If you have kids you know that it is nearly impossible to keep your home as clean as you would like. Try as you might to clean up their messes it always seems like a new one pops up in its place. And your carpets? Forget about it! Active children trample dirt, spill liquids and leave their mark on every surface throughout a home. On a hardwood or tile floor dirt, scuffs and spills are fairly easy to clean, but on the carpets throughout your home footprints, snags and traffic tracks are a different story. But fear not, there are numerous kinds of carpets that you can choose from which are better at holding up to the wear and tear of an active lifestyle.

When selecting a carpet it is important to factor in the type of activities that will occur in the room. For a room with heavy traffic and children activities you may consider installing the following styles of carpet:

1. Textured Carpets are very popular styles for families because they are great for all areas of the home. These are cut pile carpet with alternating twists of yarn that create a two-tone appearance. Its textured surface is great at hiding footprints, track marks and vacuum marks.

2. Frieze Carpets are extremely durable and ideal for active areas in your home. The frieze style is also a cut pile with a very high twist level. This means that each strand of yarn is twisted so tightly that it actually curls over at the end. The feature creates a textured and durable surface that will minimize the need for carpet repair.

3. Looped or Berber Carpets are durable due to the fact that the yarn tips are not cut. This makes them ideal for hiding footprints but may not be the best selection if your children play with toys on the carpet because they have a tendency to snag. But, for high traffic areas this carpet is a must have, especially nylon threaded Berber.

Style is not the only element to take into consideration when purchasing a carpet for an active family. You’re will want to select a color that minimizes the appearance of dirt. Having kids you are going to want to the darkest color possible, in order to cover up stains and dirt tracks. At the same time no one really wants a black carpet and you still want something that matches the other elements of your home, so here’s a little trick to help in deciding what color will minimize your necessity for professional carpet cleaning. Get a sampling of carpet swatches and compare them to any existing dirt tracks you have in your house. Once you have a match you should go a shade darker and then you’ll have the optimum color for your home and budget.

Finally, consider soil resistance and cushioning. Many carpets have stain resistance built right in, but that does not mean they are soil resistant. To protect your carpet, you will want to look for carpet brands like Stainmaster, Anso, Wear Dated or Shaw's R2X which are specially designed to resist soil mark.

Not only will your family track dirt through the house but there will probably be a spill or two. You can protect against spills on your carpet with a high quality cushioning and a spill barrier. This will prevent any spills from seeping through to the padding and protect your home from mildew and mold.