Replacement Carpet choices

[RealLifeMama]

Has anyone ever bought carpet?
I know that everywhere we have ever lived, we just had whatever carpet came with the house. Mostly that is just a standard builder grade, no idea what brand, type of fiber, etc.

I was talking to a carpet dealer on the phone and he was recommending to me a kind called Smartstrand by Mohawk as being super stain resistant, but all the reviews I have read say it does not wear well in high traffic.

I used to clean a house with Stainmaster carpet, and it was so nice, but the carpet was only in the bedrooms, and I vacuumed and raked the pile afterwards two times a week.

I am just wanting to get some experiences from lay people. Like I have read on the reviews nylon vs polyester, but I do not know what brands are which. That smartstrand stuff is made from corn sugar! I cringe to think what that is like, actually. Like, would a corn allergic person get sick if they came to my house? :think

[RiverRock]

I'm having Mohawk smart strand (or something similar in their line of options that are derived from corn) installed on Thursday. It comes with a 25 yr. warranty for a good price in current colours so I thought it was a good choice. A couple of things to look for are the number of twists in the strands (so they won't unravel and become a big fuzzy layer on top of your carpet) and the tightness of the weave on the backing of the carpet. I am replacing an 11 yr. old berber that came with a 10 year warranty, and the difference in the weave of the backing is incredible when I compare the two. I hope it wears well, because it is going on stairs, and I've already committed.

I also questioned the allergy thing, but honestly I can't think of anyone I know irl who is allergic to corn. I also like the idea of fewer chemicals offgassing.