Homeowners have numerous options for flooring including hardwood and carpeting. Your choice can impact the resale value of your home and some options might be more appropriate than others. This is even truer when one considers the cleaning and maintenance of each choice particularly as it pertains to those with allergies, pets or dusty environs.
Having lived in residences with hardwood and carpeting – as well as ceramic tiles, laminate, vinyl flooring, engineered wood and rugs – and being an allergy sufferer who feels the effects of pet fur, dust and mold, I decided to take a closer look. Here’s what I discovered.
Hardwood flooring is easier to clean than carpet which requires spot removal and quicker replacement. Damage to hardwood flooring can occur from a pet’s nails and from dropping heavy objects but wood requires less maintenance, adds value to your home and may be better for allergy sufferers.
Is hardwood healthier than carpet?
In general terms, hardwood flooring is considered a healthy choice for flooring if you suffer from allergies or simply want a lower maintenance option than broadloom (carpeting), rugs, throws or other material-based flooring.
Hardwood is easy to clean. It typically doesn’t hide dust especially when light hits it so you know when it’s time to dust, sweep or vacuum it. Stains are generally easily removed, too.
Invest in a hardwood wet/dry sweeper to remove dust but also stains that will pop up regularly.
What flooring options do I have?
In case you’re looking for flooring for the first time or for the first time in awhile, it would be helpful to quickly go over the main choices you have for flooring and which ones you might consider for the main rooms in your home.
As you’ll see below, several flooring options are either made from wood or similar to wood and thus should at least be considered before you make your decision.
Hardwood
Hardwood flooring tends to be among the highest quality, most expensive but coolest looking options for flooring particularly in living and dining rooms, stairs and bedrooms. Check out real estate advertisements and you’ll often hear about a home’s “gleaming hardwood” for a reason. Rich hardwoods like oak, maple, cherry, walnut and exotic hardwoods abound and installers are generally easy to find.
Hardwood flooring offers ease of maintenance, durability, long-lasting lifespan and a variety of styles and sizes. It’s a great choice for allergy sufferers as it doesn’t collect dust like carpet. And you’ll quickly find that you can not only choose solid hardwoods but engineered hardwoods too.
Engineered hardwood is also made with wood but is designed with a thin layer of hardwood bonded to a high quality plywood. The benefits of engineered hardwood is that it tends to be cheaper and more resistant to water and warping than solid hardwood. In that regard, it gives the look of hardwood with some engineered benefits.
Solid hardwood can easily last 30 or more years (many more actually) while engineered hardwood can last 25 – 30 years or longer.
Carpet
While carpets on heavily trafficked floors may start to thin, fray and permanently stain within 3 – 5 years, carpeting may last 5 – 15 years before it needs to be replaced. You may also consider rugs and throws to sit over top or hardwood that are cheaper, help to change the look of your floor, provide warmth and are more easily replaced.
On the positive side, carpeting tends to be cheaper than hardwood and has a quieting effect, helping to deaden sound. It’s soft and versatile and is warm for your feet to walk on in the winter. On the downside, it does wear out faster than other flooring options and can rip, tear and thin out. It tends to require more cleaning including spot cleaning to remove stains. The thicker the shag, the more likely you are to need to steam clean it, too.
Laminate
Laminate is made from plastic and is a popular choice for flooring in apartments and condos and in particular, rental units. Why spend more on hardwood if it may get damaged by tenants? Modern, high quality laminate is very durable and is a great choice as a substitute for hardwood.
One room in your home that is especially good for laminate over hardwood is the basement. Due to dampness, moisture, humidity and the threat of flooding in a basement, laminate is usually a better choice. Waterproof laminate is often used in bathrooms given its ability (unlike hardwood) to resist water.
Parquet
Parquet flooring is another popular option with wide availability and choices. It’s not as expensive as hardwood but it is made from wood. Parquet can be sanded down and can last 10 – 15 years if taken care of, possibly longer.
Parquet can fade from direct sunlight so take care if you have it installed by large windows where the sun can beat down on sections of it and cause discoloration.
Tiles
Ceramics, stone and porcelain are three popular tile options. They have an ability to offer a nice high quality look and are considered to be a durable choice for your home. In fact, porcelain tile was found by Consumer Reports to be the most durable of all types of flooring. Having said that, depending on what country you live in, tiles are generally found in kitchens, lobbies, bathrooms and basements only. You probably aren’t going to tile your bedroom.
Tiles are water and damage resistant and can be easily cleaned. They can be cold for your feet to walk on in winter however particularly in the basement. They can also be slippery and hard to fall on.
Do buyers prefer carpet or hardwood?
This is a personal preference but in general terms hardwood tends to be a major selling feature for home buyers certainly over carpet. Realtor.com
suggests that wood floors can increase the price of your home by up to 2.5%. Plus hardwood tends to make pictures of your home more appealing when posting them on a real estate website when you put your home up for sale.
Some people don’t like carpet especially when they have allergies. While hardwood color and style can be a turnoff for certain homebuyers, so can any other “permanent” aspect design of your home. Hardwood tends to be seen as a positive and an expensive upgrade that people will pay for.
What rooms would benefit from carpeting?
Some rooms in the house may benefit from carpet assuming you don’t have allergies and simply have a preference for a bit of broadloom rather than having strictly wood. While carpet shouldn’t be used in the kitchen or bathrooms, it is suitable in a number of other rooms.
Bedrooms: While hardwood is a great choice for a bedroom, carpet is a classic choice too. If you like waking up to a warm feeling on your feet, carpet is an option to consider. If you avoid eating and drinking in your bedroom or are careful when you do so, carpet in bedrooms can last for many years.
Stairs: If you have young kids who like climbing the stairs, carpet will at least help to make it a bit easier if they fall, not that you should rely on that as a safety feature. It can also help adults who slip on the stairs as hitting your knees on hardwood hurts.
Living room: If you entertain frequently or just like to spend time in your living room, carpet has a way of warming up the room especially if you like to sit on the floor or have kids who do. If it’s a high traffic area, you can improve the underpadding and choose a better quality carpet that is plusher and more comfortable to sit on.
Basement/Playroom: A carpeted basement or playroom for the kids is a great choice especially if the kids like to run around. It’s easier to fall on carpet than on a laminate floor (we already talked above why you wouldn’t put hardwood in the basement). Plus since the basement tends to be cooler than other rooms, carpet can help to make the room feel warmer than a wooden or tiled surface.
Do hardwood floors make your house colder?
In actuality, hardwood flooring helps to retain heat unlike carpet which becomes a barrier to heat. Wood absorbs and stores heat which is actually a benefit to you and your heating bill.
If you find that your hardwood (or laminate) flooring feels cold during the winter and during other cold weather you, there are several possible reasons. Your hardwood may have small gaps that are allowing cold air to come up from beneath it ie. from the basement. Also, if you tend to feel cold during the winter anyways, the wood may cause you to feel like you are cold since carpet on the other hand does make your feet feel warmer. Even though wood is actually a better warming device than carpet in general.
What can you do?
- Wear socks, slippers or indoor shoes. Seems obvious but in winter you need to dress for the occasion. Don’t wear shorts or short-sleeved shirts around the house in winter either as it’ll also make you feel cold.
- Keep curtains and shades shut particularly at night to retain heat but keep them open during the day when there is direct sunlight to warm the room and thus the floor. It really helps and can lower your heating bill too.
- Use rugs, throws and blankets on the ground to step on as it will help to make the floor feel warmer to your feet.
- Keep your heat at a reasonable level. If it’s too low, you may additionally feel the cold in the air.
- Before having wood (or other) flooring installed, consider the addition of heated flooring which discreetly keeps the floor and house warm.
How often should carpet be replaced?
A decent, well-cared for carpet is purported to last 5 – 15 years. In my experience I grew up in a house with the same basement carpet for over 25 years. It only got replaced after it got wet from heavy rainfall and we used it as an excuse to put a better quality, new carpet in. We had carpeting throughout the house that was replaced one time in the almost 30 years my family lived there.
Having said that, how often should carpet be replaced is a different question. If you suffer from allergies, have pets or tend to get your carpeting wet or dirty, a more frequent replacement cycle may be in order. If you move into a resale house and don’t know the exact age of the carpet you’re inheriting it may also be a good idea to consider replacement if the carpet looks its age.
How often should you clean your carpet?
Carpets should be vacuumed weekly unless you require it more often. A good quality vacuum cleaner with great suction is important especially if you’re an allergy sufferer, have pets or live in an area with dust, allergens and debris entering the home.
Consider a central vacuum for convenience. If you have no desire to manually use a vacuum, consider a quality robot vacuum. Having picked up a Roomba earlier this year, I can speak of its good quality and how it is able to clean our carpets, tiled areas and hardwood equally well including under the bed and other hidden areas.
Carpet professionals recommend steam cleaning your carpet once per year to keep it fresh and extend its lifespan. Steam cleaning – whether performed professionally or by yourself if done properly – deep cleans and removes dirt, stains and pollutants brought into the home with your shoes and day to day activities.
Other Considerations
Change your air filter in your furnace regularly. They help to remove dust and debris from the air rather than recirculating it through the house into your carpet or onto your other flooring. Also have your furnace inspected yearly and have your AC unit looked at and service regularly.
If you have forced air heating and ducts you may consider having your ducts cleaned from time to time especially if you have had construction done within the home. Ducts circulate air throughout your house and other than restricting airflow if they’re blocked or dirty, they too will recirculate dirt and dust throughout your home if not cleaned.