Carpet vs Hardwood floors in living room

[kellia]

We bought our house 10 years ago and put in new carpet before we moved in. However, the beige carpet in the living room is starting to look pretty sad and there are a few little spots here and there that I can't get out. Our house was built in the early 60's, so it has nice hardwood floors underneath. When we briefly saw them before we had the new carpet installed, it looked like they were in good condition and would be pretty easy to sand and stain. (Dh has done it before.)

I really don't want to pay for new carpet right now, so I was thinking we'd refinish the wood floors. However, I've always have had homes with carpet. I'm worried about it being cold and noisy or hard to keep clean.

What are the pros/cons of having wood floor vs carpet? We have 3 kids and a dog.

 

[mjkacmom]

We have a large area rug, and hardwood floors in our downstairs. Most people I know have the same. I still vacuum, and either mop or swiffer the wood (most is covered by the rug). The best part? With 5 kids and a dog, once the rug starts looking a little sad, I can just get another one. I personally like the look of wood over carpet - carpet seems dated, like wallpaper.

 

[LJSquishy]

Go with the hardwoods and buy an area rug! I love having hardwoods downstairs and it really makes you realize how dirty carpet is.

 

[Jenny3]

I would go with the hardwood - provided it is a true hardwood and not a subfloor. Our house was built in 1935; we uncovered the carpets years ago and were thrilled to see hardwood underneath. However, our floors were pine - which is a very soft wood. Our 2 dogs and the kids tore it up big time. We ended up putting a very high end laminate wood flooring over it, with a super thick pad. Much more durable and it looks great!

 

[elaine amj]

Our house was entirely carpeted when we bought it. Over the years, we gradually stripped the carpet until now we are completely carpetless. I LOVE it!!

Most important to me - it is world's easier to clean. We sweep daily and its so much easier to grab a broom and dustpan than a pesky vacuum. Kid spill? Grab the broom. Wet spill? A rag will do the job in seconds. Dog hair? A quick sweep/swiffer. No more spots and stained carpets FOREVER! We mop once a week.

Oh most people prefer swiffers and such. I happen to like a really good quality broom. Grabs a whole lot more stuff a whole lot quicker and easier than a swiffer IMO. The key is a good quality angled broom - not the cheap ones. I also use a long handled dustpan (currently can only find it in our dollar store!). love it because I don't have to stoop. Much faster and easier too.

We don't find it cold and we are barefoot year round as we are not slipper fans. Even my rugs are bamboo mats - more to protect our hardwood. I never touch my vacuum anymore unless I have to vacuum our cars.

As for noisy, yes - it was noisier in our basement after we switched to laminate there. I just put up with it. It's so worth it for me to give up the carpet. I suppose we can always just put out a large area rug. But then I would have to vacuum - and that's a big no-no now LOL.

 

[jgreco]

Carpet to me is just gross. People's dirty feet or shoes walking around on top of "fabric", just makes no sense. When I think about all the things that could be lurking in it besides chemicals... bugs, skin flakes, mold, pollen, dander, boogers, lol. I don't think you can ever get it truly clean enough.

When we bought our house, the whole family had issues with allergies, ripped the carpet up and problem solved. The carpet was only a few years old.

 

[bianca]

We have over 2000 sq ft of wood floors and marble in the baths. All of it upon purchase of the house was carpeted. We would never go back to carpet, although we do have rugs in some of the rooms. Yes.....it is slightly more noisy than before, but with 4 tiny dogs and 3 full grown kids, it definitely works for us. My cleaning item of choice is the Swiffer re-chargeable vacuum, as it dusts and vacuums at same time. I'm on my fourth one now.......it gets a lot of use.

 

[jd4nati]

Another vote for hardwood floors. After we pulled up the carpet my allergies just about disappeared and my daughters' asthma improved dramatically. We put in the hardwoods for aesthetic reasons but they had health benefits too!