topic Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++ in Home

Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

SahmIam — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:00:39 GMT

The tile in my Master Bath needs to be replaced. No, the ENTIRE Master Bath needs to be gutted and redone. Until I have the funds put aside for this, I need to deal with all the cracked tiles that look gross, stick to your foot when you walk on them and keep further damage from happening (the seller did a FANTASTIC job of creative patching, let me tell you.)

I remember everyone having wall to wall carpet in the bathroom growing up with matching toilet seat covers, little rugs around the toilets, etc. They would be pulled up weekly, washed and placed back down and lasted a LONG time. Without fail, every area rug begins peel off the back within 2-3 washings. The backing LOOKS to be the same as the carpet used to cover the whole bathroom.

HELP. Those that have carpeting, what do you use?

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

151949 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:48:57 GMT

I would not put down carpet - I would go to Home depot and buy tile and do the job myself. How hard could it be to put down tile? It sounds like the old tile will come up easily. Or take out the old tile and put down vinyl flooring .

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:56:05 GMT

@SahmIam wrote:
The tile in my Master Bath needs to be replaced. No, the ENTIRE Master Bath needs to be gutted and redone. Until I have the funds put aside for this, I need to deal with all the cracked tiles that look gross, stick to your foot when you walk on them and keep further damage from happening (the seller did a FANTASTIC job of creative patching, let me tell you.)

I remember everyone have wall to wall carpet in the bathroom growing up with matching toilet seat covers, little rugs around the toilets, etc. They would be pulled up weekly, washed and placed back down and lasted a LONG time. Without fail, every area rug begins peel off the back within 2-3 washings. The backing LOOKS to be the same as the carpet used to cover the whole bathroom.

HELP. Those that have carpeting, what do you use?

I have never, ever seen wall to wall carpet pulled up, washed, and replaced. I've only seen that with area rugs.

I lived in an apartment that hard carpet in the bathroom by the sinks and linoleum around the shower and toilet. It was awful. I would never advise carpet in a bathroom after that experience. It gets stained quickly, gets filthy from the lint of towels and toilet paper, and just is generally nasty.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

SahmIam — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:00:09 GMT

@151949I'm not doing the tile myself and it's very hard, believe it or not. I've talked to too many who did it and had to have it re-done by pro's.

Thank you for responding.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

Fressa — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:58:09 GMT

I would do ceramic tile. We taught ourselves how to do this but Home Depot/Lowes has free classes on these home projects.

If that is not an option then I would buy a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet and put that over the floor. It's fairly easy to cut to utility shears. (I use my Kuhn Rikon ones). We did this in the laundry room.

Good Luck.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

SahmIam — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:59:19 GMT

@ChynnaBlue The carpet is purchased in a 5x6 size, for example, and then you cut it to fit around everything in one or 2 pieces. I'm not talking about the kind of carpet in bathrooms that you see in hotels or that is installed by floor people. This is carpet that instead of using an area rug, you just cover the whole thing and place one small area rug over it.

Maybe it's a Philly/Jersey thing. Then again, all my friends had it in the 60's, 70's plus when we lived outside DC.

JC Penny sells it.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

colliegirls — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:06:24 GMT

Walmart sells inexpensive 5x8 carpeting for college students every summer. They usually have neutral colors. Perhaps that would get you through until you can replace the tile.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

Citrine1 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:09:25 GMT

@SahmIam, I know exactly what you are talking about and I feel your pain! LOL My bathroom needs to be re-done as well, but now is not the time. It's been carpeted for years.

Up until recently I had regular carpeting in there. It was installed by a professional. It was NOT the kind you throw in the washer. It was certainly easy enough to vacuum and keep clean and it lasted for years. I finally got tired of the color when we did a slight upgrade to our bathroom (just decorative stuff -- not a full re-do like it needs), so I got rid of it.

Now I am back to the kind that you are talking about -- the 5 x 8 that you cut and install yourself and can throw in the washer. You are right about the fact that you can't wash them like years ago. Mine has only been washed twice, and already the backing is starting to flake. So, not only are they quite a bit more expensive then they used to be, but the quality is no where near the same.

If tiling or installing a ceramic tile floor is out of the question, I'm afraid carpet is your only other option. I know that, for me, I would not put down tile, vinyl flooring, or anything else like that myself as I'm sure it is a difficult project for someone who has no idea what they are doing.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

software — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:09:29 GMT

Creative patching is ok if you are sure no water has seeped through & damaged the sub floor.

As far as carpet goes, if that was to be my choice I would put down the wall-to-wall but put one of those contour rugs on top of the carpet and in front of the toilet. That way the small rug can be taken up & washed. Depending on the layout, I might also put other bathroom rugs on top of the carpet in front of the shower or bathtub or vanity.

This may seem redundant but it would be practical.

@SahmIam wrote:
The tile in my Master Bath needs to be replaced. No, the ENTIRE Master Bath needs to be gutted and redone. Until I have the funds put aside for this, I need to deal with all the cracked tiles that look gross, stick to your foot when you walk on them and keep further damage from happening (the seller did a FANTASTIC job of creative patching, let me tell you.)

I remember everyone having wall to wall carpet in the bathroom growing up with matching toilet seat covers, little rugs around the toilets, etc. They would be pulled up weekly, washed and placed back down and lasted a LONG time. Without fail, every area rug begins peel off the back within 2-3 washings. The backing LOOKS to be the same as the carpet used to cover the whole bathroom.

HELP. Those that have carpeting, what do you use?

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

libbyannE — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:15:14 GMT

I hear what you're saying. The floor is terrible and you're on a budget and desperate to do something. I totally get that. However, bathroom carpet was a very short trend because it was a terrible idea. It looked awful. It couldn't be properly cleaned. I would carefully save my money and look at tile while you're saving up. You can get very well priced large-size tiles at the home centers. Some home centers will even line up installation for you. While you're shopping and saving, get a regular bath rug or two that you can take up regularly and wash and reuse once you fo get time put down. Do not waste your money on bath carpet; that money could pay for some tile!

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

libbyannE — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:17:15 GMT

@libbyannE wrote:
I hear what you're saying. The floor is terrible and you're on a budget and desperate to do something. I totally get that. However, bathroom carpet was a very short trend because it was a terrible idea. It looked awful. It couldn't be properly cleaned. I would carefully save my money and look at tile while you're saving up. You can get very well priced large-size tiles at the home centers. Some home centers will even line up installation for you. While you're shopping and saving, get a regular bath rug or two that you can take up regularly and wash and reuse once you fo get time put down. Do not waste your money on bath carpet; that money could pay for some tile!

P.s. On a tight budget, I forgot to mention that you can take up the tile yourself or have friends help you and then have inexpensive but decent looking sheet vinyl put down to cover the whole thing. The sheet vinyl flooring will be better looking and easy to clean. There really are some budget alternatives . Sorry I forgot to mention that in my earlier post.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

Citrine1 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:17:39 GMT

@SahmIam wrote:

Maybe it's a Philly/Jersey thing. Then again, all my friends had it in the 60's, 70's plus when we lived outside DC.

JC Penny sells it.

I had to laugh at your comment as this is what I have and I do, in fact, live in Philly.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

drizzellla — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:18:10 GMT

I was one of those people that had wall to wall carpet in my bathroom I liked it alot. And that is why for many years I would buy the carpet when I found Fieldcrest gray wall to wall carpet. It was so easy. I would vacuum it every week to get all the hair and dirt. And would throw it in the washer when it looked like it needed to be refreshed.

But it got harder and harder to find. So reluctantly I got area rugs. They are ok but even with the rubber backing they move around a bit.

I bought memory foam area rugs for the bathroom at Sams Club. I like them alot. The memory foam feels so nice under your feet and the backing seems to have held up reasonably well. They are about 3 feet long so you can hopfully cover your worst areas. And they were under $10.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

sweetee2 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:48:09 GMT

My better half had Polio and his feet are very sensitive to hard surfaces, so we have always had carpet in our bathrooms. It is very easy to take care of, just vacuum once a week. I buy the room size rug and cut it to fit. PS. I hate to mop.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

riley1 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:52:24 GMT

Sorry, I would never put carpet in the bathroom - it just grosses me out. In fact, we looked at a house recently and the carpet had wall to wall carpet. I looked at DH and told him that was the first thing that was going - lol

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

Nightowlz — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:58:04 GMT

I would find a way to have tile or linoleum installed in your bathroom. Carpet does not belong in the bathroom. You can do it yourself. You can find all the info you need to do it online. Maybe you can pay 1 or 2 teenage boys to scrape up the old floor.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

151949 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:07:11 GMT

Or take up the broken tiles and paint the subfloor then put throw rugs on that. I would never put carpet in a bathroom. No matter if the subfloor is concrete or wood it can be painted.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

Mominohio — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:07:55 GMT

I understand your dilemma OP, as you know you need a complete overhaul, and want to reduce the amount of money your temporary fix for the floor consumes, until you can do the big job. And your floor can't wait!

First, I understand different people choose different flooring for specific needs and preferences. But I will say that I have lived a lifetime with carpet in various bathrooms, and for us, it has worked because we are clean and careful people.

I'll just say that people sit here and the 'gross' factor of men is not a problem. We vacuum the carpets here every other day, and I steam clean my carpets in the bathrooms twice a year (or more if needed). That said, if/when I can redo my bathrooms, I will most likely choose to not replace the carpet, to make cleaning a bit easier, but not because of a 'gross' factor for us.

If I were in the OP's place, knowing that the 'fix' is temporary, I'd go to someplace that sells carpet remnants and buy one I like that would match the bathroom and have it cut and laid with no padding or attaching. Usually in small spaces like this it will lay well and not buckle for the short term. It will add some cushioning to cover the places of the current floor that are maybe torn or uneven and may allow her to not pull it up right now, but wait till the complete bathroom renovation.

If op can do this herself that shouldn't be too expensive, or if not, it might be the cheapest quick fix.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

Mistreatedbycs — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:10:34 GMT

OMG....don't do carpet in the bathroom....been there, done that, that was the worse thing I ever did.

The carpet looks nice for about a week, maybe a month, wow, the floor is warm, BUT then the horror starts.....

room starts to smell...the carpet never dries and with that excessive moisture, it gets even worse.

yes you will have mold, you might now see it but it's under the carpet.

dirt is a major concern, there is no way that you can even get that carpet clean, the corners build up with hair and dust, and overall I am so happy I now have a tile floor.

Throw a bath mat over it for now.

Re: Carpet in the bathroom. Need suggestions please.++

Mistreatedbycs — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:18:57 GMT

...and putting down new tile is not for someone who hasn't done it before.

The flooring all needs to be removed, surface sanded and new tile put down (if your surface is not flat...your tiles will crack)

i gutted the entire bathroom last year and between a local contractor and Home Depot, we ranged in price from $10,000 to $18,000 and a small area...

I would call a tile guy and get an estimate, makeover your bathroom in sections, maybe just do the floor this year.

I however would stay away from the big box home improvement stores, they do not have their own installers and subcontract all that work out, even calling Lowe's, they wanted a fee for an estimate but of course it would be credited if you signed the contract, no thank you, I don't pay for quotes.