Should you choose Carpet, Hardwoods, or Tile floors in Birmingham, AL?

Should you choose Carpet, hardwood, or tile floors in Birmingham, AL?  It’s one of the biggest choices to make when building a new home or renovating. Obviously, the problem is that once the choice has been made, it can be a very costly exercise to replace the flooring should you wish to change it. Hardwoods, laminate or tile are becoming more popular due to the fact that they are much easier to clean than carpet, and with all the new styles, they are extremely attractive. There is no contest when it comes to mopping up spills; hard floor will win every time, hands down. So, are there any cons to have hard floors?

Well, here are a few complaints about hard floor covering:

• Hard flooring is colder on the feet.
• Heating bills increase. This is solely due to the fact that wall to wall carpeting acts as an insulator, in fact insulated floors account for 10 to 20% of heat loss from a home.
• A slip or fall hurts more on a tiled or wooden floor. Carpet will definitely soften a slip or a fall, an important factor to consider if you are elderly or if you young children or a baby..
• Hard floor coverings are noisier. Carpeting acts as sound barrier and is less noisy when walking across. .
• Hard floor coverings are more expensive. Yes, a good quality hard floor covering and installation will cost way more than installing a good quality carpet.

So, why would anyone want to get Hardwoods or Tile? Well, if you keep up with home trends, this is easy to figure out.  Hardwoods are the rage and they look awesome, rich and elegant in a new home. This trend actually started back in the early 70’s in Sweden, when several reports came out claiming that carpeting could hold contaminants responsible for causing allergies and increasing asthma related complaints. As a result, the general public and many businesses began converting to hard floor coverings, so much so that the percentage of carpeted floors in Sweden fell from 40% in the mid-seventies to around 2% by 1992. What was the result? The graph below speaks for itself.

A report released in later years stated that there was no evidence that the removal of carpet improved conditions for allergy patients. The report nowhere stated that the opposite was apparent, but merely stated that the benefits of comfort, insulation and noise reduction were lost with the replacement of carpet. As you can see though, allergy related complaints actually increased. So, does having carpet in a home in fact reduce asthma and allergy related complaints? Now, while it hasn’t been scientifically proven, it has been suggested that carpet could actually work as a filter for dust and allergens in the home. With further explanation it starts to make sense. There is always dust in a home, floating in the air, some of it in the “breathing zone.”  As the air is stirred, the dust floats around, settling on available surfaces until it is removed or stirred up again by movement.

With carpeting, rather than stirring up dust every time you walk across the floor, the small dust particles actually settle into the carpet fibers and can be picked up when you vacuum.  So, they are not floating around as much as on hard floor surfaces.  So with regular vacuuming and maintenance, you can reduce the dust in your home. This includes regular professional carpet cleanings to help remove the embedded dirt and dust.  It is highly possible that a carpeted home is actually beneficial for those that might suffer with asthma and allergy complaints as dust is not stirred up every time you walk across the room. Heaven’s Best Carpet & Rug Cleaners love both carpets and hard floor coverings.  We clean all of them!  But, you may want to take into consideration the info in this article when you are deciding whether you should choose Carpet, Hardwoods, or Tile floors in Birmingham, AL.  Regardless of what you choose, let Heaven’s Best help maintain your floors with periodic cleanings.  Call us today at (205) 739-1880 for our current specials.