Flooring suggestions

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Brenda_V

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My little dog who was a male poodle and what I called a “revenge pee-er” died last week so we are down to just three cats and two guinea pigs. I am a dog person and spend much of my time alone at home I want to get another little dog but before we do that we need to replace carpeting in the living room and bedrooms so, besides some sympathy for the loss of my constant companion (he went with me everywhere when it was cool enough out which here in NM was for all but about 4 months of the year) I am asking for advise on carpeting.

I have a severe allergy to dust mites and am an awful housekeeper - as a matter of fact, I don’t vacuum very often, partly because of the allergies, I need to get one of those water vacuums I think (they seem to hold all dust down as you vacuum!) and my husband has a prosthetic leg making area carpets a severe hazard for him! So, I need something that he can walk on that will not hold the dust mites or is easy to get them out, I also need something that can be wet cleaned because I do have pets and they do have accidents on the carpet (not just defecation type accidents) and I use my little robo-carpet clean machine thing (it is awesome!)

So, berber? Low pile? Scotch guard?

I know one of the rooms we need to replace the carpet in is the office and we agreed that this room should be pergo or something similar because although we are using it as the office right now we might someday make it our dining room which is what it is supposed to be.

The girls bedrooms we can do in pergo as well with area rugs (helps their allergies too). Just my bedroom and the living room will need carpeting of some sort.

Brenda V.
 
**Well, as someone with severe allergies you know that carpet is not recommended…so i am assuming you have to have carpet in those areas?

If you do, i came across a new carpet at Home Depot not long ago that has some sort of natural salt in the fibers that eliminate odor. I thought it would be a good choice for our stairs but with everything going on I never got to look into it further.

Have you ever been around new carpet? How does it affect your allergies? It off-gasses for quite awhile (nasties like formaldahyde:eek:) so I can’t help but think it may be not so good for you…

are there any other options you would consider besides carpet?**
 
If you MUST have carpeting I would get a low pile.

Maybe you could try for one of those industrial types of carpeting. They are designed for heavy traffic and must be cleanable.

As far as I know, all carpeting needs padding. I’d find out what requires the least padding since that is often what absorbs odors and is subject to mold and such.

What is under the carpeting? Wood? Tile? Concrete?
 
Thanks you guys so far for ideas.

Yes, the off-gassing will give me some severe problems - I do live in NM so I might just open windows for a while.

The floor underneath is concrete.

We are in a dilemma about my allergies vs. my husbands need to be able to walk safely! I have been working for years on him to try and go carpet-less at least in our bedroom where it would affect me the most. Area rugs are easy to pick up and wash but they are a trip hazard for him, especially in the bedroom where he takes his leg off and hops around with crutches!

Now, I never thought about going with a carpeting that would have the least amount of padding, but that is true! When we moved out of our last house we pulled up the carpet to re-carpet and it was amazing how much sand was under it! I was much better about keeping that house vacuumed too!

Brenda V.
 
allergizer.com/50226711/hard_surface_flooring_minimize_allergies.php

**so is it the non-slip issue that would be most important for your bedroom? Have you gone into a huge flooring store and asked about other options? I know that there were some linoleums we were looking at that were really non-slip (I was considering my dog at the time, lol).

Also, what about doing an area rug the exact size of your room so there are no edges? Then it could be sent out for cleaning regularly and vacuumed underneath.

I still would have to recommend against any kind of carpet in your bedroom though. My allergies and sensitivities aren’t nearly as severe as yours and getting the carpet out of our room has made an enormous difference!

Hospitals don’t use carpet…and they have plenty of people on crutches;)
**
 
I have a severe allergy to dust mites and am an awful housekeeper - as a matter of fact, I don’t vacuum very often, partly because of the allergies, .
I’m convinced after years of struggling with asthma and other allergies that carpet has no place in the house of someone who suffers this way, nor do fabric drapes, slatted blinds and other dustcatchers in general. several relatives who fight this have had the rainbow and other water vacs, they do marginally better than a regular vac with HEPA filter, but neither removes the mites and their dead bodies, which are the real trigger for most reactions. seeking down and eliminating sources of damp and mold are also critical.
 
I would get rid of all the carpet and put down ceramic tile, laminate, or wood in the entire house.
 
What about cork flooring?
That may have a slightly softer, more cushioned feel than regular hardwood… and still have the allergy benefits… 🤷
 
Real hardwood floors that are sealed can be wet cleaned, not cheap to install, though. I would do that if money was no object 😃

What about carpet tiles, if you just have to have carpet?:
flor.com/
millikencarpet.com/Americas/Residential/CarpetPanels/Legato/Pages/default.aspx

I think most laminate is out, if you need to wet clean.

Tile can be slick, esp if it gets wet and it’s hard on your joints.

ps I always forget you are on here and Cathmoms, lol, I read both posts and said, oooh deja vu! 😛
 
Have you ever seen tinted and sealed cement? It looks great, can be wet cleaned, scrubbed, have area rugs added (and removed).

hgtvpro.com/hpro/bp_foundation/article/0,HPRO_20146_3828147,00.html

diynetwork.com/diy/hi_floor_coverings/article/0,DIY_13915_3693708,00.htm

concretenetwork.com/concrete/interiorfloors/beachhouse.htm

bobvila.com/wwwboard/messages/229376.html

My house came with shades of the 60s shag carpet. I found hardwood underneath it all. But if I had to get another house, I think I might pull the carpet even with a concrete slab. Carpet does nothing for me but trap cat hair.
 
Have you ever seen tinted and sealed cement? It looks great, can be wet cleaned, scrubbed, have area rugs added (and removed).

hgtvpro.com/hpro/bp_foundation/article/0,HPRO_20146_3828147,00.html

diynetwork.com/diy/hi_floor_coverings/article/0,DIY_13915_3693708,00.htm

concretenetwork.com/concrete/interiorfloors/beachhouse.htm

bobvila.com/wwwboard/messages/229376.html

My house came with shades of the 60s shag carpet. I found hardwood underneath it all. But if I had to get another house, I think I might pull the carpet even with a concrete slab. Carpet does nothing for me but trap cat hair.
We’re most likely going with finished concrete floors at our house! We’ve been in “construction mode” for years now… doing one element at a time…
I think the concrete overlay flooring is next on our list of projects… I can’t wait! 🙂
 
We have the Milliken LEGATO carpet tiles in our 20 x 21 living room and love them. No one has ever thought that it wasn’t “real” carpet and people are VERY surprised to find out they are just tiles! (And they are soft berber - they aren’t like the old style carpet tiles which had an indoor/outdoor carpet look).

You do have to follow the directions very well, and make sure all the little carpet fibers are pulled up in between each tile, but it’s super easy to install, $1000+ cheaper than “real” carpet and hiring someone to do it, and if one part gets stained or spilled on, you just pull it up and wash it, then pop it back in.

Very low padding, great over concrete floors (ours is over linoleum flooring). A good option if you HAVE to carpet. Otherwise, I’d stick with a hard flooring of some type.
 
Real hardwood floors that are sealed can be wet cleaned, not cheap to install, though. I would do that if money was no object 😃

What about carpet tiles, if you just have to have carpet?:
flor.com/
millikencarpet.com/Americas/Residential/CarpetPanels/Legato/Pages/default.aspx
I am in the same boat as far as carpet. I did put laminate in my kitchen, living, hallway areas; but keep carpet in the bedrooms for resale value – not planning on being there for several more years.

I would discourage the carpet tiles UNLESS you have it professionally done. I tried that in my bedroom. It is NOT as easy to do as HGTV makes it look.

Just my two cents 😃
 
I am in the same boat as far as carpet. I did put laminate in my kitchen, living, hallway areas; but keep carpet in the bedrooms for resale value – not planning on being there for several more years.

I would discourage the carpet tiles UNLESS you have it professionally done. I tried that in my bedroom. It is NOT as easy to do as HGTV makes it look.

Just my two cents 😃
We did our own carpet tiles as well, and it looks just fine. It’s not all that hard to do. We have the Tesserae in our playroom in the basement (over subflooring) and love it.
 
allergizer.com/50226711/hard_surface_flooring_minimize_allergies.php

**
Hospitals don’t use carpet…and they have plenty of people on crutches;)
**
Thanks for the link.

As to hospitals, they don’t have cats who haul things all over the house and just leave them for even someone with two good legs to trip on ;). At least with carpet, the toy or dead critter (yes, we have had a couple of lizards who managed to get in the house and they have been having a ball with it, poor critter:() anyway, carpet would have enough “grip” to prevent the item from slipping out from under him or a crutch but ya’ll have given me some great ideas to start looking into!

Cork flooring I never though about but that might work.

Painted or finished concrete was something I suggested to him but he is adamantly against that! I can still work on him though as I am just in the beginning stages of research.

I looked at the carpet tiles, Milliken ones to be precise, they looked like a great idea with a home that will have animals in it for quite some time and I was thinking def. to go with a professional installer, just can’t see either of us doing it right and then getting into a big fight over it!

Brenda V.
 
As to hospitals, they don’t have cats who haul things all over the house and just leave them for even someone with two good legs to trip on ;). At least with carpet, the toy or dead critter (yes, we have had a couple of lizards who managed to get in the house and they have been having a ball with it, poor critter:() anyway, carpet would have enough “grip” to prevent the item from slipping out from under him or a crutch but ya’ll have given me some great ideas to start looking into!
**
Is he walking around in the dark? Or does he just not look where he is going??? 😃
**
 
We did our own carpet tiles as well, and it looks just fine. It’s not all that hard to do. We have the Tesserae in our playroom in the basement (over subflooring) and love it.
I’m glad to know it can be done 😃 I did okay until I got to the doorways and closets. Then I just couldn’t do it. I even cut myself with the utility knife trying to get it done. I’m pretty handy, but just not with carpet tiles I guess 😃
 
There are several kinds of non-slip flooring that are easy to clean.

Here’s an article about them.

Here’s a commercial site for rubber flooring.

I’ve been living with dogs for years, and have thought about non-slip tiles many times! My old dog training club had a good but ugly rubber floor- cushioned, to be easy on the joints when jumping. And water-proof, for the inevitable accidents. There are prettier ones available now.

Now I’m getting to the point where I need floors that are easy on the joints - and I hate wall-to-wall carpet! Why, oh why, to “they” put it in bathrooms and on stairs? The first gets stinky with men in the house, and the other is horrible to clean!

P.S. from an old dog obedience instructor- avoid dachshunds and cocker mixes; they’re very hard to housetrain. Small dogs are always harder, just because of size! And any puppy form a pet store will be harder. PM me for more housetraining advice, if you’d like.

God bless us all,

Ruthie
 
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