Dog Community

Carpet

Posted : 9/24/2008 5:18:31 PM

I need some advice on carpet. I'm putting new carpet in my living room. There's a few reasons I'm putting carpet in rather than putting wood laminate down like in the majority of the rest of the house. First and foremost, there is a slight bow up in the middle of the floor. So anything that gets spilled in the middle runs down to the outsides. Secondly, I want somewhere somewhat soft for the kids to play and the dogs to lay down.

We went to price out carpets the other day and Berber is the most cost effective. I could do my livingroom and hallway for about $700 give or take. To go to something a little more plush, would be anywhere from $1400 and up including the underlay. I would install it myself. Here's my question. My dad seems to think that dog hair would weave itself right into the berber and we would be better off going with something in a strait cut. Who has carpet and what have your experiences been? I have a good vacuum and I have to vacuum everyday anyway.

cakana

Posted : 9/24/2008 6:29:32 PM

I was all set to get Berber when we bought our current house. Then a neighbor had something happen with his where a strand snagged and it left like a run the length of the carpet. I'm not sure if that's common or not, but it scared me away. I love the carpet I have now and it's pretty dog friendly. It's a light tan/cream color but with multi colored flecks of golds, browns, etc. It's nice because it doesn't show dirt, even with a black dog. We had it installed when we bought the house in 2001 and it still looks great. I actually thought Berber was more expensive than other carpeting too, but never really checked in to it.

4HAND

Posted : 9/24/2008 6:34:45 PM

We put high quality Berber carpet in our living room 12 years ago.It is a high traffic area that leads to our deck outside.We Rug Dr. it yearly.It still looks great.It is a light cream color and our dogs are black and black and white.I would highly recomend one made with Olefin as it will be more resiliant and stain resistant.

Tena

lilys_mum07

Posted : 9/24/2008 6:34:56 PM

I know nothing about carpets, but I thought this was interesting from Wikipedia

It is stain resistant as well, and is more affordable than thicker plush carpets. The downside is that it can be difficult to clean if dirt does get lodged in the fibers, and it may need dry cleaning or specialized service for deep cleaning

marty_ga

Posted : 9/24/2008 6:38:24 PM

I have both, and would go with Berber anyday. I have no runs, and it may be due to a higher quality Berber...not sure about that..but 3 dogs have not hurt mine. The plush looks like it needs vacuuming all the time....sigh.

Myra

Posted : 9/24/2008 6:52:53 PM

I've had both and would definitely recommend Berber. We had it at our previous house. I wanted something different for this house, so I went with a plush carpet. Big mistake, I really wish I'd gone with Berber. It wears much better than plush carpet, especially in high traffic areas. I had no problem keeping our Berber carpet clean with regular vacuuming and steam cleaning. We never had any problems with runs.

huskymom

Posted : 9/24/2008 7:04:50 PM

And so...Berber it is! Thanks folks. I'm so glad I have doggy people to talk to. Pfft, my dad knows nothing!

Indy05

Posted : 9/24/2008 7:22:54 PM

Let me add that we, too, have cream colored berber carpet for 12 years. Dog hair does not weave into it. Even after some explosive diarrhea episodes, we have gotten stains out with a carpet cleaner. If you do not vacuum it still looks good compared to plush carpeting. It is the only way I'd go for carpet if I had a choice.

dubilpie

Posted : 9/25/2008 4:41:47 AM

I have Berber in my living room and hall and I love it.

A few days after I got it installed, I was using a drill in that room, and I put the drill down and it caught on a piece of the rug, when I was picking it up, the drill turned on and grabbed a piece of the rug, I got a 2 inch thick run in my rug, it is about a foot long. Luckily it happens to be where my tv is so it is under the stand and you can't see it.

I was so mad at myself for doing something so stupid.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 9/25/2008 10:35:28 AM

Thanks for starting this thread, Candace. I'm going to be recarpeting in the next few months and I've been leaning toward Berber because it always looked to me to be more dog hair/spill friendly than plush, epecially if it has flecks in it.

Joyce