Wouldn't they be slippery?

I hate to start this shoes vs no shoes thing again, but DH and I sold our house last year. We had light carpeting but didn't wear outside shoes in the house and had shoes that we just wore inside.

Carpet looked great, including the stairs, at sale time.

I don't think they're slippery, it's made of heavy duty vinyl that's designed to be 'walked on.' I've only seen them a handful of times, but none recently.

I have to agree with your DH - I wouldn't do it. I do think it would be slippery...it also reminds me of homes with plastic covered furniture. It is your house - use it while you have it. When you get ready to sale - analyze then. Besides you would be able to tell where the plastic strip was - the part that was uncovered would be normal wear next to brand new carpet.

I just removed a rug from my DS's playroom & after a year you can tell where the rug was....& I have dark carpet in there (to blend in with spilled cokes:)

Smiles:)

I agree with your dh. I think they are tacky and also slippery. Also, over time, they get scratched up and dirty-looking. We have light carpet on our stairs and it's fine. We don't wear shoes in the house--which helps tremendously, obviously--and have it professionally cleaned once a year, so we haven't had any problems with it at all.

That would be as bad as keeping the plastic on lamp shades...

I am big on "It is YOUR house; live in it!"... don't worry about resale unless you are selling within the next year.

I hate plastic 'carpet protectors'! I also have light colored carpet in my living room and on my stairway. Although we're supposed to remove the shoes it doesn't always happen. A hand-held shampoo-er works on the stairwell. The job is saved for the worst offender. :)

I think most of the big box stores carry this. Depending on the thickness of it, you should easily be able to install yourself. Just inquire what is appropriate to use; maybe take a sample of your carpet in so they know what you are covering.

I agree w/ not caring about tackiness. If you are having a gathering, you can always remove the runner. It would be much easier than having to replace the carpeting if something were to happen to it. And as far as slippery, I think they have anti-skid but you can check into that once you find a source for them.

Another example of someone putting resale ahead of comfort and aesthetics.
I know I'll never own a house but I can't imagine living for "what if" the way our culture seems to.

Another vote for the "tacky" list.

We decided on a "no shoes in the house" policy after our last carpet cleaning. Give that a shot.

Slipping would concern me.

Regarding no shoes...I lived in my Dad's condo at the beach for six months and when we had the carpets cleaned upon moving out, we told the carpet guy we'd diligently removed our shoes, yadda, yadda. He told me they stay in business because of bare feet and the oils in our skin which actually cause more staining of carpets than outdoor shoes. That was an ugly eye-opener! Indoor shoes are the solution of course, but not for us. Too complicated...

As for the tacky-ness of the runner, I do think it's tacky. But even more importantly, walking on one is just not nice. Clop clop clop down the plastic runner. Ick. I am sensitive to sounds, feelings, colors, light, etc. It all contributes to my overall experience of my surroundings. I would miss the squish of my carpet!

If you have decent quality nylon carpeting, it cleans well. If the carpeting is not very nice, the heavy plastic runner will crush it and make it look every bit as worn as soil would. Whatever kind of carpet you have will age and soil all around the runner, so that when you take it up you'll see a clean strip down the middle of the stairs.

Removing the runner before you have people over (which someone else suggested), doesn't make sense to me. Why would you provide others with more enjoyment of your home than its full-time occupants? It would really make more sense to put the mats on BEFORE you have guests, if you're worried about dirt being tracked in.

Alright already. I'll save that $100 + and use it on a portable steam cleaner or use it toward yearly steam cleaning.

The tackiness factor still doesn't bother me in the least. I could care less about 'comfort' or noise on the steps. I think comparing plastic on steps it to plastic on lampshades is comparing apples and oranges. Lampshades come nearly a dime a dozen, whereas carpet it tremendously expensive to clean or replace.

I thank you for all your comments.

That's exactly what I was going to tell you! Before we bought our house, we were living a rental, cause we couldn't decide where to live. It was next to a college. Ugh. We had the carpet professionally steam cleaned (it was like $80) in order to recoup our deposits. They looked brand new. After the beating they took and still looked that good, I'm convinced. Live now and steam later. Sidenote: "we" (snicker, the carpet company!) did such a good job, an hour after we moved out, he dropped by to show the house to a couple who bought it on the spot. We got an extra hundred out of it. :)