cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutters

[luv2sparkle]

I have spent the better part of two days cleaning my carpets. They didn't look dirty but boy, were they. I don't know if I am the only one but I do my major cleaning when I know there are people coming over. There are just so many other things I would rather do than clean. I keep up and don't have clutter but the deep stuff like washing curtains, cleaning baseboards and blinds I let go as long as I can. I really don't like dusting all that much either.

I have been thinking about switching out the carpet for hardwood floors. We didn't do it for several reasons when we moved in, but mostly
because the kids were younger and we put a pool in so I didn't want them tromping up the stairs dripping wet all over a wood floor.

So which is easier to clean. Carpets I vacuum weekly and wash once or twice a year, or hardwood floors. Do hardwoods require more upkeep?

I really hate cleaning the individual slats of blinds. I am having shutters put in my son's room tomorrow. Are they easier to clean than wood blinds? I am contemplating putting them all over the house. We ordered 3 1/2 inch slats.

What do you think?

 

[Haven]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We have wood floors in the entire house, except for the family room.

I prefer hardwood to carpet for many reasons. I think it just plain looks nicer, and I do feel that it is cleaner.
We clean the hardwood by vacuuming it a couple times a week, or using Bona (a cleaning solution for hardwood floors) and a dry mop. I don't think it's much work, and it's definitely much easier to clean a spill from hardwood than it is from a rug or carpet. (We have pets--why oh why do they always manage to get sick on a rug?! Is it on purpose or something????)

We don't have slat blinds. We have woven window shades and curtains. They're pretty easy to keep clean.

 

[chemgirl]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I find hardwood floors much easier to clean, but I have 3 cats and carpets are a hassle with pets. I vacuum twice per week and then do a quick sweep if I know people are coming over. I find hardwood to be great for allergies as well since there's less dust and grime trapped in there. My current floors have a weird finish on them and I can mop them. The hardwood at my parent's house is a sort of wax finish and they've never mopped or anything. They have a special cleaner they spray on spills and it keeps the finish looking brand new.

I prefer machine washable curtains, but I know that's not always the prettiest solution. I have some california shutters (I think that's the type you're looking at) and I find them fairly easy to clean using the blind attachment on my dyson vacuum. Its part of the allergy prevention kit. They're a pain to clean by hand, but not quite as annoying as the thin plastic blinds.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We have wooden 2" blinds now. They have a string down the center and they wobble when you clean them. I have vacuumed them and dusted them with a duster and cleaned them individually with a micro fiber cloth. Hate hate hate it.

The shutters I ordered don't have a lever down the center so I am hoping they will be easier. The curtains are really long and take forever to iron. Let me show you what I mean. Sorry for dark bad photos but you get the idea. Nightmare curtains.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I maybe do the curtains twice a year. Maybe that would be less work than dusting blinds. Opinions needed.

Those photos look really yellow. The color is called aged parchment and is not that yellow, or the couch for that matter. Hmm.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We have hardwoods in our house and I love them. I feel they are easier to care for and cleaner than carpet. I use my Dyson just about everyday (we have a dog) and use a Swiffer Wet Jet about once a week. We are mindful of things that may scratch the floors as I don't want the hassle of needing to refinish them anytime soon.

Also, we have curtains in the living room and bedrooms. The bedrooms also have the faux wood blinds. In the living room we have thermal curtains to keep the cold out in the winter and I machine wash them probably 2 or 3 times a year. The blinds I only dust if I know someone is coming over We also have the blinds on our kitchen windows but those get wiped down about once a week as my 3 year old likes to touch them with his grimey hands.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I really hate cleaning the individual slats of blinds. I am having shutters put in my son's room tomorrow. Are they easier to clean than wood blinds? I am contemplating putting them all over the house. We ordered 3 1/2 inch slats.

What do you think?

They can be soooo attractive, but in my (long-ago) experiences, wood shutters and wood blinds are both PITA dust magnets. Horizontiality (just to make up a word ) is the enemy when it comes to easy-care!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

Hmmm...I actually think carpet is easier to clean than hardwood. I don't have shutters but they seem like they would be a PITA to clean. At least with blinds you can take them down to clean them.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

IMO, carpets are GROSS!!! lol We have hardwood in just our kitchen and dining room and if I could have a house built, it would be ALL hardwoods (except for the bathrooms). When we moved into our house, the carpets had been professionally cleaned, but still when I use my little handheld cleaner, dirt comes up. With hardwoods, the first time you clean them and see how much dust and dirt comes up, it's easy to imagine that most of that same kind of stuff is being ground into the carpet and impossible to vaccum up. With hardwoods, everything can be mopped up. I wouldn't go for anything super high end though, because then if a beverage is spilled, the floors would have to be refinished.

One thing to keep in mind is if you switch out carpet to wood flooring, the dust flies up everywhere! It can be an especially messy job.

ETA - I vaccum my wood once a week, vaccum the house THREE times a week (two kids, cat, plus we have a lot of company come over kids/parents) so it's constant cleaning. The reason you don't want to do hardwoods in the bathroom is b/c if you have a leak the floor boards WILL warp!

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

Well, we just had the shutters installed in my son's room. I am not sure if the valances will go back up. I really liked how they looked. These shutters are not solid wood, and they are supposed to hold up better. On this side of the house, the sun bakes so we were afraid that the solid wood would warp. The guy who installed them said that they are really easy to clean. You just tilt the slats level and use a duster and they are not supposed to attract dust. We'll have to see about that part. I think we will probably do the family room and kitchen door next and the living room with the slider last. That's a 4K project on it's own.

It's hard to know how much improving to do on a house in todays market.

Here is a photo of the finished shutters, you can see that there is not center bar to make for easier cleaning.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

IMO, carpets are GROSS!!! lol We have hardwood in just our kitchen and dining room and if I could have a house built, it would be ALL hardwoods (except for the bathrooms). When we moved into our house, the carpets had been professionally cleaned, but still when I use my little handheld cleaner, dirt comes up. With hardwoods, the first time you clean them and see how much dust and dirt comes up, it's easy to imagine that most of that same kind of stuff is being ground into the carpet and impossible to vaccum up. With hardwoods, everything can be mopped up. I wouldn't go for anything super high end though, because then if a beverage is spilled, the floors would have to be refinished.

One thing to keep in mind is if you switch out carpet to wood flooring, the dust flies up everywhere! It can be an especially messy job.

ETA - I vaccum my wood once a week, vaccum the house THREE times a week (two kids, cat, plus we have a lot of company come over kids/parents) so it's constant cleaning. The reason you don't want to do hardwoods in the bathroom is b/c if you have a leak the floor boards WILL warp!

I agree, dirt wise, MC. I do like the feel of carpet under my feet though. I like the cushyness. We have tile on most of our downstairs
with an area rug in the family room. In the summer the tile feels nice and cool but in the winter, even with socks on, it feels hard and cold.

Don't you have to mop hardwoods more that you have to vacuum and steam carpets? Do you use a steamer on your hardwoods? Are there sealed hardwood products that hold up really well? I don't know if I want to worry about scratches and every little thing.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

IMO, carpets are GROSS!!! lol We have hardwood in just our kitchen and dining room and if I could have a house built, it would be ALL hardwoods (except for the bathrooms). When we moved into our house, the carpets had been professionally cleaned, but still when I use my little handheld cleaner, dirt comes up. With hardwoods, the first time you clean them and see how much dust and dirt comes up, it's easy to imagine that most of that same kind of stuff is being ground into the carpet and impossible to vaccum up. With hardwoods, everything can be mopped up. I wouldn't go for anything super high end though, because then if a beverage is spilled, the floors would have to be refinished.

One thing to keep in mind is if you switch out carpet to wood flooring, the dust flies up everywhere! It can be an especially messy job.

ETA - I vaccum my wood once a week, vaccum the house THREE times a week (two kids, cat, plus we have a lot of company come over kids/parents) so it's constant cleaning. The reason you don't want to do hardwoods in the bathroom is b/c if you have a leak the floor boards WILL warp!

I agree, dirt wise, MC. I do like the feel of carpet under my feet though. I like the cushyness. We have tile on most of our downstairs
with an area rug in the family room. In the summer the tile feels nice and cool but in the winter, even with socks on, it feels hard and cold.

Don't you have to mop hardwoods more that you have to vacuum and steam carpets? Do you use a steamer on your hardwoods? Are there sealed hardwood products that hold up really well? I don't know if I want to worry about scratches and every little thing.

I do sweep the wood floors every day (forgot to mention that), but I don't mop very often...ideally, they should be mopped at least once a week, but I flake out on that. As long as they're swept up, I'm fine with that. lol! We don't have high-end floors so I'm not sure about steaming. For cleaner I use Bruce hardwood floor spray. Just spray a spot and then mop that, then spray another spot and mop again.

Oh, and FWIW, we have white carpet in the rest of the house! Ugh - so I'd take scratches on the floors any day over stains on the carpet. Our dining set has felt pads on the bottoms so chairs can't mark the wood.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We went to Lowe's to order more shutters for the family room. They are 20% off, plus another 5% if you use a Lowe's card. We will do
that for the discount. So almost 1900. reduced to under 1500. and tax and installation are included in the price. They are made by Graber.
I think that is a pretty good deal for 2 large windows and a glass door.


We need to go to Lumber Liquidators to see about flooring. Has anyone purchased floors from them? I am thinking Bella Wood floors, but would like to get opinions if someone has recently done new wood flooring in their home.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I put wood plantation shutters at almost all our downstairs windows in our new house and put wide slat blinds in upstairs bedrooms. You can't tell from the front of the house that they are different. After living in the house a year, I did go on and add some valances (and panels in the great room). I just felt like something was missing. But I LOVE my shutters and wouldn't change them ever! here's a picture of the master br. (Oh, and we have a mixture of hardwood and carpet. I like the feel and warmth of carpet in the bedrooms but we have hardwood in the foyer, dining room, den, kitchen, and breakfast room. Carpet in great room. Both require equal upkeep as far as I am concerned.)

 

[swingirl]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

What lovely rooms!!!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I put wood plantation shutters at almost all our downstairs windows in our new house and put wide slat blinds in upstairs bedrooms. You can't tell from the front of the house that they are different. After living in the house a year, I did go on and add some valances (and panels in the great room). I just felt like something was missing. But I LOVE my shutters and wouldn't change them ever! here's a picture of the master br. (Oh, and we have a mixture of hardwood and carpet. I like the feel and warmth of carpet in the bedrooms but we have hardwood in the foyer, dining room, den, kitchen, and breakfast room. Carpet in great room. Both require equal upkeep as far as I am concerned.)

Diamondseeker, your room is so lovely!

 

[Octavia]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

(We have pets--why oh why do they always manage to get sick on a rug?! Is it on purpose or something????)

Yes. Seriously, whenever our cat gets sick, he runs from wherever he is, usually nowhere near a rug, to one of our area rugs to do his dirty deed. I've watched him do it (granted, I was running to try to shove him off at the time, but he's faster than I am. Even when he's about to muck up my rug with cat sick).

We have spilled stuff on our hardwood floors lots of tines and never needed to refinish -- just sop it up. There are sone fantastic finishes on the market nowadays, they're practically indestructible. I think it would only be a problem if you left puddles of liquid sitting there for hours. Hardwoods get my vote every time, I hope never to have wall-to-wall carpeting again.

 

[PositivelyPeanut]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We have hardwood in the great room, kitchen, and dining room. Carpet in the bedrooms. Tile in the laundry room, bathrooms, and entryway. Tile is my vote for the very easiest flooring. Hardwood can be a lot of upkeep, depending on the lifestyles (kids, pets, water) and also on the color of the hardwood (dark and shiny will show EVERYTHING). I love the feel of carpet, but don't like the idea of the "hidden dirt" and germs.

The house was new when we bought it a couple of years ago and had all of it already done. If I was to do it over today, I would have tile in all of the living areas (with rugs) and distressed medium toned hardwood in the bedrooms (again, with rugs). But, we also have four dogs...so I'm constantly vacuuming (canister Miele...a godsend) and lightly "mopping" with Bona or a little bit of water. We also live on the coast, so tile in all of the living areas isn't anything too out of the norm for our area.

 

[Imdanny]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

Carpets are definitely not easier to clean than any hard floor, tile, wood, concrete, tarrazzo, you name it. I don't like carpet and I would get rid of it in a New York minute if I had it and had another option. When you clean a hard floor, it's as clean as the day it was new (well, except the grout, but close enough). Carpet soaks up dirt, particulates, mold, anything and everything, every day. Eventually, the dirt will soak right through the padding underneath the carpet and right down to the boards that form a floor.

Curtains are a little easier, because they can go in a clothes washer. Well, any curtains I have would go in clothes washer, or I wouldn't own them. But, carpet? In my opinion, you might as well throw your laundry on the floor, glue it to the floor, and walk all over it. I can't stand it.

Edited to add, if I had wool carpet, and lived in a winter climate, and never wore my shoes inside (I don't), and had a nice vacuum cleaner, I might have it in my bedroom, but please remember I live in a tropical climate, and everything rots. No place that has carpet here is anything other than a molded hellhole.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I tend to spend more time cleaning my hardwoods, but I feel like they are easier to keep clean than carpet.

I vacuum downstairs (where the dogs are during hte day) every day, come hell or high water. Then once a week, I steam clean the hardwoods, which isn't nearly as time consuming as steam cleaning carpet, but still a PITA. Our floors are very old (~250 years) and have only been oiled, so steaming is the best option for our floors.

We only have carpet in our bedroom, which I only vacuum on the weekends, and then I steam it once every 6 months or so (planning to do this tomorrow, actually).

So on a weekly basis, I do more with my wood floors, but I don't feel the wood floors trap the dirt like the carpet in our bedroom.

All in all, I like tile. I don't find it any easier to clean than hardwoods, but it doesn't scratch like hardwoods, either!

As for windows, my mom had blinds and I hated dusting them, so no blinds in my house.

 

[aviastar]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We went to Lowe's to order more shutters for the family room. They are 20% off, plus another 5% if you use a Lowe's card. We will do
that for the discount. So almost 1900. reduced to under 1500. and tax and installation are included in the price. They are made by Graber.
I think that is a pretty good deal for 2 large windows and a glass door.


We need to go to Lumber Liquidators to see about flooring. Has anyone purchased floors from them? I am thinking Bella Wood floors, but would like to get opinions if someone has recently done new wood flooring in their home.

I have Bella Wood in my bedroom and LOVE it! We installed it ourselves, so this may not apply to you, but it was so easy to install and not worry about finishing them. They have held up really well, I've had them for almost two years now and they don't show much wear (it's very blonde wood, though), and I clean them by vacuum and swiffer wet, unless I am doing a serious mopping of the whole upstairs.

Highly recommend the Bella Wood!

 

[jewelerman]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

the rooms that have been posted are very attractive! i always like seeing what people do with their homes and this thread has really been interesting to me since im in the market for a new condo!

 

[packrat]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We have carpet in the living room and three bedrooms. Linoleum in a path from the front door thru the living room into the kitchen. Hate them both. Hate. When we can afford it, the crap is coming out and wood is going down..laminate or otherwise, I don't really care so long as the other is gone. We finally remodeled the bathroom and put tile in there. I like it, but the grout is a bear to clean. Still, better than the linoleum that was there and it's a tiny area.

When we first bought the house there weren't any window coverings. We bought those plastic blinds and valances. The blinds eventually bore the brunt of my anger at dust and were taken down and thrown away. The valances were packed away. I got thermal black out drapes for all the bedrooms, the kitchen patio doors and the living room. I put patterned sheers over the living room ones. The thermal black out drapes aren't fancy, but they wash like a complete dream and I love them.

I'd personally rather not have anything on the windows b/c it makes our super small house look bigger w/bare windows but I get creeped out at the thought of people being able to look in.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I put wood plantation shutters at almost all our downstairs windows in our new house and put wide slat blinds in upstairs bedrooms. You can't tell from the front of the house that they are different. After living in the house a year, I did go on and add some valances (and panels in the great room). I just felt like something was missing. But I LOVE my shutters and wouldn't change them ever! here's a picture of the master br. (Oh, and we have a mixture of hardwood and carpet. I like the feel and warmth of carpet in the bedrooms but we have hardwood in the foyer, dining room, den, kitchen, and breakfast room. Carpet in great room. Both require equal upkeep as far as I am concerned.)

Diamondseeker, your room is stunning! I love it. What a decorator you are!

I put the valances back up over the white shutters. They are a black and white toile with a black and white stripe border. My son's
room is blue and mostly black. He has a surfboard hanging on one wall (black) and his black snowboard over his closet. They were the things he loved most before his accident. He hasn't surfed a lot but, funny thing, he still loves to snowboard and is surprisingly good at it.
All this being hemiplegic.

 

[zoebartlett]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

Hmmm...I actually think carpet is easier to clean than hardwood. I don't have shutters but they seem like they would be a PITA to clean. At least with blinds you can take them down to clean them.

I think so too. My husband and I have always had wall to wall carpeting in every place we've lived, and it seems easier to take care of than hardwood. It seems like my dad is always sweeping or cleaning the hardwood floors in my parents' house. That would be a pain to keep up with. I like the looks of hardwood but not the maintenance. We get our carpet professionally cleaned/shampooed about twice per year, as well as vacuum regularly. It works for us.

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of shutters because they're a huge hassle to clean. I don't have the patience to dust them (and they're dust magnets, which makes it worse). I'd love to get the blinds that you can have installed between panes of glass. Virtually maintenance free. Cleaning the glass wouldn't take much effort.

 

[Laila619]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

We have carpet in the main living area (living room and dining room combo) and tile or hardwood floors everywhere else.

The carpet isn't that hard to keep clean but we NEVER wear any shoes in our house. I think that makes a big difference with carpet. We had a Kirby vacuum rep come to our home to demo the Kirby and try to sell us one, and even he was impressed with the state of our carpet. I think if people want to wear shoes in the home, then it's best to not get carpet.

 

[iheartscience]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

I definitely prefer hardwoods to carpet. I vacuum ours probably once a week and my husband mops them maybe once a month unless there's a big spill...we aren't the best housekeepers in the world but the floors still always look nice. I also have pets so I just can't have a house with carpet.

The shutters look great, by the way-I hope they're easier to keep clean than the blinds!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

Thanks for the nice comments about our bedroom!

Luv2sparkle....I love your pictures as well! The living room is so pretty and the new white shutters look great in that bedroom! I think you will enjoy the additional ones you are adding. But I am so very sorry to hear about your son's accident. I can only imagine how difficult that must be. {{{hugs}}}

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

Thanks, DS! It was close to 8 years ago now, so it is really not painful anymore, it's just the way it is. We are blessed in so many ways, I can't really complain.

One thing I did notice after looking at your photos, is we are going to have to put up the crown mouldings we have been talking about for so long! It looks beautiful in your room. When we bought the house, we could have added them as an upgrade but everything was so ridiculously priced that we decided to do it ourselves later! Well, seven years later and it is still not done! I am going to show your photo to DH and maybe it will inspire him!

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: cleaning issues: carpet vs. hardwood curtains vs. shutte

Hmmm...I actually think carpet is easier to clean than hardwood. I don't have shutters but they seem like they would be a PITA to clean. At least with blinds you can take them down to clean them.

I think so too. My husband and I have always had wall to wall carpeting in every place we've lived, and it seems easier to take care of than hardwood. It seems like my dad is always sweeping or cleaning the hardwood floors in my parents' house. That would be a pain to keep up with. I like the looks of hardwood but not the maintenance. We get our carpet professionally cleaned/shampooed about twice per year, as well as vacuum regularly. It works for us.

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of shutters because they're a huge hassle to clean. I don't have the patience to dust them (and they're dust magnets, which makes it worse). I'd love to get the blinds that you can have installed between panes of glass. Virtually maintenance free. Cleaning the glass wouldn't take much effort.

I love those windows with the blinds in them!!! We are going to replace the slider going out to our back yard with one sometime down the road. I wonder though, if the blinds break or don't work if you can fix it?

I think these shutters won't be as difficult to clean as some others. The surface is slick and there is no center lever to move them up and down. With wooden blinds, the slats were not stable and had three sets of strings that I had to work around. What a huge pain! I wanted the hidden rod, just for that reason. We'll have to see.

I do think they will be a little easier than curtains, at least the living room curtains. Although I only took them down at most, twice a year, it still took the better part of two days to get them all washed, ironed and re-hung. If I had nothing else to do, I could do them in
probably 4 hours, but that is not my life! So if I clean these once every couple weeks it should take maybe 10 minutes each room. But realistically, I will probably do them once a month.