If you’re building or moving into a new home, there are many decisions to make, and one of the most important is your choice of flooring. For most people, the choice comes down to two options, carpet or wood flooring.

Carpet is an entirely synthetic, soft, quiet, inexpensive material with a relatively short lifespan. Wood is a natural, hard, and significantly more expensive material that will likely last longer than you own your home. So, to help you with this decision, here are the pros and cons of carpeting your home.

First the pros:

It’s inexpensive-Compared to most other flooring materials, carpet is less costly. This is an important factor in determining the total price of the home. In addition, it’s easier and less expensive to install.

It adds warmth, color, and comfort to your home-Carpet is soft and can give your home a cozy feeling that can’t be matched by hard flooring.

It’s quieter-Carpet absorbs sound and will help to eliminate echoes. It will also soften the sounds of footsteps or other noises such as conversation or music.

It hides dirt-Carpet collects dirt that can be vacuumed off, so it gives your home a cleaner look.

Those are some of the important advantages of carpets. Now come the cons:

Dust, dirt, and allergens-While carpet holds and hides dust and dirt, it can also hold allergens, dust mites, or other pests like fleas.

It can retain moisture-Carpet can retain moisture that may cause mold or mildew

It needs more routine maintenance-Carpet needs to be vacuumed frequently, and periodically shampooed

It shows wear and tear-Compared to hard flooring, the carpet will show wear much sooner than hard flooring.

Carpet stains easily-It’s easy to stain a carpet, but not so easy to get the stains out.

It needs to be replaced periodically-Hard flooring lasts much longer than carpet, even if the carpet is regularly cleaned and maintained.

Carpet isn’t for everyone, nor are hard floors. The reality is that you’ll likely find yourself using a combination of the two for your new home. Understanding the characteristics of each material can help you to make the best decisions for yourself and your family. For more information about how to select the right carpet for your home, click this link.

Floor Advisor is the flooring installation expert you can trust for high-quality flooring. We are a family-owned and operated business and have been serving the Leesburg, Lansdowne, Ashburn, Broadlands, Sterling, and Loudon County areas for over 20 years. We have a strong commitment to providing you with the best possible customer service, from your initial consultation to the completion of your installation and beyond. Whatever your flooring needs, our highly trained professionals will work with you to guarantee your complete satisfaction. For more information about the products and services we offer, visit our website, or give us a call at one of our three locations:

Alexandria: 703-658-5353 5710 D General Washington Dr
Gainesville: 571-222-6810 5615 Wellington Rd, Suite 11
Leesburg: 571-919-4010 19304 Promenade Dr