Pile carpets have a surface made from pile fibers or yarns. Depending on manufacture, these can be woven, knitted, needled, knotted, tufted, etc.

Floor coverings without pile have a surface made of textiles without pile and can be woven, knitted, needled, tufted etc. They can also have a backing. The fibers for the manufacture of textile floor coverings may be natural (cotton, wool, jute, flax, sisal), synthetic (polyester, polyamide, polypropylene), or a mixture of both.

The benefits of textile floor coverings are their large choice of colors and patterns, wear resistance, thermal and sound insulation, comfortable walking and their hygienic properties. Disadvantages are electrostatic, colour changes, dimensional stability and cleaning. The quality of textile coverings has a strong influence on all of these. Textile coverings of highest quality have negligible drawbacks. Textile floor coverings may be laid over underfloor heating in thicknesses up to 10 mm (depending on composition).

Textile floor coverings reduce the number of bacteria in the air, because the bacteria accumulate in the textiles and may be easily removed by vacuum cleaner. Recommended are anti-bacteria textile coverings which prevent or kill bacteria. For better resistance to liquids, coverings with low pile are more appropriate.