How to Decide When You Need New Carpet

Replacing your home's current carpets can be expensive, and it can take several days to get everything done, especially if you're re-carpeting your entire home. However, sometimes this task is absolutely necessary. But how can you tell when you need new carpet? Is one little stain enough to warrant the cost? There are several things to take into consideration if you're wondering about installing new carpet.

First, how old is the carpet in your home? If it's over ten years old, then it may certainly be time to think about updating. Some carpets actually last for 20 or 30 years or more, but chances are, most carpets are going to wear thin before they get this old. However, if your carpet is five years old or less, there's really no need to change it out yet unless it's just incredibly cheap or something horrible has happened.

Second, take a look at the state of your carpet. If you find several places where it looks like the carpet is starting to wear thin, it might be time to replace it. Generally, you're going to replace hallway and entryway carpet more often than other carpets just because of the high volume of traffic these areas get. You'll certainly want to look at carpets designed for a high amount of wear and tear for these areas, but even still, they're simply going to become more worn than other carpets.

Third, stains are another issue. If you have multiple stains on your carpet and these stains bother you, consider replacing the carpet. However, if your carpet is fairly new or still in good condition, stains may not be enough to justify ripping up the entire carpet and redoing it. If that's the case, there are a couple of things you can do. If it's an option, you can rearrange your furniture to cover the stains. However, this may mean you have to set up your room in a way you don't like. In that case, you can purchase a few area rugs or accent rugs to cover the stains. This does depend on the type of carpet you have, though. Some carpets simply don't look right with an area rug on top of them.

Fourth, if you're selling your home, you may want to put down new carpet. Your estate agent may also recommend this if your carpet is old. However, there is one thing you need to consider: potential buyers may not like the new carpet you select, and they may not buy your home because of this. With older carpet, buyers have no problem coming in and replacing it, but they may hesitate to rip up brand new carpet that they hate, so instead, they may pass on your home.

Finally, remember that replacing your carpet is your decision. If you decide you hate the colour, there's nothing that says you can't rip up carpet that's in excellent condition if you have the money and the desire.