Hardwood versus carpet

[Sal_M]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

I used to be team hardwood. Or even higher quality laminate.

But now, having a home with that. I've jumped on over to team carpet.

I prefer the quiet, warmth, and peaceful atmosphere that carpet provides.

Without carpet, the home is more loud, harder to walk on (as you get older, you'll feel it in your feet, ankles, knees, back), slippery at times, and the dust is everywhere. I am constantly cleaning the floors. With carpet we vacuum once or twice a week and then have them professionally cleaned once a year (we have pets and kids).

Also, we tried to solve the loud/hard/cold issue by putting down area rugs. So now we deal with potential stains/dirt trapped in the area rugs AND we have all the dust and dirt that flies around on the hardwood area of the floors. Also we have had people and kids trip over the edge of the rugs, which isn't very fun.

I really miss the wall to wall carpet.

Agree 100%. I have hardwoods down and have all the complaints you mentioned. I have refuse to have them installed on the stairs and in the bedrooms. With kids I could never tolerate the noise and I like carpet in my bedroom.

[OrganicSmallHome]

The main problem with wall-to-wall carpet is that it's full of dangerous chemicals that off-gas into your home for years. It's dangerous for everyone, but especially for small children and pets: New Carpet Installation Presents Complex Health Issues

In addition, carpet retains bacteria and dirt that you can't see.

It's much healthier to have hardwoods with area rugs. You do, however, have to be careful with new area rugs, as well. There are a couple of alternatives:

1) If you like the wall-to-wall look, I'd highly recommend looking into using FLOR carpet tiles, which are eco-friendly and extremely durable. The owner of the company, who passed away a few years ago, had an epiphany and committed to completely greening his company: FLOR modular carpet tiles - Create unique, eco-friendly area rugs, runners & wall-to-wall designs

Also, here's a talk he gave on Ted.com: https://www.ted.com/talks/ray_anders...ty?language=en

2) Alternatively, there is Karastan's new eco-friendly wall-to-wall carpet line,SmartStrand: Karastan - Fine Carpets and Rugs - Since 1928

3) If you go with area rugs, you might want to look into Karastan's new "Spice Market" line of rugs, made from recycled plastic bottles: https://www.ted.com/talks/ray_anders...ty?language=en

The colors are more muted than they appear in the photos. I just bought two for my home and there is no off-gassing whatsoever. They are the next best thing to 100% hand-knotted wool orientals.

[rory breaker]

Carpet sucks, hardwood much better, put a rug down if you don't like it.

Now, as others have said, that's just my 2c - it's your house, do what you want. If you love carpet, get it and enjoy it. Life's too short.

[Bpobill]

I just put site finished wood in my entire home besides laundry and bathrooms. I do not miss carpet at all.