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If you are in the position to have new flooring installed in your home, you have a lot of options. The two most popular options for living areas are hardwood flooring and carpeting. Each has its own list of pros and cons. Check out this list of features for both types of flooring and find out which is best for your home.
Cleanliness and Safety
It goes without saying that carpeting is difficult to keep clean. If you have children or pets, accidents can ruin a carpet. It tends to hold onto smells; this is one reason why many pet owners end up taking out their carpets. Also, if you have ever removed carpeting and the underlying padding, you might have been shocked at how much debris was hiding beneath. Even with regular vacuuming, carpet retains a lot of dust, sand, and dirt.
Hardwood flooring, on the other hand, is easy to clean. With today’s hardwood floors, cleaned-up spills are generally not going to ruin the floor. With hardwood, what you see is what you get in terms of dirt and dust; you can clearly see whether it’s clean. Those with allergies will often find that their symptoms resolve when carpeting is replaced with wood.
Comfort
Many people find that carpeting is more comfortable under their bare feet. If you have a baby or toddler, you might prefer that they learn to crawl and walk on a soft surface rather than on wood. Also, carpet does keep a room warmer during the winter.
Much of this concern can be alleviated with throw rugs; these can be more easily cleaned than wall-to-wall carpeting can be, and with a proper backing, they won’t scratch your wood floors.
Style
Think back to the shag carpeting from decades ago and you’ll understand that this type of flooring can go out of style. You’ve probably seen homes with various styles and colors of carpeting that are no longer popular. Hardwood, on the other hand, is timeless. Many people even have older homes with the original wood flooring intact and looking as good as it did when it was installed many decades ago.
Eco-Friendliness
If you are having floors replaced, hardwood is a more eco-friendly option. It’s sustainable and made from a naturally occuring resource. You’ll also avoid the off-gassing that is unavoidable with the installation of a new carpet; that “new carpet” smell you have undoubtedly noticed at some point is from the leakage of chemicals.
Cost
Most of the time, carpeting is less expensive than hardwood. If someone is on a very tight budget, carpets might be their chosen option. There are less expensive choices when it comes to hardwood, however, and hardwood will last much longer, making it a better investment over time. In addition, hardwood flooring can raise the value of your home and make it more attractive to buyers when the time comes to put the home on the market.
Every homeowner needs to weigh the pros and cons of hardwood floors versus carpeting. If you have questions about the merits of hardwood, please give us a call!