<p>Okay, you guys always know the answers. I asked this on another forum but only got one reply so now I’m asking my favorite group. We need to remove the old grungy berber carpet that goes on our stairs. We also need new carpet in the hall upstairs and in our master bedroom. These areas all connect. What would be the best for wear on the stairs? I really don’t want looped berber again as we have a dog and it is impossible to get the hair out of those loops. I thought about replacing the carpet with wood but I am worried about it being to slippery on the stairs. Any suggestions? I really want something that will look good and not get all matted down and ugly. Thanks!</p>
<p>We have a very nice, tight knit pile carpet that is on our stairs, upstairs hall and in the master bedroom. The stairs just have a runner, but they could have been fully carpeted. The key was to get a dense pile. Ours is 15 years old, and has gone through a dog and two cats. It’s not in perfect shape but it has held up very well.</p>
<p>I think the key is to vacuum regularly on this pile carpet. If you don’t…it WILL get matted down.</p>
<p>We just have basic ole’ carpet on our stairs that lead up to the second floor where the bedrooms are located. The carpet on the stairs, in the hallway and all the bedrooms is the same. We put it in 25 years ago and I can’t believe it still looks good. At the time we did pick a very good quality carpet. Also, it is OFF WHITE - but, it survived two kids, several cats and a dog! The main level of our house is hardwood with area rugs. We had plain wood stairs going down to our basement. After our daughter slipped and fell on the stairs carrying her kitty, we had the carpet people out here quickly to cover those stairs too. We have the wood showing on the sides and carpet going up the middle of the stairs. Today they make such great carpet with Stainguard, etc., which our carpet doesn’t have. Despite not having stain protection and being so light, it has always cleaned up great!</p>
<p>I’m interested in this as well - I was thinking of replacing our grungy plush/pile carpet with a berber - maybe not such a good idea?</p>
<p>The only carpet I like on a stair is oriental runners - assuming you have nice wood to show off underneath it. Busy pattern doesn’t show hair and it’s not looped.</p>
<p>Mathmom- I do like the runners, but we only have wood by the banister. I’m thinking I would have to have a carpenter come and put nice wood across the whole step and that just sounds like it is getting complicated. I might do it if I felt we would be here more than five years but I can see us downsizing sometime in the next 2-4 years.</p>
<p>georgiamom- the berber actually held up fairly well for about 10 years. We are on year 14 now. The dog hair drives me nuts with it. It worms its way in and the vacuum cannot suck it back out. So it may work for you if you don’t have a dog.</p>
<p>We have wooden stairs. We don’t put wax on it, just clean it with water and vinegar. It’s not slippery. Of course when you are walking downstairs with socks you should be careful, but no accident yet. D2 was 3 when we moved here.</p>
<p>For high traffic we use wood with an industrial strength, patterned, Berber like carpet runner. This has worked for many years for our slobby sons and their armies–just be prepared to have professionally cleaned a couple of time per year.</p>
<p>We own a carpet shampooer…it really comes in handy and may be the reason our carpets look good. We wash them if a spill or something of that sort happens.</p>
<p>The back stairs in my house were carpeted. (70s burnt orange shag, just lovely :D) It was impossible to keep the carpet clean, because of the difficulty of vacuuming the edges. (It’s a turning stair.) Eventually we got the carpet ripped off and the wood refinished. We haven’t had any problems with it being slippery, and it is easy to clean and looks much better.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to get the best quality pad under any carpet as well. The surface is a matter of personal preference. I opted for a soft carpet feel- we go barefoot and kids playing on the floor… Climate also matters- we are into the warm flooring season here.</p>