Page 1 of CARPET OR LAMINATE ? - PLEASE HELP

Hi i currently have an all carpet house apart from the bathroom and kitchen which i will keep in lino whichever way i go.

i cant make my mind up whether to go for carpet or laminate :/ , people have told me that laminate gives a lot cleaner look and is easier to keep clean :) .

what im more concerned about is the dust, now it seems logical to me that although carpets can harbour a lot of dust etc, it is trapped in them until you hoover.
whereas any dust falling on laminate will just be laying on top of a hard surface and will simply be blown everywhere when a door is opened for example. has anyone who has switched from carpet to laminate noticed more or less dust!

any advice much appreciated :)

paul

This item was edited on Monday, 30th July 2007, 11:30

Our whole house is pretty much laminate apart from the stairs and 1 bedroom. Its fine in the dining room and kitchen but given a choice I would have carpet again in the lounge. It can get cold in the winter, my 4 year old has to wear socks with rubber on the sole to stop her slipping over and yes the dust/fluff is very unsightly. We can hoover every day and it still builds up. It doesn`t help that we have a rug though. The bedrooms aren`t to bad but you wouldn`t believe what gathers under the bed. :/

So if I was given a choice I would say Carpet.

The Jackal

If you have kids/pets,laminate.
If you don`t,carpet.
There are pros and cos for either (we have both in various parts of the house).
Laminate beats carpet for practicality hands down,but if it weren`t for kids we`d go for the comfort and warmth of carpet.

Quote:
my 4 year old has to wear socks with rubber on the sole to stop her slipping over

We always go for textured laminate,it stops all that.
It is dearer though.

This item was edited on Monday, 30th July 2007, 11:58

And whatever you do, don`t put laminate in a kid`s bedroom, as the noise down below defies comment!

Personally I like laminate in the kitchen but would not want it in the living room as it is so much colder and dustier.

Ground floor laminated throughout - Makes life easier, with dust, kids & associated spillages etc.




I consider myself an optimist, albeit an optimist with cynical tendencies and a dark side that Lucifer himself would find a little creepy. (Perhaps you've noticed.) You don't normally associate cynicism with an upbeat pov. But I have exactly that combination and will defend it.

I hate answering the phone at work - It disturbs my sleep.

Never found dust a problem with laminate.
It`s easily seen,it`s easily hoovered and/or you buy one of those `swiffer` things.
My wife`s weekly laminate routine is

1/ Hoover it
2/ Go over it with a swiffer to remove dust the hoover missed
3/ Go over it with a `Flash` motorised mop thing,that sprays out laminate cleaner.

If you go for laminate,for the love of god don`t go for cheap stuff.
It`s horrible.
It often doesn`t join flush,so you get raised egdes at the joins.
These raised edges get caught on stuff and chip horrible.

A very rough guide,which my laminate laying bro-in-law gave me,is to look for the most rigid stuff.If you hold up a plank of the cheap stuff,it flexes.Dearer stuff doesn`t flex.
A texture (like woodgrain) also adds to the finish.
Our living room laminate is three years old now.
Chip,scratch and fade free,despite kids.
If you plan to put a rug on it,B+Q`s rug-gripper stuff works amazingly well.
How it works,I haven`t got a clue,because it lifts easily.
Try kicking the rug sideways though and it`s a different story./
I can only assume it`s magic. ;)

We have laminate throughout downstairs apart from the kitchen and downstairs loo (both lino), but we also have underfloor heating - so no problems with it feeling cold.
Dust can be a problem, though, it seems to collect at the edges of rooms and particularly in doorways. A quick vacuum takes care of that, of course.

Definately Laminate.

Yes, it does show up all the dust (and mites, insects) but considering that this dust and creepy crawlies would otherwise be hidden within carpet fibres, would you rather a small child crawled on an apparently `clean` carpet and breathed in the hidden dust (and give rise to long term respiratory problems) or on laminate where the dust, ants can be easily wiped cleaned.

I have asthma and found my symptoms much better once I had laminate flooring, compared to carpets.

PS, rooms look alot cleaner with laminates rather than carpets.
Laminates are `cold` in the winter months, as opposed to carpets but one could always position a `carpet` rug near one sits.

Definately Laminate.

Yes, it does show up all the dust (and mites, insects) but considering that this dust and creepy crawlies would otherwise be hidden within carpet fibres, would you rather a small child crawled on an apparently `clean` carpet and breathed in the hidden dust (and give rise to long term respiratory problems) or on laminate where the dust, ants can be easily wiped cleaned.

I have asthma and found my symptoms much better once I had laminate flooring, compared to carpets.

PS,

Rooms look alot cleaner with laminates rather than carpets.

Laminates are `cold` in the winter months, as opposed to carpets but one could always position a small `carpet` rug near one sits.

Got laminate in the back downstairs room as thats where the dining table is so easy to pick up food that is dropped. Missus wanted laminate in the lounge - the dog when we had him couldn`t walk without skidding everywhere so we didn`t bother.

Also I quite like to sit on the floor playing the 360 ;) so sooner prefer a soft carpet!