Carpet is popular because...
...it's cheaper than hardwood flooring. Most new houses have plywood subfloors with carpet over them in at least some of the rooms as a cost-saving measure.
Then there are other conditions that make carpet the best choice. We have a large sunroom addition that we converted for year-round use. It has a concrete slab floor. We weighed all possible options, including hardwood installed over a moisture-proof barrier, ceramic tile and carpet. How to heat the room was also a factor. Plus we have a dog.
In the end we went with Interface FLOR carpet tiles. We can move them around as they get wear in the high-traffic spots. We can wash individual tiles in the sink if someone spills food or if the dog barfs. I'm thinking of washing all of them once the dog is no longer with us (she is a lab with a very oily coat).
I also like the look of the particular tile we chose. It's very tailored and clean---short loopy pile in charcoal gray with flecks of black and white. Black dog hair and lots of other crud just doesn't show on it. It was definitely the best choice for this particular room and our lifestyle.
Who wants to vacum
but if you have to, get a Roomba. Low pile, tile or hardwood the thing is simply amazing. We have a Miele, I vacuumed a room for approximately 10 minutes then deployed the Roomba. I was astonished at what I missed.
We have a JRT who sheds a ton of little white hairs on mostly polished concrete floors. We deploy the Roomba 4 times a week mostly while out, and never see hair as sunlight spills across the floor. Would not hesitate to recommend.
My 2 cents
I'm not generally a carpet fan and I have all kinds of allergy and breathing issues. So in general I avoid carpeting. I immediately tore it out of out house when we bought it in 1996 and for years we lived with a concrete slab floor with a few runners and area rugs until we could afford to put down hardwood. We put down terragren bamboo in a carmel finish just before bamboo became all the rage and the price went through the roof. It's lovely stuff.
But I really can't find it in my heart to condemn carpeting as evil. What is evil is the poor quality cheap crap that lazy people put in their homes. And I say lazy cuz the average American doesn't want to look beyond Home Depot or Lowes to find a product for their homes. 'Mediocrity and banal crap is fine for us' they say!
Flor Tiles are my latest and favoritest product. they are environmentally responsible, great looking, can be applied as a rug or as wall to wall, damaged areas can be replaced and you can install it yourself! I love a carpeted bedroom, makes it all cozy. And my new Flor floor with "HousePet in "Gerbil" looks great! It was just a bit under $2000, shipped for a 22x20 room. We did our own install which took a weekend. Could have done it in a day but, we took our time. (the photo is not my house, it's from the Flor site, but that's the color) The best news...no allergic responses!
Check out their new Alexander Girard line!
http://www.flor.com
form over funtion, not in a vacuum
So Romba really does work? Yes, I've seen it and thought about it but just haven't. We have tile throughout the house and (low pile) carpet in the bedrooms. Not my favorite thing but its okay. I've used several different types of vacuum cleaners (some for design) and sadly most clog. I finally gave in and got me a Kirby. They are heavy and ugly but they do get the job done, I've had it for about 3 years and no problems with it. I have been tempted to purchase a Dyson again for aesthetics reasons but I doubt it bets a Kirby.
As for rugs, I use to have several Shag, Rya rugs but now I cringe just thinking about all the mites that are living there lives in the thick pile...ewwww (not in my house)!
Barry
I will check out the Bissell Pro-heat 2X cleaner. I, too, have a cat who occasionally "urps." The carpet is an almost white medium pile with fleck of gray. Definitely stainable. I'll be watching the dog's feet as well, but at least there is a wonderfully thick grassed yard with no dirt patches.
has anyone used any of these on the link below?
Barry - does your vacuum work for cleaning stains? It says something about adding water? I know so little about these things ....
http://www.bissell.com/Products/c/portabledeepcleaner/Category.aspx
I've found the old Kirby and ...
I've found the old Kirby and the new Dyson to be pretty equal, but I like purple and prefer the bagless feature of the Dyson. Can you tell us more about the Roomba, Big Television Man. It doesn't appear, at least size-wise, to be able to hold much, and I fear our dog would simply kill a robot, in more ways than one. The other downfall is that I actually like to vacuum - I would not say enjoy but like - like some folks actually like to mow the lawn.
http://greatvacs.com/KirbyDysonReview.shtml
Yes agreed, there can be something very theraputic about vacuming
but it can also be tremendously tedious. Here's my take and experience. We have low pile carpet in the bedrooms, polished concrete throughout the rest of the house and a couple of large wool area rugs in the media room and living room.
We also, as mentioned, have a 14 lb. Jack Russell who sheds approximately another dog a week. I never see dog hair on the floors because of the frequency of the Roomba deployment. (4x's a week) It's run time is about 90 minutes and it's storage cup is equal to it's 90 minute deployment. Yes it must be emptied after each use, but it accomplishes its great cleaning ability due to it's flat out tenacity. It will vacuum a space for 90 minutes. So if you really want your bedroom free of dust bunnies, lint, dog hair etc., lock the Roomba in the bedroom for a complete cycle. I dare say there is no one here that would vacuum the entire house, let alone a single room for 90 minutes, the Roomba will.
We have approximately 4000 square feet, deploying the Roomba as mentioned 4 times alternating one side of the house then the other, so each side of the house gets 3 hours a week of vacuuming. We have the unit programmed to deploy for when we are not home or using the other side of the house. Break a glass or spill sugar, hit the spot feature and the little guy will vacuum that specific area. I haven't vacuumed in years and neither does the housekeeper and I hate to say it, but her efforts were cursory at best. I would highly recommend one. A friend has the Roomba and the Scooba, which washes floors and he has three large dogs and a lot of white tile, paw prints are no longer an issue.
Is this the model you have?
Is this the model you have?
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-1676630-7811025?ASIN=B000GF57DY...|iRobot_Roomba_Robot_Vacuum_4150&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000GF57DY&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
It's totally Rosie from the Jetsons
I'm still waiting for the Jet Pack they promised us though. It's tough to tell if the link you provided is the same unit as they constantly seem to redesign the look and upgrade the capabilities. My unit is three years old and was the full featured top unit in the line back then. I think we paid about $380.00 or thereabouts. All of those items that they show on that link as options, 2 virtual wall units, scheduler, automatic charging station, etc were all included with ours. I hear that the latest generation units make the units of even a few years ago look like the Flintstone vacuum, which as I'm sure you are aware was a baby Mastodon on wheels.
The one thing I did not mention in the earlier post is that, like a conventional vacuum with a powered (beater bars) head they do not do well with carpet fringe or strings on area rugs. We simply lift the small fringe rug in one of the bathrooms up, give it a gentle shake in place and the Roomba comes in and vacuums up the shake out, while the rug rests on the toilet lid. The unit will also alert you with and audible sound if it should get hung up or stuck somewhere and need rescuing. This has only happened to us twice. Battery life for us was about 18 months and then needed replacement for approximately $65.00.
From a pure dollars and sense point of view, it is a great play. $380 buy in, 78 weeks of vacuuming on original battery or 468 hours of vacuuming at .81 cents an hour. As Joe Strummer said, "I don't want to sound like some kind of F***ing evangelist", but it is great not to have followed a housekeeper's vacuuming efforts with 468 hours of my time. As if I really would have vacuumed 468 hours in the last 18 months Ha! 🙂 Go out for drinks and you can be vacuuming your house at the same time, ditto the movies.
Roomba
I should be a salesman.
I have two. An older model downstairs. New one does the main living area.
I run it almost every day.
Two dogs, gorgeous vintage olive green original wool carpet in hall and master,
(hardwood under but not in the mood to make that switch right now).
We do have central vac but use it randomly.
Allergies and all that airborne micro dust-mite invisible stuff, nothing beats
an every other day Roomba run.
I have Flor tiles downstairs and clean up great when elder dog (16) has an odd
'eruption'. Wish they fit in the washing machine :).
These days i seem to have a few drying outside daily....lucky i have a dozen
spares in rotation.
Also, i looked into the rental carpet cleaners. If you have good wood floors under
carpet, not a great idea. All the moisture ruins the hardwood.
Roomba-I have an older red model for lower level studio. This is my new one...
(It has an odd obsession with Saarinen Tulips, so i lift that one on the table top)
http://www.costco.com/Common/Search.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&search=roomba&N...
another note about Roomba
If you run it often, it collects just a tennis ball size of fuzz crud.
Pet fur etc. And it has a whipper brush that gets along walls, chair legs
and under the bed and couch! ...While i am at work or outside reading the
paper...
New models can be scheduled to run at a given time each day.
Rosie is coming home with me!
A Scooba and a Roomba, thanks to you guys I'm sold. I need to get these in my home ASAP. I have two Chihuahuas who like terrorizing stuff animals (fluff flying everywhere), and two extremely messy Cockatiels. I hope the bots can handle it, I'm holding on to Kirby just in case.
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