Help me get a new living room carpet here. I think 10 years is long enough and we need a new one to freshen the room. Other half thinks it’s a good quality carpet and will do another 10 easily. What’s your opinion?
Edit: thanks to everyone who has opined. Back to the drawing board. Maybe hard floor and rugs which I would prefer. Other half likes carpet but he’s not the one vacuuming it…
28 comments
There’s no correct answer for this. It’s subjective to your household and heavily dependant on if you have kids and pets.
Like most things, actually look at them and judge for yourself if they are worn/damaged.
Carpets don’t have some built in best before date.
Depends on the household and the carpet quality.
A good quality, natural fibre carpet in a two adult household could last decades. A cheap one in a house with 3 kids and pets would be lucky to see 3 years.
I’m thinking about stripping out the living room carpet I inherited with the house. It’s around 30 years old.
Have you tried using a wet vac carpet cleaner to see if that will help freshen it up? Give it a proper deep clean. You can hire one from places like B&Q for a day
Mines gone to shit after 4 years. 2 young children and a dog. Will be going hard floor with a rug next.
The correct answer is to rip up carpet and put in hard floors and never have carpet again becuse carpet is a gross dirt repository.
If you want someone to back you up. Call a carpet shop, ask to speak to their best salesman, ask him if you need a new carpet, then pass him over to your other half 🙂
I bought the cheapest carpet I could for my flat when I moved in 5 years ago and it’s already starting to degrade quite badly.
My granny had new wool carpets put in her house in the 60s and they’re still there and in decent nick. This is why I always choose neutral colours for a carpet, as you can redecorate around it.
I second the suggestion to hire a proper carpet cleaner and give them a go over, you might be surprised what comes out of them.
Most decent carpets go out of fashion before they wear out. I lift carpets in my job that have been down since the 60s that still have plenty of life left in them
life’s too short, spend the money on a little holiday instead.
There’s no rule. Epecially as carpet is of such varying quality, material, thickness etc.
Buy a carpet cleaner and use it every now and then, you’d be shook when you see the dark brown water and filth come out of your carpet. It’s grim. Worth the investment though
As soon as your feet start to feel a bit beachy
My stairs carpets need replacing. They were put in the same time as the bedroom carpets which do not. I suppose it is a judgement call; are they worn out, is the colour completely different, could having them cleaned give them new life….
My Gran had the same hall carpet since moving into her house 40 years ago until last year. I think it just depends on the colour, design and quality of the individual carpet.
If you are concerned about energy bills it should be a factor in your decision that carpet acts as an additional insulating layer, particularly in dual-floor properties
If there’s nothing wrong with it, why waste money?
My carpet was there when I moved in 29 years ago and it’s still perfectly good enough. Though I imagine in a house with kids, things might be different.
I think if your partner is saying it could last another 10 years then it doesn’t *need* replacing due to wear and tear.
As others have said, you could get a carpet cleaner to improve it a bit.
Is it more a case of you wanting a change to update the look of the room? If so, maybe go to your partner with this argument rather than condition of the carpet?
And if you think you’ll replace it again in future for the same reason, rather than because it’s worn out, look at cheaper carpets instead.
Wool carpet can last up to 15 years depending on the quality and how you care for it. That synthetic trash needs to be replaced every 3 years, but most of us are too poor to do anything so we just live with it.
my old man had the same carpet for about 20 years
Is the carpet worn and or faded? If not, only reason to change it would be for a different look.
You know you can hire a professional carpet cleaner to come and wash and steam it?
Don’t go hardwood if you’re the one doing the cleaning. Shows the dirt and dust tons more so needs to be hoovered more often!
Doesn’t hide in the pile it’s there for everyone to see.
And that is the reason I replaced it with a wooden floor.
If it’s worn out, or colour tastes change.
People liked this sort of thing once….
https://flashbak.com/shag-carpet-and-the-sleazy-seventies-19216/
https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/1970s_carpets?page=2
It generally SHOULD be replaced when it’s worn out, but then again should you only replace your car when it’s knackered? Maybe you WANT to replace your carpet. If finances allow it then sure.