Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to be completely over hard floors?

102 replies

Cornettoninja · 14/12/2018 15:10

The last house and the current one (we rent) are completely wooden/laminate/tiled downstairs.

Bloody things are cold, are lovely when freshly cleaned but show up every speck, crumb and dust/hair ball leading to constant bloody sweeping/mopping and make a racket every time something’s dropped.

I’m not houseproud and appreciate a carpet that doesn’t insistently show you how dusty the room is and politely waits to be vacuumed. Doesn’t help we’ve got those wooden shutter blinds that require constant bloody dusting too. I like nice curtains and voiles that can be bunged in the washer every now and then and make the room smell lovely whilst they hang there drying.

Viva la revolution!

OP posts:
flirtygirl · 14/12/2018 19:26

Carpets are cosy, laminate is cold but real wood is actually not too bad even without under floor heating.

I'm putting wood everywhere in my new house. Wood not laminate. Laminate looks, sound and very horrible. Okay not all laminate but why get the premium one when it costs the same as real wood.

I hate carpet, really nasty, really dirty and I would rather wear slippers or socks if needed than have my feet sink into a pile of dust mites, skin and hair.

Since I moved out I got rid of carpet and my asthma all but disappeared.

MigGril · 15/12/2018 09:05

I think wall to wall carpets where invented for drafty old houses. We replaced the carpets in our last house with lyno. Did made any difference to how warm it felt.

The dirt under them when we took them out was vial. And it made such a difference to pur sons health. I'm never putting in carpet in a modern house again. I'm sure that even if it's better for someone like him with asthma then it's got to be better for the rest of us to.

MigGril · 15/12/2018 09:06

That should be didn't make any difference to how warm it was.

Fizzyhedgehog · 15/12/2018 11:02

We're currently renting. Cheap laminate and tiles everywhere. With a toddler, it drives me nuts. It constantly looks dirty. Our old house didn't have any carpets, either but we had put quality tiles and laminate down.
Our news house needs doing up, so we're hoping to put in underfloor heating and cork flooring/wood effect tiles. It should be nice and cosy.

toomuchtooold · 15/12/2018 11:19

If we had carpets I'd have to train my kids not to wander about the house eating stuff and that would get on my nerves.

Also the reason I'm glad we don't have underfloor heating despite my feet being freezing right now because with the amount of stuff DD2 drops on the floor the house would just become a giant fruit leather factory Envy (not envy)

tillytrotter1 · 15/12/2018 11:22

Cheap laminate is gross, don't confuse it with wooden floors! Large tiled areas remind me of school showers. We have a very large en-suite and had a really good quality vinyl instead of tiles.

OneStepMoreFun · 15/12/2018 11:31

Carpets don't get that dirty if you take your shoes off by the front door and everyone bathes once a day so there's no smelly socks on them.
I love carpets. Warm and cosy.

katekat383 · 15/12/2018 11:32

Real wooden floors i.e. floors which are original or laid as planks of genuine wood - do not behave in the way the OP describes. Laminate floors are awful and I include the more expensive oiled blah blah versions.

katekat383 · 15/12/2018 11:35

It’s like tiled floors in Tuscany or hard floors in hotels - an invitation to fluff balls to congregate under large pieces of furniture or beds.

katekat383 · 15/12/2018 11:36

Real wood is also pleasant underfoot.

Whisky2014 · 15/12/2018 11:37

Well you are supposed to get underfloor heating with them. They are more hygienic, less dust mites etc

starcrossedseahorse · 15/12/2018 11:41

We have a very old house and it has lovely old wooden floors and tiles. The floorboards are oak and full of character. We do use rugs here and there but no carpets anywhere.

I have a great aversion to carpets as I think that they are really dirty and often smell but the house owner doesn't realise it. Also if you have beautiful floors why would you cover them up (I appreciate not all houses do)?
Finally, we have cats and dogs so carpets would be a definite no in whatever age house we lived in.

BertieBotts · 15/12/2018 11:41

We have hard floors in Germany, I miss carpets. It's crap for DS2 who is trying to roll too. The floor is too hard for him to be comfy and play mats, blankets etc just slide around on it do he can't get a good grip.

Lisbon · 15/12/2018 12:20

Fair enough. I loathe carpets, but I'm from a hot country where no one has them and I find them gross.

I also think the "showing dirt" logic is weird. I'd also rather have white towels and sheets precisely because I can see when they're dirty! I gate cleaning but I hate dirty stuff more.

missperegrinespeculiar · 15/12/2018 12:22

YABU, hard wood floors are gorgeous (hate laminate!), and tiles in kitchen and bathrooms can also be beautiful (Italian tiles anyone?!), carpets can be beautiful when luxurious, thick and brand new, but they don't last and they are horrifyingly unhygienic, I shudder at the thought of what's underfoot in our bedrooms with a 14 year old carpet... can't wait to get rid of it all!

I remember once being in students' hall where there was carpet in the toilet, I mean really! utterly disgusting!

jxnx · 15/12/2018 12:24

Puppy, elderly cats, disgusting teenagers, a DH who could find his was home from anywhere just following the crumbs wooden floors all the way. I hate cleaning and do the bare minimum but carpets in this house would be toxic health hazard Blush

Dowser · 15/12/2018 12:48

Went laminate last year. Bungalow, so it’s in practically every room. Stark white walls, lots of white furniture ( or black) and pale laminate in every room.
Bloody love it.
Most of my curtains are all white as well

canigetaliein · 15/12/2018 12:54

I’m struggling with this dilemma now. Aesthetically & for hygiene reasons I prefer wooden floors. Dislike laminate but have seen some nice vinyl. In an ideal world my lounge would have wood & a big rug. But with small children the wood requires more upkeep & if I’m playing with them on the floor I much prefer really thick carpet as it’s softer & warmer.

Ninoo25 · 15/12/2018 12:56

We have laminate everywhere. It’s so much easier to keep clean and as others have said your carpet’s not any cleaner, it just hides the dust better. We got rid of ours when our eldest was at the potty training stage and weed all over the living room carpet and then after a proper clean our cat threw up in the same place. It was gross. My feet do get cold sometimes, but I just wear slipper socks (or slippers)

Ninoo25 · 15/12/2018 12:57

If you are willing to pay a bit more you can get pretty decent laminate which looks quite like wood (but is still a lot cheaper than wood)

canigetaliein · 15/12/2018 13:03

isn’t laminate noisy though & hard?

Ninoo25 · 15/12/2018 13:09

No not really. There’s lots of different types of laminate, different thicknesses and you can have underlay under it too. It’s moved on a lot in the past few years and it’s easier to install and remove if needed. It was better for us because we were having whole house done in one go so it was expensive, but cheaper than natural wood. If we’d have spent a little more we could have got natural wood, but it would have been cheap stuff which didn’t look too good tbh.

canigetaliein · 15/12/2018 13:16

Good to know. To be fair I’ve not looked at it in a few years. I have vinyl in the kids room & I love the practicalities of that.

canigetaliein · 15/12/2018 13:16

kardean stuff as opposed to crazy 70s vinyl!

billysboy · 15/12/2018 13:18

Under floor heating is a must preferably individual zone controlled , no more cold feet

Swipe left for the next trending thread