With so many options to choose from, selecting the style of flooring for your home can be a difficult choice. Most of the time, homeowners face the decision to install new flooring directly after moving into a new residence or after years of wear on the same surface and it’s just that time for an upgrade. Whatever your reasoning for new flooring is, it's likely you've decided going with two of the most popular styles: carpet or hardwood. It’s a tough decision to make, so to make things easier, we’ve broken down the pros and cons of each one.
Carpet
Pros When you think of carpet, the first thing that generally comes to mind is the soft, cushy texture. Its fleecy fabric is accommodating to sit on, rest your knees, and sprawl out on when all other seating is filled. But the soft touch of carpet holds a number of advantages to its name that are far greater than just being comfy. With carpet, heavy furniture and equipment are able to be held sturdily in place; only with a significant nudge or push can couches, tables, or other furniture be moved when placed atop it. This is especially important when it comes to delaing with delicate china and other fragile decor that are expensive to replace.
Cons There’s nothing worse than casually walking through your living room and, with the slightest misstep, spilling your beverage. Bright red fruit juice, wines, and soda are notorious for leaving some heavy duty stains on carpet; additionally, for pet owners, dogs and cats are known to have “accidents” every now and then - which can lead to some pretty unfavorableodors and ugly blotches. This said, to be fair, stains can be removed if taken care of in a timely manner with the right cleaning solution.
Secondly, the fuzzy texture embodied by carpets - though pleasant to the touch - are guilty of hosting all kinds of grime between its crevices. Accumulations of dust, hair, food, and other forms of crud can get burrowed into carpet. This can go unnoticed by the naked eye, so it requires regular cleaning by vacuum every two weeks or so.
Hardwood
Pros There’s a certain quality to hardwood floors that make them exude a polished, traditional look. When matched with the rest of a home’s interior, the sleek shine of light against the wood surface surface pronounces the atmosphere with a refined touch. Opposite to carpet, liquid spills and pet stains are much easier to mop up and less likely to stain. However, in the event of serious liquid damage from a flood or leak, it’s likely wood flooring will warp and possibly suffer from molding.
Another nifty feature of hardwood flooring is the significantly lesser degree of upkeep it requires. Any floor will need cleaning no matter what material it’s made out of - the nice part about wood flooring, though, is it’s easy to tell when it needs to be cleaned. Its smooth grain surface works great with the bristles of a broom to effortlessly collect dirt and miscellaneous garbage.
Cons Wood flooring’s greatest shortcoming lies in its susceptibility to scratches. Moving furniture even the tiniest bit can lead to serious scuffs that can last for years. There’s a similar vulnerability to wood when it comes to accidentally dropping heavy objects on it, which create dents and abrasions - thus making for a pretty penny to repair.
Whether it be the windows or the flooring, every aspect of a home’s design plays an indispensable role in defining its overall style, comfort, and value. If you have any questions about replacement windows, contact Wallside to speak with a qualified professional.
