<p>We need to replace the carpet upstairs (3 bedrooms). Hardwood is not an option as my dh really likes carpeting in the bedrooms. We have a cat that tends to puke so I was thinking of getting Smartstrand as it is suppose to be resistant to staining. Anyone here have that brand of carpeting? I am planning on getting quotes from 2 local stores but I have heard that Lowes is cheaper but the installation is iffy. Any thoughts? Thanks!</p>
<p>I’d hold off on replacing carpet until puking cat is out of the picture.</p>
<p>We have a puking cat too. We own a carpet shampooer. Our carpet is almost 20 years old but was Stainmaster. I personally prefer to deal with a local carpet store than the big box stores.</p>
<p>Everyone who has a cat has a puking cat.</p>
<p>We don’t have a cat, but have Kerastan carpeting. It’s been down over 12 years, and still cleans up well. Despite Brownie Girl Scout troops, Standard Poodle mishaps, multiple large family gatherings with the attendent slips, spills and oops.</p>
<p>And everyone who has a puking cat has one who manages to avoid the wood floor or tile in the house and unerringly hit the carpet or area rug. Another feline skill is the ability to puke at night right in the pathway from the bed to the bathroom.</p>
<p>I use Spot Shot Pet carpet cleaner–does a great job.</p>
<p>Wy not just get area rugs? I hate carpet. Instead of carpet we were slippers. Carpet can have alls sorts of icky chemicals causing allergies, lack of sleeps, the damps from cleaning, all sorts of issues,</p>
<p>We had a cat who would run to the edge of the turkish area rug with fringe on the edge, and puke on the fringe. He would go out of his way to hit it… it was just awful to clean, and he must have know that.</p>
<p>Waiting until the cat dies might not be an option, as many cats live until 20… It can take longer to get a cat out of the house than a kid. :)</p>
<p>Sorry, no specific info on carpets.</p>
<p>Sorry to be laughing out loud at all the puking cat comments. I have a dog. Won’t say what he does on the carpet.</p>
<p>Do not wait until… (pick your event) to replace worn carpet. We didn’t because we were going to sell shortly and ended up with more years than I wanted with depressingly worn carpet. Originally considered aging dog, he died, then house on the market and the cost to put in someting I would like wasn’t worth it. Will be replacing 25 year old carpet in new to us house- as soon as the kitchen cabinets/tile… done soon, I hope. Carpet with a good pad is so nice for sitting on the floor, rugs are no substitute.</p>
<p>I’d go with the local stores, especially if you have a good one that employs their own installers. You want experienced people, especially if you’re putting in new baseboards as well.
We just installed a new hardwood floor in the dining room and living room last week, as well as put new carpeting in the family room. I went to the store where I bought our kitchen floor eight years ago, and the same two installers that put in that wood floor still work for the company! I asked to have them back again and they did the same wonderful job this time that they did eight years ago. They are true professionals, and worth the slightly higher price, imo, although I admit that it’s more important in the hardwood installation than in the carpet installation.
We went with a camel Stainmaster in the family room- very soft and cushy.</p>
<p>I think we will need to replace carpet in the next couple of years. Our dog (10) has never had an accident on the carpet but, as she gets older, it probably won’t be out of the question at some point. Honestly, I’d rather have NO carpet in the house but, I wonder if it wouldn’t be too noisy downstairs if there was no carpet upstairs. I was recently wondering who ever dreamed up placing fabric (carpet) on the floor? It kind of grosses me out. I like being able to scrub things clean and just thinking about how carpet is never really clean is just icky.</p>
<p>I am with you on that splash mom. I am moving from a place with stone floors and carpets that can be taken up and sent out to clean. Carpets down in winter and stored/cleaned in summer. Wall to wall traps things!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t have carpet upstairs either but dh, who never really says anything about house improvements, really, really wants carpet there. He finds it warmer and quieter. Our dog never goes upstairs, just the puky cat. The cat, by the way, is only ten years old so we are not waiting out the cat. I did wait for the kids to move out.</p>
<p>Anyone use Smartstrand?</p>
<p>If you had area rugs, youncan muffle the sounds and easier to clean or replace. How many are in the house now?</p>
<p>If it’s just you and husband what noise are we talking about?</p>
<p>Seahorsesrock, there are only two of us but that doesn’t matter. My husband never really expresses himself on this stuff but he has said that he doesn’t want wood floors upstairs. I can live with that.</p>
<p>Except for the bathrooms and one bedroom, everything in the second floor including bonus room and hallways are engineered hardwood floors. Footstep noises are not heard downstairs but everyone walks around barefoot or in their terry cloth slippers. If anyone starts dancing in their tap shoes upstairs then we will probably hear it but I wouldnt allow tap dancing shoes anyway except in the kitchen. </p>
<p>The only carpeted area in the first floor is the hall foyer closet. Initially, my kids bedrooms were carpeted. We used Royalty Mandalay Bay Boulevard. They managed to spill something on it all the time and I always soak up as much as possible all of the stain and liquid with towels and thick bounties but I still need it to be cleaned and so far I havent found professional carpet cleaners that I am 100% satisfied with so I switched to hardwood floor for their bedrooms.</p>
<p>Im not really sure what you mean when you say that the carpet is warm as opposed to hardwood flooring. I dont feel any difference in temperature when I walk on carpet and on our hardwood flooring. Stone and tiled floors feel colder however.</p>
<p>I find carpet difficult to keep clean and it harbors dust mites and whatever allergens you can think of. The new carpet smell also gives me headaches.</p>
<p>Love, love, love our hardwood floors. We have them throughout our floors, except sheet vinyl in kitchen & bathrooms. Do NOT feel that they are cold underfoot at all, but then we live in HI. 
Sorry, we have always had to replace carpets when we had tenants that had pets–the carpets always smelled of pet, no matter that tenants tried to keep them clean. Everyone in our home is too allergic to carpet & the things trapped in it.</p>
<p>Okay, I know that hardwood floors are the most wonderful thing in the world. But my husband doesn’t want it in the bedrooms. We live in Northern Illinois by the way and if it is 15 degrees below zero, carpet does feel good on the tootsies. It may just be a mental feeling but to my husband it is real. So hardwood, as lovely as it may be, is a no go.</p>
<p>Carpet- I am going to the store today and talking to them about Smartstrand. It is suppose to be great at resisting stains and matting.</p>
<p>I love my hardwood floors in every room of my house (including kitchen), except the bedroom, where I like the warmth of wall-to-wall carpet. I agree that a small, local carpet store will give you better advice & service than a big box.</p>