Advantages and Disadvantages of Carpet Flooring

Advantages and Disadvantages of Carpet Flooring You Need to Consider!

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of carpet flooring you need to consider before deciding to have carpets installed in your home.

Whether building a new home or renovating your existing home, you may be wondering what type of floor covering to choose. You may want to take a look at carpeting as the floor covering of choice.

Many people love the carpeting in their home, and while carpeting does keep your bare feet warmer on the cold winter mornings than tile or wood and can add a touch of color to an otherwise colorless room.

That being said, there are also some good solid reasons why you may want to forgo carpet flooring in your home.

So, here are some of the pros and cons of carpet flooring you need to consider in deciding if carpeting is the right choice for your home or not.

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Advantages of Carpet Flooring

Carpet Flooring Adds to the Style of Your Home

Carpet can add to the style of your home, whether your home has a more modern formal look, or a warmer and casual style, carpeting can enhance that style and give a room or the entire look of your home the look you have been striving for.

Carpeting adds color, pattern, and texture to any room, office, home or building.

Comfort

If you have spent a good deal of time walking on hardwood or tile floors, you may have noticed that by the end of the day your feet are tired and aching and your knees and even back may ache.

This is because each step you take on a hard surface is constantly jarring on your joints.

Walking on the carpet with the pad underneath cushions your joints, resulting in less jarring and less joint damage and pain.

In addition, sitting or lying on a carpeted floor is much more comfortable than sitting or lying on hardwood or tile.

Warmth

Have you ever stepped out of bed onto a wooden or tile floor and felt the chill? If so then you know that carpet can act as insulation and add warmth to your floor.

Thus, carpet floors can actually reduce heat loss during the colder months of the year, resulting in saving on your utility bills.

Deadens Sound

Homes with carpet flooring are quieter than homes without carpet. That is because carpet deadens many sounds including footfalls.

Homes with carpets are simply quieter than those without carpets, which is especially nice if you have a large family where people are up at all hours of the day and night and sleep on different schedules.

Carpet Flooring is Safer than Wood or Tile Flooring

Carpet is much safer than wood or tile flooring. There are fewer slips and falls than occur on harder flooring.

Moreover, carpet provides some cushioning resulting in less severe injuries when people do fall on carpet flooring.

Relatively Less Expensive

Depending on the type of carpet your purchase, carpeting often costs less than wood or tile floors. However, this may only be a short term benefit because carpets tend to get old and damaged easily. So they need to be changed more often than wood or tile floors, thus adding to the cost.

Disadvantages of Carpet Flooring

Germs

You may not be aware of it, but germs, bacteria and viruses hide in those carpet fibers just waiting to catch you unaware.

All those germs and viruses in your carpet can keep your family members taking turns feeling unwell.

While steam cleaning can kill most of the bacteria and those germs and viruses, it won’t take long before new ones are hiding in your carpet.

Allergens

Carpets are great at collecting dust and pollen and holding it in their fibers. While regular vacuuming can remove much of that dust and pollen, some make their way back into the air where they can be breathed in before they make their way back into your carpet fibers.

If you or someone in your home suffers from allergies, then getting rid of the carpet just may help reduce some of those severe allergic reactions.

Toxic Chemicals

Synthetic carpets and carpet pads are made with toxic chemicals that release fumes into your home.

In addition, the glue that is used on some of these carpets also contains toxic chemicals, all of which you and your family end up breathing in on a daily basis.

While these fumes are not good for anyone’s health, they can be particularly problematic for people with allergies, asthma or other respiratory conditions.

Wear and Tear

Carpet like anything else is subject to wear and tear and high trafficked areas will show wear faster than the rest of your carpeting.

Sand and small stones also work their way into the carpet. And walking over the carpet provides friction, making the dirt and small stones act like miniature saws cutting off carpet fibers and even leaving bare spots.

Maintenance

Carpets take a lot of time and effort to maintain. Not only do you need to vacuum your carpeting frequently (often a couple of times a day if you have pets), you also need to blot off spills the moment they happen, and spot treat the area.

In addition, you need to have your carpet professionally cleaned regularly to keep it looking its best.

Trying to keep carpets well maintained has forced many families to forbid people from wearing shoes in their home, and other inconveniences simply to cut down on some of the constant maintenance that their carpet needs.

Matting

Sure, a brand new carpet looks beautiful and fluffy, but the longer you own your carpeting the more matted down it becomes.

Your carpeting no longer looks beautiful, but rather looks old, flat and lifeless.

Eventually, no matter how often you vacuum your carpet, or how frequently you shampoo, your carpet will still look matted down and unattractive.

Stains

No matter how careful you are or how vigilant you may be, eventually, your carpet will have something dropped or spilled on it that will leave behind one or more stains that simply can’t be removed.

Stained carpeting is unsightly and can give your entire room a less than clean look no matter how much time you spend cleaning and polishing.

Related: How to Remove Stains from Your Carpet

Tips for Keeping Your Carpet Newer Looking for Longer

In order to reap the most benefits from your carpet flooring, here are a few tips that will help to keep your carpet looking its best longer.

1. Provide a mat so that family and visitors can wipe off their feet before entering your home. This will help to remove a good deal of the dirt that gets tracked in on the carpet (Some people don’t allow shoes worn in their carpeted rooms.)
2. Place a clear runner on high traffic areas to prevent those areas from getting dirty and worn.
3. Clean up any spills on your carpet immediately by using warm water, a clean cloth, and blotting at the stain rather than rubbing.
4. Vacuum your carpet as frequently as needed to remove dirt and small stones that can drift down to the roots of your carpet and then cut your carpet strands when walked over again and again.
5. If you allow young children to eat or drink on your carpet, place a large plastic mat under the area to catch any drops or spills.
6. Have your carpet cleaned and stain treated as often as needed to keep your carpet looking clean (Go with a company that uses green cleaning products.)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Carpet Flooring – Final Thoughts

It is important to consider the pros and cons of carpet flooring before deciding to install it in your home. If you find that the cons outweigh the pros for you, then you can choose to go for hard surfaces such as tile or wood. You can also use accent rugs that can easily be thrown in the washing machine to provide a touch of color and texture and keep those bare feet warm on those cold winter mornings.

I hope you found the advantages and disadvantages of carpet flooring helpful in making an informed decision.