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?

BlueMongoose I hoover our laminate (which we have all over the house) every couple of days, or whenever it looks dusty. It is easier to vacuum than carpet. Why wouldn't you hoover hard floors?

I even shop vac'ed the patio. We have solar panels before anyone flames me about climate change and wasting electricity.

We have had mostly carpet, mostly tile, mostly hardwood, and now nearly all laminate (except on upstairs hallway and stairs) in various past houses and the laminate has been by far the easiest to keep clean and in good condition.

I personally can't stand carpet. We've just moved to a new house and the whole upstairs is carpeted (with different carpets in each room which I really don't get!). We are getting engineered wood put in soon and I can't wait.

I would probably get rid of the cat

In the winter tiles or wooden floors just don't cut it.

Is laminate the cheap fake wood, why do people have that

Most of those things are still there with hard floors, just even more airbourne as they aren't caught in the pile till you hoover or sweep- and if you sweep, some of them get airbourne again....
Look, I like wood floors. But we have to be realistic- they need more regular cleaning than carpets do to keep dust down, and they do need some maintenance. I oil my wood floors, which makes for the least maintainance, but other types of finish on wood and other hard floors can need a LOT of maintenance. And have serious other downsides. It is not 'bastshit' to have a floor finish just because of one issue, even if you were right, which I'm not sure of anyway.

Those saying carpet is dirty and unhygienic etc.... have none of you heard of a carpet cleaning vacuum??

I think while people are sold the idea that fake grass is the latest must have, you'll never get rid of carpets.

I don't have either!

i hate it but have no choice as in rented. also i believe in some places e.g. flats isn't there a law about having it or something due to noise issues?

Totally disagree with you OP. Surely it's personal taste and the UK is a colder climate so it's nice to feel carpet under your toes in the bedroom.

My SIL has laminate all over her house and it's not my taste, plus my dog struggles to walk on hers and skedaddles all over the place.

Lots of UK houses are Victorian, some older, some sprawling and draughty.

What country are you from @Finlesswonder

So first we have a thread that slags off British cooking and cuisine.

Then another thread complaining about British people using xx at the end of messages

And now this.

@Finlesswonder - in the nicest possible way. You sound very simple and dull.

I dont like hard flooring at all. I've got hard flooring in my new house and I'm going to cover the lot. It collects my cats fur like a bastard and there are dust bunnies everywhere.
But I guess carpets aren't everyone's cup of tea.
I dont mind ancient flagstones or original floorboards...lovely. but I loathe the plethora of cheap nasty hard flooring.

Maybe you should buy a flat or house then you can have what you want rather than dissing others choices

YABU

I am from a European country and actually British carpets are seen as a luxury item. And something that only the very wealthy have in their homes.

Generally the Winter on the continent is very cold and wooden floors make it worse. To the point where people store extra large rugs in the garage and bring out in the colder months.

Or - people buy Chalet socks as that's the cheaper equivalent.

Hope that helps you very much 🙂

You obviously haven’t ever lived in a flat with hardwood floor above you, or had noisy children stomping around upstairs, or lived in a cold old house, or bought proper nice 100% wool carpets. I hate having mucky feet from wooden floors and love the comfort of carpet. To be fair I have Persian rugs down in the rooms that do have hard floors (except kitchen and bathroom because carpet in there is germy) so I have both even in non-carpeted rooms.

Also an FYI but if you have no carpets in your house then children’s physical development and ability to crawl and walk can be significantly impacted. It’s all over the NHS advice about delayed fine motor skills to get children on carpets and my mother was a social worker and said the introduction of laminate into homes had a marked impact on children’s walking skills.

I don't find hard floors easier to vac than carpet, even with the correct head on the vac. I find it easier and faster to sweep the wood floors than vac them, but that does kick some dust back up, so I vac sometimes. But to be fair, I don't clean nearly as often as you do. No kids, no pets, mats at all doors to catch walked in dust and grit; it doesn't seem to me to need it, and I hate housework.

😂😂😂

You shampooed your carpets every week!!!!!!!!!!!

Carpet is very common here, but I've never heard of anyone who shampoos them every week, or even every year.

That's interesting. I have seen dogs slithering around on hard floors, and in one case I did worry that the dog might be injured- it was a breed with a tendency to hip problems.

Flooring is, of course, an individual’s choice in their own home. However, when dust/pollen/whatever lands on carpet, it generally stays there and is easily vacuumed. When the same lands on a hard floor, it can’t ‘stick’ in the same way. Most of it can be removed by damp mopping, and if you have time to do that a lot (especially in summertime), then fine. If not, then every time there’s a current of air, all that dust and debris, pollen, animal hair etc., just swirls around again and again, and guess what - you breathe it in!

I have hard flooring in kitchen and bathrooms, but there’s no way I would have it in bedrooms or sitting rooms, especially not laminate, which has its own issues.

I take off my shoes by the front door, and I don’t have any pets, so my carpets are not ‘gross’.

How on earth did humans survive and learn to walk and run all those many thousands of years before carpet🤣

@BlueMongoose
I have tiles downstairs and some lovely wood upstairs.

Apart from hoovering every day or 2 and taking round a damp mpop once a week I can't see any high maintenance.

Grated we oil the wood about 2-3 times a year.
It's the same clening / maintenance you'd give a carpet!

It's just my opinion. I do think that they are pretty dirty in general (despite what people say) but more than that I just don't like the look of them.
I don't really class rugs as carpets in the same way. I don't find wood floors difficult to look after at all.

I think fitted wardrobes are horrible too - it's just an opinion and other people love them.

1. Low cost
2. Durable
3. Easy to keep clean
4. Ideal if you have asthma/allergies

All the "carpets are unhygienic" drama llamas - so are cats, dogs, kids but we still have those. Unless you're cleaning them with your tongue I'd find something else to worry about.