To think UK should have moved on from carpeting by this stage

[Finlesswonder]

It's gross, it's ugly, it's high maintenance, and in a world of global warming, it increasingly feels like a dust and burning sun heat trap.
Why are people in this country still obsessed with carpeting?

The only place in our home with carpet is on the stairs. The rest is laminate flooring throughout. I'm looking at changing the stair carpet to some other kind of covering, other than carpet, too

I think the OP might have overheated a bit...

Take it you don't like the carpet in your car either then 😂

I rug doctor mine weekly and hoover daily. Cat and 2 dogs with 5 kids. Maintenance keeps them fresh and clean. If you don’t like Capet don’t get it but I love my carpets. I have foot issues and find it comfortable.

Wow, Rug Doctor weekly - when you need to wait 6 hrs before walking on them. How do you manage that?

They are really unhygienic imo. Even with regular hoovering. But I also think they are on their way out, it is becoming less and less common, and in new builds you almost never see it downstairs at all.

TBH if I had multiple children and pets I probably would stick to hard floors, downstairs at least.

CoffeeQueen91X when we lived in the US we had a Honda Element and the floor covering in that was a rubbery thing, and the seats were washable. It was excellent for hauling small children around in. For our other car we fitted it out with Wethertek floor liners which completely cover car carpets and have sides so can contain quite large spills.

I wish they had those options in the UK.

Exactly this. And potential breakages if anything drops and warping if wooden flooring gets wet. Kitchen and bathrooms only for no carpeting here. Can't be doing with the upkeep! Decent and frequent hoovering and a carpet clean, all good.

OP- Why should people love clinical and cold? No harm in fabrics and comfort (especially in our cold winters). Just let each person be. There are many reasons for carpeting, so don't assume anything. And certainly don't slag off an entire country because we choose not to be sheep to 'interior fashion' or worrying about easily offended visitors.

They are really unhygienic imo.

I don't understand this tbh. What are the hygiene implications? How is it affecting people's lives?

Like, they aren't entirely sterile, no. But why would we need them to be?

Let's face it cars are a pretty awful place to have carpets.

Most cars with carpets over 5 years old the carpets will be filthy because they are really difficult to clean, plus the fact people are nearly always wearing outside shoes when they get in.

I would have less of a problem if the carpets were fully removable (a lot of cars have removable top carpets, but still have fixed carpets underneath that get covered in stuff).

Because the pile on car carpets is a lot thinner, bits of stuff tends to get "weaved" into them and they are really difficult to remove, even with a powerful hoover.

Carpets rule (bar kitchen & bathroom)
The problem is having a flea riddled cat maybe.

Carpets: More comfortable
Keep heat in
Keep noise pollution down
Used to live next to a laminate floor fan....banging doors kids coming downstairs sounded like they fell with clogs on.

If your detached and live down Devon / Cornwall or any home near a sandy beach it would be more understandable otherwise I'll stick with carpets (clean ones🙄)

Your problem was probably lack of cleaning to be honest op.

I agree carpet holds dirt. I have laminate with rugs, the amount of sand etc that sits under the rug even after a good hoover is unbelievable. But we do have dogs, so they bring it in with them.
Think it’s only really the older generation who still like carpets in every room

I have wood with rugs. There’s never anything under my rugs.

Alsi, I’d never have anything other than carpets on stairs because if you/kids fall then carpets break the fall.

Why do some people think it’s only the older generation who still have carpets? I’m 48 and have the lounge, stairs, and two out of three bedrooms carpeted. The kitchen, dining room, bathroom and one other room have tiles or laminate. I must be older than I thought.

My neighbours have no carpets and the noise from their kids running about is awful!

I doubt whether the carpet would break your fall that much - but it does provide better grip for stairs.

Rugs make more sense to me for my floor occupying fabric needs. Easily cleaned and replaced.

I doubt whether the carpet would break your fall that much

Trust me, it does.

According to these lawyers, falling down hard stairs increases the risk of serious injuries:

https://sobolaw.com/personal-injury/common-injuries-from-falling-down-stairs/

Falling down the stairs counts as a major trauma; and iirc it’s the head banging on each step on the way down, that can cause serious head injuries?

I was wondering this, and then thought that I must be the older generation of which the PP speaks.
I'm 52.
Carpet in all rooms/stairs apart from kitchen, bathroom and front entrance hall.

You have to be joking? When ds fell down the stairs, the first thing A and E asked me was ‘Are they carpeted?’ And then ‘Do they have underlay?’

When l said yes to both, they said that was much better than wood as it protected against injuries.

l’d never have wood stairs. Falling down stairs can kill.

Was at work today, in the office. It dawned on me that we have a carpeted open plan office. Is this normal? I can’t remember my previous workplaces but I’m pretty sure all of the offices have been carpeted. Is that the same in other countries or is it just us in the filthy UK that need to move on from carpets in the office environment too?

It dawned on me that we have a carpeted open plan office. Is this normal?

Yes. I have only ever worked in one office that had a hard floor surface. Everywhere else has been carpeted.

I am sitting in my workplace in NZ and can tell you that it is quite common to have carpet here. I'm struggling to keep warm today, and imagine it would be even harder if the floors of our large building weren't carpeted.

Have you never heard of carpet cleaning???

I like my carpeting and don't find it more difficult to care for than anything else. Besides, I hate putting my feet on icy floor boards in cooler months, and it cuts down on the gas bill in the winter.