says it all,” says Mills. “It’s elegant with layers of texture to give the design more depth.”
Alas, if your carpet game is lacking, Alpha can not only provide instant results to up your club’s aesthetic, they also have some tips on what makes a good gentlemen’s club carpet. As Mills explains, the best carpeting is made of 100% nylon since it has natural stain-resistant properties.
“Alpha goes the extra mile by adding the Stainless Stain Guard to our products,” says Mills. “Force 5 is a permanent anti-microbial agent added during production. This will help tremendously with odors by blocking the growth of bacteria. We also offer an attached cushion which will add life to your carpet by providing added strength and stability to heavy foot traffic.”
If you’re still wondering what the big deal about carpeting is, consider the fact that it’s one of the first things your customers see, and sense, when they walk into your club.
“Carpeting isn’t just a floor covering,” she says. “It is part of the whole experience that each guest will see and touch. If the carpet is past the ‘expiration date,’ it can make a facility appear unkempt, outdated, tired and dirty.”
“Carpeting isn’t just a floor covering. It is part of the whole experience that each guest will see and touch. If the carpet is past the ‘expiration date,’ it can make a facility appear unkempt, outdated, tired and dirty.” — Marsha Mills
Staying up to date on your carpeting doesn’t just reflect attention to detail, it also shows the markings of a savvy investment.
“By replacing the carpeting, you will show your regular customers and employees you are investing in their experience,” Mills says. “It is the quickest way to update the look and feel of a club without doing a full renovation.
“Also, by adding your club logo to the carpet design, you will receive free marketing every time your customers ‘share’ their club experience on their social media platforms,” Mills adds. “From girl’s night out to bachelorette and birthday parties, your flooring can drive business to you — or even drive it away — by not looking fresh. Carpet is visual and physical. It is an asset.”
Some faithful ED Magazine readers might say, “Sure, I’ve read about the importance of carpet before.” Fair enough. But, while they may be less obvious, there are several more advantages to high-quality carpeting that go beyond the usual suspects of “comfort” and “durability.”
Acoustics
If you recently installed or are planning on investing in an upgraded sound system, wouldn’t it be a shame if your own carpet was sabotaging that effort? Carpeting contributes to the acoustics of any room by acting as a sound absorber, which helps to eliminate echoing. When investing in a sound system for your club there is a lot of testing to ensure you get the best sound quality. Carpet is part of the sound quality experience as well. By absorbing the sound waves and not allowing them to bounce, it helps create a warmer, fuller sound.
“Carpet helps to control ‘sound reverberation,’ the term used to describe the degree to which sound lives on within a room,” says Mills. “Reverberant rooms are generally noisy and ‘echoey’ places where speech communication is difficult (think of the congregation spot bars usually are). By adding carpet, you’ve also helped to enhance the sound in your venue and created an environment where it’s much easier for customers, entertainers and wait staff to converse.”
Reverberant rooms are generally noisy and ‘echoey’ places where speech communication is difficult. By adding carpet, you’ve also helped to enhance the sound in your venue and created an environment where it’s much easier for customers, entertainers and wait staff to converse. — Marsha Mills
Climate control
Carpet provides excellent insulation value to a space, much more than hard-surface flooring materials. In a study conducted by the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Textile Engineering, results indicated that a thicker carpet provides a higher insulation factor (“R-value”) regardless of the fiber type of the carpet. Reducing heat loss means that carpet can help you save on the costs associated with heating, such as electricity or natural gas. For regions that experience cold winters, this could amount to big cost savings every year.
Health
“There has been a long-running debate about whether carpet aggravates or alleviates health problems such as asthma and allergies,” says Mills. “However, numerous studies over recent years have consistently shown that carpet is actually more beneficial than hard-surface floors for those with breathing difficulty.”
How so? Carpet traps airborne particles and viruses which allows for cleaner air quality. By trapping the viruses, the molecules will die which will keep them from spreading. Hard-surface areas allow particles to stay airborne which can lead to the spread of infections or allergies.
A healthy carpet doesn’t just help improve your club’s air quality, it can also have a sizable impact on the feet, legs and back of your club’s staff and entertainers.
“Have you ever noticed that after a period of time spent standing or walking on ceramic tiles or concrete, your body is sore and achy?” Mills asks. “Hard surfaces are just that: hard. They offer no flexibility underfoot, so they lack the ability to act as shock absorbers for your footsteps. So what does this mean? Basically, it means that as you walk across a hard surface floor, your body gets a bit of a jolt each time you take a step because your body absorbs the force of your impact, rather than the floor.”
For more information, visit alphapatternedcarpet.com.
