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Decades ago, it was common to see even the most luxurious of homes would have wall-to-wall-carpeting in bedrooms, living rooms, and perhaps even bathrooms. While it certainly was the design trend of its day, carpeting has largely been replaced by tile flooring as the preference of today's homeowners.
However, that doesn't mean carpeting isn't used at all in many homes, and in many cases is done so due to its cheap price and low installation costs. If you are preparing to give your floors a new look and are wanting to compare carpet vs. tile flooring, here are some key things to remember as you make your plans.
Carpet vs. Tile Flooring: Pros and Cons
Tile Flooring Lasts Much Longer
If you want to put down flooring and not have to worry about another installation job for decades to come, tile flooring will beat carpet each and every time. Even with the best carpets on the market today, we at Oasis Tile have found they tend to wear out within about 10 years. However, whether you choose stone tiles or even ceramic or porcelain tiles, chances are your tile flooring may last as long as 50 years, all the while still looking like it did soon after it was installed.
Tile is Hypoallergenic, Healthier and Can Reduce Exposure to Allergens
Whether you have dogs or cats in your home or have children who are always playing outside and then coming inside with all kinds of stuff on the bottoms of their shoes, having tile flooring will greatly reduce your family's exposure to allergens. From pet hair to pollen, these and other allergens can easily get lodged into the nooks and crannies of carpeting. Tile is the best flooring option if you have pets, asthma or allergies, as it’s hypoallergenic, resistant to pet hair, dust, and other things that can have you sneezing and sniffling.
Carpet Is More Expensive in the Long Term
In the short-term when you are comparing carpet vs. tile flooring, you may think carpeting will be the smarter choice due to its somewhat lower costs and installation expenses. However, over time, you will ultimately spend more money on carpet installation than floor tile installation. For example, whereas you may put down tile flooring that can last 50 years, you will probably find yourself replacing your home's carpeting about five times over that same period.
Your Home’s Look Stays Current With Tile
In today's world, walking into a home that still has carpet in multiple rooms immediately dates the property, and in many cases may actually decrease its value. When floor tiles of almost any type are installed, your home is instantly given a look that is crisp and sharp, which is what modern homeowners want. Whether you are planning to stay in your home for decades or expect to be selling in the years ahead, tile flooring will keep your home looking modern no matter the current design trends.
Carpet Is Easier to Install
If there is one advantage carpeting may have over tile flooring, it is the ease of the installation process. While you can usually install carpets on your own, some types of floor tiles, particularly marble, granite, and stone, often require installation by an experienced flooring contractor. However, there are also many floor tile materials, including porcelain and ceramic tiles, that are very easy to install as a DIY project.
Tile is Much Easier to Clean
If you have ever had carpeting in your home that needed to be cleaned, you remember how much of a chore it was, since it often turned into an all-day affair that yielded only so-so results. Whereas you would need a steam cleaner to rid your carpets of stains and smells, most types of floor tiles are easy to clean, requiring only an occasional light mopping or wiping down with a cleaning cloth. In addition, tiles tend to be water-resistant and resistant to stains or mildew, something carpeting can't claim.
Carpet Floor Tiles
Should you like the look of carpeting and want it in a part of your home that has a low level of foot traffic, such as a bedroom, you may want to consider carpet floor tiles. Once installed, they give the same look as traditional carpeting, but are much easier to install, since they are usually of the peel and stick variety. If you choose this option for your home, we recommend a sleek carpet such as Berber, since this will be of higher-quality and be a better option than shag carpeting, which will instantly make your home look years older to guests and potential buyers.
Tile Comes in an Array of Colors, Designs and Styles
While in the past some people chose to use carpeting in their bathrooms or even kitchens, they often found out this was not the best decision they ever made. More often than not, carpeting in these parts of a home wore out quickly, was always wet and stained, and was virtually impossible to clean, since it was prone to mildew. Since times have changed, tile flooring offers you more colors, designs, and styles than ever before, meaning you can transform a room's floor into almost anything you desire. In fact, you can not only get ceramic or porcelain tiles that look like wood, stone, marble, or other materials, but even get engineered wood flooring that looks just like hardwood flooring.
Tiles Can Be Customized
Even with the best carpeting, home design experts agree homeowners are limited in their ability to use it to give their homes a customized look. However, we can tell you that it’s absolutely not the case if you choose to use floor tiles. In fact, even if you want to use natural stone tiles in your home, they can be cut to almost any size and shape, thanks to state-of-the-art waterjet technology.
The Winner? Tile Flooring By a Landslide
Offering a wide variety of colors and styles, versatility, and cost-effectiveness, our Oasis Tile team declares tile flooring to be the winner over carpet by a landslide. If you agree with our assessment, it's time to look over our wide selection of all types of tiles. No matter what style of tile you prefer, Oasis Tile has what you need.
