Carpet or laminate?

[izstigspunks]

Our whole house is carpeted, except the kitchen, bathrooms and entrances. Even our dining area is carpeted.

Our second floor now has that 'dog' smell, mainly from the times Stig comes home from daycare. Should I stay with carpet and get a cleaner for approx. $240 from Costco or should I try and switch it to laminate? I figured it's going to cost between $700-$1000. Money's a little tight, but having to buy shampoo regularly is a downside to the carpet cleaner.

 

[TessaAndSamson]

I don't like either but have both LOL Upstairs is all carpet (except bathrooms are tile), downstairs is all laminate (except the bathroom is tile). Carpet hold in smells and hair, I just think carpet is kind of gross. Laminate wood flooring sucks because it warps if it gets wet and the water just sits there. For instance when my beagle Loki has an accident in the house she always does it in one spot and that area of laminate has now warped. Same with where the dog water bowl is. I have a plastic mat under the water bowls and I wipe up the water like twice a day but still after the drink they BOTH leave little puddles of water in the area and it has caused that part of the floor to warp. When I change my flooring I want vinyl, tile would be nice too but it gets so cold! Someone here, I believe Gertie'sMom brought this up before. Let me go search for that thread

 

[TessaAndSamson]

[MENTION=1209]savemejeebus[/MENTION] Here is the thread where we talked about flooring, http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...s-your-bully-scratch-up-your-wood-floors.html But to completely answer you question about just cleaning it for now or replacing the floor, I'd say wait if you can't afford to replace the carpet with what you really want or would work best for your home.

 

[cadillactaste]

I think you need to decide what you are more comfortable with...I have carpet,tile and hardwood in my home..and have so many compliments on my house not smelling like pets. I vacuum and also have a carpet scrubber. [But I don't clean my carpet constantly] but also use a diffuser from Crossroads. This lasts MONTHS before needing replaced. And I always have compliments of how my house never smells like pets...yet we have several critters.

Buttered Maple Syrup Reed Diffuser by Country Village Shoppe

 

[izstigspunks]

Thanks [MENTION=574]TessaAndSamson[/MENTION]. Completely forgot about that thread. Costco's having a really good sale on their laminate, so it's very tempting. But I also browsed the wood looking vinyl flooring and they are really nice, almost double the price though. I have some Visa points that I can redeem at Home Depot, but I wanted to save that for a hotel stay when travelling. I guess I need to think about it some more. =)

 

[Gertie's Mom]

Instead of replacing the carpeting in our family room, we had the whole house professionally cleaned and we really are happy with it. We have a Hoover steam cleaner and we spot clean often and do the whole family room or whole downstairs every few months, which perks the carpet up, but having a pro come in with their truck-mounted machine was amazing! The carpets nearly look new. Everything smells fresh and clean. I use a plug-in heated oil fragrance thing by Bath &Body Works. Never hurts to have something that smells good, just in case your dogs don't.

 

[Lacey28]

I personally love my laminate and also hardwood. Silva doesnt have accidents anymore so it is okay! We did have one accident when she was a baby and it left a raised area in the laminate. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Alice Kable]

My best advice is to save up and get what you want. Porcelain tile with colored grout, or concrete work the best!