Which Is Better, Wood Flooring or Carpet?
If it’s time to install new flooring at your place, you probably have questions about which type of flooring is ideal. Perhaps you’ve even narrowed it down to a choice between hardwood flooring or carpeting. The question that’s on your mind now: Which is better, wood flooring or carpet?
Longevity of Hardwood Flooring vs Carpet
One of hardwood flooring’s main advantages is its long lifespan. Once it’s installed in your home, you can sand it down and refinish it multiple times. Engineered hardwood flooring is the exception to this. Engineered flooring cannot always easily be refinished.
Carpet, in contrast, does not offer the same longevity that a hardwood floor does. Carpet’s lifespan is variable depending on several factors including the abrasion resistance of the specific carpeting you install, the care and maintenance you invest in the carpeting, and the amount of wear and abuse it suffers overall. If you install cheap carpet in a high-traffic home that includes kids, pets and lots of activity, the carpet may wear out in a year or even less.
Hardwood flooring is the best choice of flooring materials when it comes to longevity.
Resale Value of Wood Flooring vs Carpet
Hardwood flooring is significantly more popular with home buyers than carpeting is, and thus wood flooring tends to add more value to a home than carpet does.
Costs for Wood Flooring vs Carpet
Wood flooring can cost twice or three times the amount that carpet costs, which gives carpet a clear edge over wood flooring in the affordability department. If you’re on a tight budget for redoing your flooring, carpet may be your smartest option.
Cleaning Wood Flooring vs Carpet
Wood flooring is the clear-cut winner over carpet when it comes to cleaning. A wood floor is far easier to clean and maintain than carpeting is. Cleaning carpet involves weekly vacuum cleaning. It’s also necessary to either rent or buy an expensive carpet shampooing machine periodically if you want to get carpet really clean.
In contrast, you don’t need anything special to clean your wood floor. Necessary supplies include a broom, mop, bucket, water and wood floor cleaner. However, you do need to be prompt when cleaning up liquid-based spills to avoid damage to the floor.
People prone to suffering from dust, pollen, pet hair or other allergies will be far more comfortable with wood flooring. It can be challenging to thoroughly remove these allergens from carpeting, even with consistent cleaning.
Advantages of Carpet Over Wood Flooring
Carpet is warmer and softer than wood flooring. However, these advantages don’t do much to give carpeting an edge over wood flooring since you can put a rug on your wood floor to duplicate those advantages.
Conclusion
For people on a tight budget, carpet may be a better choice than hardwood flooring due to carpet’s lower cost of installation. Otherwise, hardwood flooring is clearly the more desirable choice of flooring materials.