To ask how often you replace your rug

[Suzanne12]

Just that really. Do you think it's reasonable to replace a living room rug after a year or would you keep it for a few years? Does the colour make a difference? How long have you had your current rug?

Mine normally lasts 6 months tops. Between the cats and the kids it ends up wrecked fast but I buy cheap ones because of it so they've never had a long shelf life, I don't bother buying one during the summer months but there definitely needs to be one during the winter!

Depends. If it’s a washable rug that I can throw in the washing machine, I’ll keep it until it falls apart. If it’s a rug that needs specialist cleaning, they tend to have a shorter lifespan (because I can’t be bothered with it).

I did replace two very large rugs quickly but generally I keep them a long time. The first one was a Mistake but too hard to return, only down for a few months, and the second one was down for a couple of years, and I changed the sofas etc and decorated and so changed it, happy with the one I currently have.

I have a few, the oldest I've had for about 20 years. All of them are years old, I like them.

Whaaaat?! Chucking stuff away/onto landfill after 6-12 months?! Bloody hell. What are your cats/kids doing to it? I’ve got kids, a cats and a dog and have rugs I’ve had for years, since the kids were tiny. Clean them and teach your kids not to wreck them. Pretty easy to do.

Years and years. I haven't ever thought of a rug as any more a disposable item than a fitted carpet.

No, I don't think it's reasonable to replace it after a year, that's ridiculous.

Ours is 15 years old, I know that because we bought it to make the old house a bit smarter when we sold it and we've lived here for over 14 years. It is starting to look a bit tatty now (cats scratch at the egdes) and I am thinking of replacing it, but I'd never consider replacing furnishings that are under 5-10 years old.

I'm struggling to justify replacing the 20+ YO Billy bookcase because it's still perfectly functional and 5 ish YO TV unit that I've decided I don't really like, but seeing as we'd want to look at the flooring first, it's going to wait a little while yet.

Right so I'm leaning towards not replacing it. I've had it since October. It's very light colours, ochre, grey and cream. The cream is starting to look slightly discoloured and it's starting to bother me as I want it to still look new. I do clean it with carpet cleaner but it doesn't get it how I want it. Any cleaning tips would be appreciated.

I would buy a rug that would last at least 10 years and expect to clean it rather than throwing it away. I would not buy a pale colour either. Do you need introducing to Rug Doctor?

Wow, no wonder the planet is fucked.

12 years so far and no intention of throwing it away. No wonder landfill is so full

I also wouldn't send it to landfill if I did replace it. It's still good enough to sell on second hand even if I didn't get much for it.

Cream/white rugs here, still in use after 20 years and not one of the three has ever been cleaned, even the one in the hallway. Yes, I have children and cats.

What a crazy world we live in. Our parents and grandparents passed these things down through the generations, GP's have 100 year old rugs fgs. Same with linens. I have 50 year old linens from Italy...... they are as good as new.

Well, I bought a new (cheap and easy to clean) rug for my child to play on, and put my nice fluffy rug in the loft for when they’re old enough to not destroy it? Does that count?

Didn’t even realise regularly chucking rugs was a thing... :o

Wow. My oldest rug is over 70 years old. Think the newest is about 15 years. As a PP said, no wonder the planet is fucked.

If it's good enough to sell it's good enough to get cleaned - have you tried a Rug Doctor?

The one we have in front of the fire is probably 15 year old. I have had no thoughts of replacing it.

The one in the dining room is at least 40 years old. A hand me down from PIL.

I made the one we have in front of the fire from a 'readicut' kit.
That must have been 40 years ago now.

I'm trying to buy only second hand, use less plastic packaging and cycle everywhere but you crack on with chucking anything over 6 months old, I'm sure it'll even out 👍

I hadn't really thought of rugs being disposable. Our largest is cream and donkeys years old and gets a rug doctor type wash every so often. Comes up like new.

I thought that rugs were a long term investment - I'd be upset if one lasted less than a year. A lot of ours are years old.

You replace rugs! Another PP can't be bothered to clean it! Christ talk about disposable society. Ours are years old, hoovered and cleaned regularly. What is wrong with that?

I've had my John Lewis cream rug 20 years! Get it cleaned every year.

The ones we have were Mr Noodle's grans, no idea how old they are.

I don't know why you'd get a cream rug if you wanted it to look brand new.

Replacing a rug after a YEAR?!? Would never occur to me to do such a mad thing!

My current living room rug is maybe 6 or 7 years old, and I have zero plans to replace it. The one before that I probably had for 5 years, but it was a single dark colour, and it showed every little speck of dust, hair and dirt, and drove me bonkers. So it had to go.