There are pluses and minuses for both hard and soft flooring
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- February 26, 2018
- 1494
Most houses are now being built with hard surface floors because that is what new buyers want. However, if given the choice, houses generally prefer carpet. Carpet is quieter, softer and warmer in winter. It gives a cozy feel, and houses love cozy. Of course, if hard floors are a requirement for a buyer, the house will go with wood or tile as long as big, soft rugs are part of the deal.
Dogs also prefer carpet because they tend to nap on those floors. Hard floors are slippery under paws and can lead to skidding about when in a hurry. Cats can take it or leave it because they have their choice of where to spend nap time, and they consider skidding about beneath their dignity. Should that actually happen to a feline housemate, they will immediately pretend to have skidded on purpose.
Human babies will always vote for carpeted floors because getting about on hands and knees is much nicer with something soft to crawl upon.
There are pluses and minuses for both hard and soft flooring, and the big minus for hard flooring is that it is hard, though much easier to keep clean. Carpet will grab onto anything dirty that gets tracked inside and must be cleaned frequently with a big, noisy machine.
Neither houses nor dogs like vacuum cleaners. They are considered a necessary evil. A nice, quiet dust or damp mop usually handles the cleaning chores for wood or tile.
Our house has both hard and soft floors and seems very content, that is until one of the dogs eats something foul and then feels sick. And of course you know which floor the dog will deposit his donation upon. Yep.