Should I rip up the stair carpet ?

[BigSkies2022]

Currently have no budget to recarpet the stairs and landings but the existing carpet is porridge-coloured, at least 14 years old, and after years of wear, including a frequently-grubby and occasionally vomiting spaniel, pretty disgusting.

I yearn to rip it up, even if means living with bare boards for a long while. Painting might be a stop gap. Has anyone done anything similar?

Yes I had the same in my first house. I got rid of the horrible carpet and painted the stairs. It was chilly and noisy, but easy to keep clean. I preferred it to grubby horrid carpet.

I like painted stairs, they are easier to keep clean than carpet. Dustpan and brush , wipe with Flash when needed.

You need to use proper floor paint though, ordinary paint will not take the wear.

Bare stairs can be very noisy. It's the only sound that carries from my next door neighbours.
Could you have the carpet professionally cleaned?

Yup I've done ours. I've painted the stairs using frenchic which is super strong. It's loid but brilliant

Thank you for your replies! I hadn't considered the noise, only the slipperiness of uncarpeted stairs. I brush the carpets, steam them, use bicarb to refresh, hoover...I'm a 'kin slave to them, frankly. I have had a fella in to clean them but he rolled his eyes and said, "pets and carpets don't mix'. Still took my money though, to carry out a not especially good job.

In the absence of money to do anything different at present, whether stripping floorboards/recarpeting/painting (taking up the stair carpet would probably mean taking up the landing carpet as well, no great loss IMO), DH has vetoed ripping it all up. So I shall be living with crap carpets for a bit longer.

Although I might circle back on painting as a stop gap if we have another wet and muddy spell.....

I did it, had horrible worn hallway and stair carpet, ripped it up and then spent years too busy and too skint to re carpet. I decided that I would paint it all and get runners. It was easy to do with a roller. I used a special floorboard paint in a chalky white and then laid colourful, ethnic runners. It looks 100% better. Lighter, brighter and cheaper than carpet. I just sweep and mop now ( not very often) Go for it!