Why Choose Carpets Over Other Flooring Methods

You have probably heard a lot recently about homeowners who pull up their carpet and replace with flooring such as hardwood or some other material. It might be a matter of just preference on one hand but on the other hand maybe these owners just do not know the advantages of carpet over the other material. Think carefully before you make a mistake in tearing up your carpet.

The obvious advantage of carpet is that it makes your home look really beautiful if it is color coordinated with your furniture. You can get carpet in many colors to suit your taste. But not only does it look good but it is soft when you walk on it. Most of us take off our shoes in the comfort of our homes so carpet is really comfortable. With carpet you can lie on the floor and watch television or just play with the pets and kids.

Another advantage carpet has over hard flooring is the acoustic features of it. With carpet, you can speak in normal tones and all unwanted noises are absorbed in it. Try holding a class with students on a basketball gym floor sometime and you will hear the problem right away.

Carpet insulates whereas hard flooring does not. If you live in cold climates you will immediately feel the difference if you get out of bed in the morning onto a hardwood floor. Carpet insulates the floors from the cold foundation beneath.

Then there is just the safety factor to carpet. Carpet provides a good firm footing on the floor. There is no risk of slipping on a spill and tumbling over. If you have toddlers running around the house there is no risk of them slipping and risking getting injured. Kids can run around on carpet which they will do no matter if it is a carpet or hard surface floor—but they are much safer on carpet. And there is nothing worse than a senior taking a fall on a slippery floor but with carpet the risk is minimized.

Carpet is much easier to maintain too. Hard surface floors basically have to be cleaned and swept every day. If you live in dusty desert climates, that sand grit will show up on your hard surface floor each time the wind blows which is quite common in the southwestern United States. With carpet, you can wait a couple of days between vacuuming. That’s not to say that the same amount of dirt is not there but it is not so critical to clean right away as would be the case with a hard surface floor. You only need to vacuum maybe twice a week with carpet whereas with hardwood floors almost daily cleaning is required.

So don’t rip up that carpet just yet. Stop and consider what you are missing out on if you do.

Next article: A Guide to Buying High Traffic Areas Carpet