I am an experienced carpet fan, so I am ready to put carpets in any premises of my house. But one day I got a letter from my reader, who complained that he got tired from changing small rugs in his huge bathroom, as they grow moldy fast. So, is carpeting always a good choice?
As a general rule, carpeting is not a good idea for the rooms, where you adopt water procedures – bathrooms, sanitary units, and laundry rooms. Carpets are unsuitable for high-traffic areas, like hallways, corridors, and entryways. Besides, carpeting is a bad choice for the rooms with food remnants, like kitchens and dining rooms. Read further to know, why the carpets are not suitable for these rooms and on what premises they are on purpose.
Why is Carpeting a Poor Choice for Some Rooms?
Usually, even the most passionate carpet lovers don’t install this soft and beautiful type of flooring in the bathroom. The reason is the high humidity level there. Every day carpet fragile fibers absorb drops of water and never actually get dry. Over time, mold and mildew appear on the wet surface of the carpet.
Besides, some homeowners don’t put carpets in the rooms with high traffic, especially, if their visitors don’t change their street shoes when they come into the room. That’s why for the corridors and mudrooms the homeowners often choose the other type of flooring.
Is Carpeting a Poor Choice for a Kitchen?
I know that some of my readers don’t put the carpet in the kitchen, because cooking oil and food remnants settle on its fragile fiber. They form a hard layer of dirt, which you can hardly remove even with the most powerful vacuum cleaner.
But I am really into carpets and can’t imagine my kitchen without it. If you are like me and you still dream to cover the kitchen floor with some beautiful rug, follow my tips:
- You should choose the rug with low pile to cover the kitchen floor.
- Never put the rug near the kitchen sink or a dishwasher. The wet area is extremely dangerous for rugs of any type.
- If the rug becomes wet, immediately take it out of the kitchen and dry it away.
- The high humidity level can cause mold and fungus, while the food crumbs can penetrate deep in carpet’s fiber. That’s why it is necessary to do steam cleaning of the carpet at least twice a year. Check “The Best 5 Carpet Steam Cleaners” if you need to choose one of them for your kitchen rug.
- Choose some synthetic carpet fiber, like polypropylene, for your kitchen floor. Synthetic carpets don’t absorb water as fast as natural ones. Besides, such carpet is not expensive, so you can change it after several years of usage.
Is Carpeting a Poor Choice for a Living Room?
It’s a great idea to cover the floor in the living room with a long-piled oval or multi-colored rectangular rug. Living rooms benefit from carpets a lot. You should choose the carpet carefully to make the most visited room in your house shine with warmth and beauty.
Follow my advice to find the ideal carpet to grace on the living room floor:
- Make the carpet in the living room visible. Don’t hide the major part of the carpet under the sofa or a wardrobe. The carpet edge, which lies underneath the sofa, should extend no more than 12-18 inches.
- Do not overload the carpet with furniture. Thus, you won’t spoil the impression the rug print or color makes on your visitors. You won’t damage its pile with hard legs of the wardrobe or cabinet. Besides, it will be easier for you to take the carpet away from the living room to do wet cleaning.
- It’s a good idea to put several chairs and the coffee table on the rug in the sitting area of the living room. Place them accurately, according to the carpet pattern to create a harmonious elegant look.
- If the living room in your house is big enough – 20+ sq. ft. – it is better to separate its zones with two different carpets. Choose one carpet for the sitting area and put another one near the fireplace or a TV set.
- Keep in mind, that any carpet absorbs dust and dirt very fast. So, prepare the home slippers for your guests not to step in their street shoes on the carpet.
- Clean the rug with a HEPA vacuum cleaner at least once a week. Thus, you can be sure, that either dust mites or pet hair won’t spoil the great look of your living room carpet.
Is Carpeting a Poor Choice of Bedroom?
Of course, carpeting is a great luxurious choice for a bedroom. You can hardly imagine the better room to place the long-piled wool carpet on the floor. Although nowadays some home owners prefer wood or other kinds of flooring for the bedroom, I recommend a carpet as a great choice for this premise.
Keep in mind these simple rules to make your bedroom cozier:
- Put the carpet under the edge of the bed so that step your feet directly on the warm carpet surface, not on the cold parquet or laminate.
- If you share the bed with your partner, it’s a good idea to put two small long-piled natural rugs on both sides of the bed.
- One of the latest trends in interior design is to put one carpet over another. Thus, you can create an interesting contrast in your bedroom, by having put a small round fluffy rug over the big rectangular low-pile carpet.
Carpets with either long or short pile are the great choice for premises, like bedrooms or children’s rooms. Nevertheless, my readers often ask me, if they should use rugs in these rooms, too, because to their opinions, carpeting has become out of fashion. Let’s see, if the carpets have become outdated.
Is Carpet in Homes Outdated?
Frankly speaking, carpeting remains the popular type of flooring for U.S. citizens. According to Randall L. Patton, the author of “A History of the U.S. Carpet Industry”, two reputable carpet-making companies, “Shaw Industries” and “Mohawk”, have already started production of other types of flooring. Their owners admit that carpets are no so popular in comparison with the late 1980s and 1990s. Modern homeowners choose different types of flooring. So, carpets lost their leading position as the most preferable type of floor coverage in USA. Nevertheless, they still have the wide circle of their devoted fans.
But I have to admit, that some homeowners need carpets as air. Here are the reasons, why:
- Sound insulation
The soft thick carpet on the floor of your bedroom or living room perfectly absorbs sound. That’s why very often the floor at rehearsal bases of famous musical groups is often covered with a carpet.
- Heat insulation
Do you remember that cozy feeling of warmth, when the soft pile of a bedroom rug touches your bare feet? One of the reasons, why people cover the floor of their living room or bedroom, is the heat insulation. So, if you live in the cold climate area, the carpet, which keeps warmth, is the best option for you.
- Comfort
A small round rug or a big square carpet can change the look of any room. The carpet makes the room cozier. It joins together different decorative elements of the room. Even if your room looks quite simple and there’s a slight mess in it, the little multicolored rug can add some beauty and comfort to this premise.
Jim Bree, a real estate blogger, tells, “If you have to put a carpet in any room, depends on your tastes and needs. A carpet is a good option for cold states to make your evenings warmer. Besides, it’s great for children’s room to avoid accident, especially if they like to run and jump. But maintaining the carpet is not an easy thing. So, it’s up to you to decide”.
Expert’s opinion
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there’s no unequivocal answer to the question, whether the carpet is a poor choice for some rooms or not. Of course, most of carpets are not water resistant, so they are not suitable for rooms with high level of moisture, like kitchens. Nevertheless, even for these rooms you can find some suitable options. So, nobody can answer better than you yourself, if the carpet is a good or poor choice.