We have all tile/wood flooring with area rugs. 90% of our wood floor cleaning is done with one of these. Works like a charm and is fast.

I work for a flooring store, yes LVP and hard surfaces are out selling carpet, it is nation wide. If you one of my clients, I would tell you that smartstrand carpet is the way to go. Everyone has different lifestyles, sounds like carpet is what fits your needs.

So, is very low pile carpet best for easiest vacuuming and longest wear?

I'd like to replace my heavy vacuum with a Roomba and/or lightweight cordless stick vacuum.

If some kind of robot vacuum appliance like Roomba/Neeto/Deebot etc. can keep the carpet and tile clean so all I have to do is schedule automatic vacuuming daily, empty the dirt tray and schedule pro steam cleaning every 12 to 18 months to maintain the carpet warranty, that would be great.

I have mostly hardwood and tile in my home. IF i run my roomba regularly it keeps the floors and rugs fairly clean. Of course, I still need to mop. But I'm seriously thinking about the roomba mop.

Overall health is generally improved when you do not have carpet in a home because the allergens can be removed effectively. I have clients with severe asthma and allergies that want their homes to be carpet free zones. But as in most things it's a matter of personal choice and what works best for the function of each space in your home and lifestyle.

Some say the carpet holds and traps the allergens better so that you don't inhale as much since less of it gets airborne.

I have also never seen anyone who had 100% tile or wood throughout without area rugs covering some sections.

https://www.thespruce.com/could-carpet-improve-asthma-allergy-symptoms-2908837

http://referralfw.com/resource/pdf/Carpet,%20Asthma%20and%20Allergies%20Myth%20or%20Reality%20%20-%20Mitchell%20W%20Sauerhoff%20Ph.D..pdf

Are you a senior citizen? Older people often are used to carpet and like it. Younger people not so much. If you plan to be in your home for, say, ten years, then you should get carpet because you like it.

If you think you may sell in the next few years, then hardwood would be a better investment for resale. In our area, hardwood is the preferred choice, not vinyl, tile or laminate. That varies by area of the country.

We have hardwood (oak) with area rugs, including the kitchen and powder room. I vacuum about every week and damp mop with a hardwood cleaner as needed. The rugs (hand-knotted) go out every couple years to a rug place for professional cleaning.

The first thing I did when we bought this house was rip out the upstairs carpet and have hardwood installed. Not that I’m young, I’m not, but I dislike carpet.

I'm not a senior and the house is already covered in mostly tile floors. Only the bedrooms and a living/dining area have any carpet.

Since I would need to protect hardwood or LVP with furniture pads under every piece of furniture and would also need to lay down area rugs over the hard floors in those rooms, I'm not seeing the point of it. Area rugs are still "carpet."

I would not ever recover all the cost of real wood floors in added resale value and I'm not planning to sell anyway.

Jaxo, I agree with all the points you have made.

I have carpet in the same areas you do, and have been delaying replacing it because I think maybe I "should" get hardwood. But as you say, then I need to get area rugs too, which will be expensive because my rooms are large. And the large open area between my dining room table and my seating area is where DH and I sit/lie on the floor to exercise and stretch. It will look weird to have a third rug there, I think. Our current wall to wall is a heck of a lot more comfortable than a yoga mat.

I've heard people suggest getting a piece of wall to wall and binding it, for a lower cost rug. But it seems weird to spend money on hardwood just to cover it with the same rug, and have a narrow perimeter of hardwood around the room. Then I have to vacuum the rug as well as clean the room edges differently.

We don't have allergies so no issues there, and as empty nesters without pets, the carpets stay quite clean. So for now I will stick with what I have, and whoever buys the house from me in a few years can pick out exactly what shade of hardwood is in style by that time.

About a year ago we replaced our bedroom and living room carpet with carpet again. I really wanted hardwood but hubby said the hardwood in the rest of the house hurts his feet. I much prefer cleaning the hardwood and hate to vacuum, but it's nice to have a little variety. The carpet makes it a little more homey and helps with acoustics. There was a little carpet left over that I had made into a runner that use when I do workouts. It protects the carpet more. This is what we got for carpet:

https://shawfloors.com/flooring/carpet/details/classical-couture-ccp51/harvest-moon

Beth, Your information is not accurate. Our son is a severe asthmatic and has been under treatment since his birth. As you can see on the attached link, not having carpet and in the house is the first order of protocol in any asthmatics treatment. See the link from the mayo clinic.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/childhood-asthma/expert-answers/asthma-triggers/faq-20057785

A compromise could be cork floors. Easy to clean, no allergy issues and warm & cushioned under the feet.

I looked at cork and it’s too delicate for me. It is too easily damaged by sun and furniture.

Newer studies show that carpet is often better than hard floors for reducing allergies/asthma symptoms because the allergens in the room do not get kicked up and blown around in the air nearly as easily as they are with hard floors.

If the allergens are not airborne, you are not inhaling them.

Design Intervention,,,IF you read carefully what I wrote, you'll see I prefaced it with, "If you don't have severe allergies or Asthma".

You didn't say that. you said Overall Health is improved without carpet. I say your information is inaccurate. please show me the health statistics that prove this. You didn't specify for asthmatics. the way you wrote it encompasses everyone and I disagree.

mramsey- cork is a great suggestion. We have cork floor in our son's room. It is very easy to care for and is beautiful.

Design Intervention: is the cork in squares, or plank type?

Beth H- Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Not here to argue or debate the issue. We have severe allergies in our family and our son is a severe asthmatic. My wife was President of the Lung Association and these recommendations come form Mayo clinic, John Hopkins and several reputable sources given to us by his physicians. Clearly people without compromised systems do just fine with carpet in there home. After having carpet years ago and now not having it, our experience (only speaking for us) is that even with all the steam cleaning, and no shoes etc...., we see the benefit for everyone in our home that used suffers from allergic symptoms.

Whether to have carpet or not have carpet is a personal choice, not something to get worked up about. But there are many studies that prove my earlier statement.

http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/indoor/indoor-air-pollutants/carpets.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

an you too Design. I'm sorry you and your family struggle w/allergies and asthma. I know how difficult it must be. I have no problem w/your citations, only the one that encompassed a general statement. Having never suffered w/allergies, or anyone in the family, I can't relate. I have grown up w/carpet all my life. only recently i've gone to all tile/wood with only a small room w/carpet. I've noticed no differences, btw, but I'm pretty healthy, thank god. I think having carpet comes w/definite musts (that i've listed) in order to keep it as clean as possible. But I do not agree that people who live in homes without carpets are healthier. that's ridiculous.

Allergy and asthma relief is not even the criterion I’m using for choosing floors, but the links you posted don’t seem to “prove” what you’re saying. Those agencies are recommending hard floors, but not showing scientific studies to back it up. They only made statements that weren’t tested.

I tried following their footnotes to the references and they either were dead ends, links to studies from 2000 or didn’t seem to match the content of the their article.

The studies that actually compared results of carpet vs hard floors that I linked to earlier “proved” in testing that there were fewer airborne allergens in carpeted rooms. I would need to see a similar newer/bigger test showing different results to debunk it.

I could consider cork floors since they are soft enough to not need area rugs for comfort if cork wasn’t too frail and delicate for active use.

I did not notice any benefit to my (severe) allergies when i switched to all hard floors and I really don't like them at all. YMMV

I just redid all our floors and put carpet in the bedrooms. That has always been my preference do what you like not what's popular

Tile and hardwood floors of been around for hundreds of years, but seems like it is only been the last 10 years or less that it has become a super popular to have all hard floors (generally hardwood plus area rugs on top) throughout an entire house.

I noticed it first on the home-makeover shows on HGTV a few years ago and then I started hearing more and more people saying they suddenly hate carpet now that hardwood in every room interiors are the hot trend for the 2010s.

OK, I’ll look up reviews of some those products.

I find it very annoying to have to clean the tile twice with two different methods every time I need to clean those floors.

I despise carpet. We have hardwood in living room, dining room, upstairs hallway, and all bedrooms. We have ceramic tile in the kitchen, mudroom, and bathrooms. If i did it all again, I would put tile everywhere except bathrooms.

I know how u feel. I’m facing this same question since I want to get rid of our current carpet, hate the color.. But u do sound like ur trying to talk ur self into hardwood floors. the cost of hardwood seems much higher, Since so many go out in get them installed n then cover a portion with a rug. Kinda strange. Lol.

N I’m with u with keeping carpet clean vs wood floors. Carpet IMO is easier (we had wood in our first house n within 6 months had carpet installed - but that was years ago when carpet was in). So, for myself I’m thinking I’ll go with the carpet again, to heck with what’s “IN”.. at my age I’m looking for comfort and ease. Good luck with ur decision n I hope u are happy with whatever it is. :)

"If i did it all again, I would put tile everywhere except bathrooms."

Am I reading this correctly? What would you put in your bathroom?

I prefer to have cleanable surfaces. My experience is carpet is disgusting. I've removed what appeared to be very clean carpet and what was underneath was horrible. The padding disintegrates after time and having heavy furniture on it. Both the padding and the carpet put out smelly chemical fumes that make me sick. My hardwoods are almost 200 years old and no problem.

I'm likely older than anyone else here. I grew up in a house with oak floors and "rugs"...Real hand made Orientals in my case, but most people had just "rugs.
Our first house was a brand new ranch with Bruce hardwood...many of our friends had carpeting bur we couldn't afford it. Gradually we acquires some Oriental rugs of our own....and after a few more years bought a 10 room "older home" that was completely carpeted except for the kitchen and the breakfast room.
It was MUCH easier to take care of Dust didn't roll around and I found vacuuming lots easier than chasing dust....and if you didn't get to the vacuuming...it really didn't show.....and now we were right in style with wall to wall carpet! even in the bathrooms and over the beautifully tiled solarium.
So the carpet gets ratty, and the pendulum swings to hardwood and tile....and I make the decision to rip up the carped and refinish the oak floors.
I have carpet on the stairs and in the bedrooms....but fashions come and go.....but carpet is easier to keep looking "dust free".