hardwood floors or carpet

**craftypam** · 03-29-2011, 01:13 PM

Thank you all for your responses. I never wanted hardwood because of it being cold in the winter on your feet; but I was talking to dil and she was talking about all the stuff that stays in carpet and that is what changed my mind.

And what you said Libby about it being warm to have carpet is why I will carpet my livingroom and family room again.

**Donna Newearth** · 03-29-2011, 08:59 PM

Wood - hands down. Beautiful and cleaner - when we had carpet, I never felt like they were really clean.

**frugalfranny** · 03-30-2011, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by craftypam

Thank you all for your responses. I never wanted hardwood because of it being cold in the winter on your feet; but I was talking to dil and she was talking about all the stuff that stays in carpet and that is what changed my mind.

And what you said Libby about it being warm to have carpet is why I will carpet my livingroom and family room again.

But you can always put down a room size rug.

If you have any pets the wood is better for cleaning.

I can't wait to pull up the rest of my carpet this spring.......horrible for allergies and I just cringe when I think of what must be 'lurking' in it.

Will do a room size that isn't in the traffic pattern.

**Lynn4** · 04-10-2011, 12:22 AM

For those who might be interested in something different from the traditional wall-to-wall carpet, I found a product that I just love--"Flor" tiles. They are different from carpet tiles I have seen at home improvement centers. The tiles have a backing but not a pad in the traditional sense. You can customize/configure to your space-you can cut them yourself. Flor offers a huge variety of colors and textures--not cheap though, I spent about 1k on a berber style for my 16.5' x 18.5" family room. And if you have to pay shipping (sometimes they have free ship codes, or a local shop call order them for you free of shipping charges) they are heavy and can add to the cost.

The tiles I have (and I have a variety of styles and compositions) clean up wonderfully with my carpet cleaner machine and dry fast. If you have a stained or damaged tile, you can swap it (i.e. take one from another place in the room, like under furniture). You can also pull it up if you have an accident where rinsing before cleaning would be desirable. These tiles don't stick to the floor, they stick to one another with the adhesive circles provided. They claim most to be low VOC and 90% are US made. The ones I got for my kitchen were made in Holland--doesn't surprise me as I bought carpet tiles for our apartment in Germany over 25 years ago.

I would never have put carpet in a bathroom, but you can put Flor in the bathroom and kitchen. I picked a (nylon) tile for my kitchen that is dry in no time after using my carpet cleaning machine. Many years ago I had washable/shakable area rugs in the kitchen. I prefer Flor tiles as they are heavy and don't get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner. We don't wear shoes in the house, but we have a dog--so I have to be able to clean my rugs and have rugs so my dog doesn't slip around on our hard surfaces.

One tip I would have is to buy extra adhesive dots. Once a tile is pulled up, it won't necessary stick very well when you put it back down. Other than that, I have no complaints.

**daylily** · 04-10-2011, 07:39 AM

We had carpet in the mobile home we lived in and also in our travel trailer that we spent 15 years living in. We all hated the carpet. It was impossible for us to keep clean and was a constant worry that something was going to be spilled on it, etc. Some of us also have dust allergies. When we built our new house, we lived on the Advantec subflooring for a couple of years until we had the money to put down the hardwood. It is SO much easier to take care of.

My cousin is an expert housekeeper. DH helped her DH take up the carpet and put down pre-finished hardwood. She was mortified at all the dirt under her carpet. DH told her not to feel badly; thats what it looks like under every carpet. The dirt just goes through it to the floor underneath.

**mndtrp** · 04-10-2011, 05:53 PM

It seems like one of the first things people do, when they get hardwood floors, is put a giant rug down. I don't see the point. My wife and I both prefer carpet, except in bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms. If we had a foyer or mud room, that would be some sort of hard flooring as well.