What flooring for the second floor? (vinyl, hardwood, tile, stairs)

[Drouzin]

We're looking at a 2 story house that is all ceramic tile on the first floor, (not a bad thing in hot/humid LA. The second floor is unfinished so it is all plywood. We really don't want carpet, (pets), so what do we put down? Any suggestions or opinions?

[Rowen]

The first thought I had was bamboo flooring but I've read mixed reviews on their durabilty even the ones with finishes that are advertised as being pet friendly. Reviews are mixed but people reported scratching even with the more durable finishes.

Hardwoods are always nice but if you do this you have to make sure to put three coats of polyurethane on top to protect it.

[gigimac]

You can get vinyl flooring to look like pretty much any surface, and if you will buy Skid Safe floor protector, it will minimize slipping, altho vinyl slips less than, say, linoleum. But you could continue the same ceramic tile as you have downstairs, and apply the Skid Safe stuff on it, too, if it tends to be slippery when new. Pets have a really hard time with some surfaces, as do people. When dogs are young, not so much, but inevitably as they age, it can become a major problem for falling. You know, you COULD get carpet tile, and that way if a pet boogers it up, as long as you keep a healthy stack in a closet of exactly what you put down upstairs, you simply pull up the destroyed tile, clean underneath as needed with bleach or whatever cleaner you prefer for pet stains, and put down some new pieces of tile. Of course, in bathrooms, you could just put vinyl or the same stuff as downstairs.

Now, despite my best advice, I can tell you that we as a family simply MUST have carpet, it's easy to clean and soft on the feet, so since we have dogs, we have a vacuum that also washes rugs, and we use that to get accidents up, and as a general washing every few years. You can use a baking soda with water and favorite scent as a cleaner, to avoid strange odors from typical carpet cleaners. I know another trick that works pretty well with pet stains, and that's to pour club soda on the area, then blot it up with a big fluffy towel, draws up the liquit stuff very well. But now, with doo-doo, it really does take a washing, and I think those Spot Bot vacuums are good for those.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by gigimac

Now, despite my best advice, I can tell you that we as a family simply MUST have carpet, it's easy to clean and soft on the feet, so since we have dogs, we have a vacuum that also washes rugs, and we use that to get accidents up, and as a general washing every few years.

You think it's easy to clean until you see what's under it (anc comes out of it) when it's ripped out. It's just disgusting how much dirt is trapped in carpeting, even carpets that are vacuumed daily. For me, an alternate solution for a soft feel is to have hard surface floors and area rugs that can be throughly cleaned (truly washed) or easily replaced. Area rugs are also better for people who have allergies.

[gigimac]

All the more reason to have a washing vacuum cleaner if you have rugs!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by gigimac

All the more reason to have a washing vacuum cleaner if you have rugs!

That doesn't get carpet truly cleaned. As a matter of fact, the moisture from a washing vacuum cleaner contributes more mold to the carpet.

You'll see when you replace your carpeting. It's difficult to appreciate how disgusting it is until you've seen what's under carpeting after it's torn out.

[gigimac]

HOPES, you are entitled to your likes and dislikes. I have seen carpeting after it's been torn out, I've seen the underside of these area rugs you mention when I wash the ones in the kitchen, I have no delusions of what might be in a carpet. But not everyone is a fan of the latest style of hardwoods. Lots of people love wall-to-wall and I am one of them. AND if you'll notice, since this IS a thread about what flooring someone ELSE besides us is interested in, I need emphasize to you that I only mentioned carpet at the end of a post I made about getting vinyl being the best bet, and THEN I talked about rugs in relation to my family's preference. In other words, my reference to carpet was made as a secondary sort of piece of information, not my main advice.

Now, you've said wall-to-wall is "disgusting" twice, so you've abundantly made your point, and I don't plan to take your comments personally, but frankly you would better spend your time offering some sort of advice to the original poster instead of jumping all into my preference for rugs. I know, you said "hard surface floors" as advice, which was a generalization in order to pursue your rather strong disagreement with carpets. Look, plenty of people love wall-to-wall, especially on a second floor in the bedrooms [Carpet & Rug Inst. - more than six out of ten U.S. households prefer wall-to-wall over other flooring] and also in family rooms for children to play on, just like plenty of people like your "hard surface floors." So, accept that not everyone shares the same opinions and instead help the original poster. You may think you are, by tearing down someone else's thoughts about another type of flooring, but I stand by exactly what I said because it is a preference I have, which I made very clear in my post, and MY carpets are clean, so it's not an impossible choice. GG

[nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You think it's easy to clean until you see what's under it (anc comes out of it) when it's ripped out. It's just disgusting how much dirt is trapped in carpeting, even carpets that are vacuumed daily. For me, an alternate solution for a soft feel is to have hard surface floors and area rugs that can be throughly cleaned (truly washed) or easily replaced. Area rugs are also better for people who have allergies.

I so agree with you.

Actually the invention of wall to wall carpeting, (while yes, soft on your feet), is really disgusting and unsanitary. It's like having something nailed to the floor that gets walked on by people and pets, yet can't be pulled up and put in the washing machine.....

At least an area rug after a few years, you just chuck it.

A vacuum will get the top layer of dust off of it, and of course lint. But in reality, it really isn't clean.



I am all for wood floors, because if you really want carpeting, you can get big area rugs.

[Priscilla151]

I like carpeting in my bedrooms. We live where it is cold. Love waking up and not putting my feet on a cold floor. We don't eat in our bedrooms. By the time we get up to the bedroom our shoes are off. Anything that gets in the carpet is just dust. I use an I Robot turn it on and it goes ( it isn't a plush carpet) and a big vacuum once a week. I'm not sleeping on the carpet I'm walking on it. Problem is most people keep their carpet too long. If you are finding the dirt under the carpet it is because your carpet is old and deteriorating it isn't your dirt that isn't getting picked up by the vacuum. Most modern carpet has a type of backing on the carpeting it can't get through. A good vacuum and professional cleaning is all that is needed. If you have dirt on top of the carpet you either don't vacuum enough, or don't have a good enough vacuum or you live like pigs. My son just picked up his carpeting in a family room. He has it steamed clean once a year there wasn't any dirt. In the old days they use to have jute back dirt could get through and the type of pad crumbled and fell apart after years. That isn't the case any more.
Carpet gets a bad rap. Done my research......
Love it my bedrooms, had it in family room but no longer because my daughter visits with two dogs.. carpet and dogs not good for me so we put laminate, miss the carpeting in family room, like to lay on the floor by the fire place and have grandbabies playing on carpeting, when the dogs are gone will get carpet again. Hardwood in most of the rest of the house.
Just my opinion.

[Priscilla151]

Just wanted to add. Most area rugs do not have the same backing as wall to wall carpeting so dust and dirt can can work it's way through. So you can't necessarily compare what you find under an area rug as with what you find under wall to wall carpeting.