new carpets?

[Hther]

i rcently moved into a new house where the carpets are absolutely disgusting. I don't know what the previous tenants did to them but seconds after getting out of the shower you ahve black feet. I was going to get a carpet cleaner ot steam cleaner or something but they were professionally cleaned before I moved in so I assume they are so bad that nothing will get them clean. I now have permission to remove and replace them.

I wasn't sure whether to get carpet or laminate. I thought laminate is easier to clean, especially as I will be potty training soon and have another one to potty train in the next couple of years too, and if water etc gets spilt, we don't get wet feet and baby doesn't get wet clothes crawling around while it dries. However, I assume its much more expensive and I did say I wouldn't have it again as it needed sweeping / hoovering several times a day and still looked messy as it showed up every speck of dust, hair, bit of fluff etc. I thought I would let cost decide it.

I don't know wat sort of carpets to choose. I know that I want a dark colour but that's all. I had a carpet once that was almost impossible to hoover as the hoover jst stuck to it; maybe it was too plush? Actually my upstairs carpets are hard to hoover too bt more as they lift up so probably more to do with the way they were fitted? I think cord carpet is cheaper but I had some before and found it was hard to clean and always looked dirty, and also very thin although I never had underlay at the time.

I have had a few quotes and was horrified. My priority was downstairs, the living room, hallway and kitchen (vinyl) are the worst but really want to do the whole house but so far have just had quotes for downstairs and wasw horrified. I can't fit carpets myself and have no-one who can but is it generally cheaper to buy carpets separately then get someone to fit them rather than get the shop to fit them? One company has an offer on wool carpets but when I asked how they are to clean they said harder, but another shop said they are the best for cleaning.

Any ideas?

oh dear!
Doesn't sound as though the pro cleaners did a very good job - they should have been able to get the carpets cleaner than that, I'm sure.

You could, as one other option, consider carpet tiles. They are relatively cheap, not that hard to fit yourself and have the advantage of being replaceable if one gets too filthy (e.g. milk all over it) to clean properly.

If you are going to get a proper carpet, an 80% wool, 20% nylon is probably the hardest wearing and has a level of stain resistance, plus can be coated with more. I would go for a heather twist rather than just a dark carpet - because light fluff shows up on a dark carpet just as badly as dirt on a light one.

Don't let anyone con you into getting a polypropylene carpet - although it is almost completely stain resistant, the fibres go flat quite quickly, so it doesn't wear well at all.

If you get a fitted carpet, let the shop send the fitters - in the long run you are going to be best served by having ones the shop relies on than some cheapo guy who might just be a cowboy and leave you with baggy carpets like you have upstairs.

HTH.

On a different note, why are you paying for the carpets. You are renting I presume ? You should speak to the landlord and tell him that you want new carpets fitted as the old ones are not fit for a tennanted property !

its a weird housing system here. You have first stage property, then second (you can be moved several times buut still be in second stage), both of which are temporary and then third stage permanent. Often the first two stages are housing association but they rent from a private landlord, they have carpets, curtains, fridge and cooker. Now in this instance, something i have never heard of before, my second stage proerty got some council funding, and has become permaanent so i'm allowed now to decorate, replace carperts etc

Have you tried an independant carpet fitter? Often better value than a "Carpet Right" type shop.
Like Thumbwitch says, 80/20 mix carpet is hardwearing and easy to clean. We have a dark oatmeal/light coffee coloured mottled carpet and it's great for hiding marks. We say it's "food coloured"!

Meant to add that in third stage you have bare floorboards, no appliances or curtains but as they were already here i was allowed to kep them, but they are my ressponsibility to maintain / replace etc

i realised yesterday that the really dirty bits are sticky and on looking closely, they seem to be blu tak, so maybe that is why they didn't clean very well, presumably the dirt is stuck? I read about using an ice cube so i have rubbed over the patches and the ice did seem to loosen them. I then had a go with soapy water, scrubbing with a brush til I got blisters and the water was filthy, i probably didn't do the pile much good though! Until it dries i don't know whether this has helped, although i'm not sure i will ever feel confident that its properly clean as it was in such a bad way.

carpet tiles sound good, but as to fitting them myself, seriously I really am useless, I can change a light bulb, thats it!

Actually, carpet right have a 50 % sale on at the mo plus an extra 20% off some carpets but haven't tried them yet.

I have been trying to find a tape measure to give you guys some idea but I have been quoted £1000 just for downstairs, and my tumble dryer blew up, and my washing machine and freezer need replacing too!

ok just measured my living room and its 5.5 by 7.01, and i was quoted 500 for this, that was the cheapest, the mid quality was 899

i think i can cover up the dirty part of the hall by buying a long runner

my living room is split, half carpet, half vinyl, vinyl is ok, i just don't like mopping! maybe i should just leave vinyl, then replace carpet to make things cheaper.

thumbwitch there is an offer on wool carpets but its 100% wool , what's this like?

Think you should consider having dark carpet very carefully. Any bit of fluff/hair/etc shows up instantly. My cousin has dark carpets, and they always look like they need hoovering - unless they've just been done.

ok maybe a mid brown, or dark beige sort of thing?

A sort of oatmeal colour (with light grey, light brown, and cream fibers visible if you look quite closely) seems to be most common in flats I've seen.

thats better just had quote for 1052 whole house

k, my carpets have been fitted, i went for one of the cheapest but not the very cheapest type of carpet. I dhad decieded to go for a beige or oatmeal but eh nearest they had was called coffee. Now its down it seems darker than in the shop but never mind. However, its the type of carpert now i'm not sure i got right.

I have had cord carpets before, the cheapest type possible and i found they stained but have had very plush carpets before where the hoover stuck to them and was really hrd to use so i assumed i shouldn't have plush carpets and thought what i had chosen was somewhere in between. However i think it seems to be cord but a thicker better quality one than the one that stained so i am worried that this will stain too (am about to embark on potty training). I have found longer pile carpetpretty easy to clean but maybe thats because the dirt gets rubbed in as you're cleaning furrther down deep into the pile so its still there but you can't see it so maybe the one i have is more hygienic or is this wishful thinking?