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[SleeplessinSD]

We're thinking of getting rid of all our carpet downstairs and replacing with wood floors. For those of you that have them, are you happy with them overall? Would you get them again? Are they easy to care for? We have pets, is there a certain type we should get/avoid, i.e., laminate, etc. Any advice would be appreciated.......TIA!

[Mtnbikegirl]

I have solid hardwood maple floors. I absolutely love them!!! I have a dog and a cat. They are easy to care for. I sweep/swiffer my floors everyday. You will never regret getting rid of carpets. Hardwood floors are the way to go! No/less allergens.

I think laminate floors scratch easier. I like the look of real wood. Real wood can be resurfaced. I'm not sure about laminate.

[SleeplessinSD]

We plan to visit a couple of stores specializing in wood floors this week. I'd heard of laminate but really didn't know much about. We just love the look of wood floors in homes we visit and are so tired of cleaning carpets only to have them look dirty again in no time. We want to keep a "warm" look, so we'll get area rugs too. Thank you for replying......

[Gerdane]

Hi Helen47, We have hardwood floors on our entire downstairs minus our living room and an extra bedroom. I personally like something soft underfoot in our family room so we had a large area rug custom-sized for that room. Something to consider is the size of the slats of the wood. Our house, while brand new when we bought it, was built without my husband and I selecting the materials. We both would prefer wider slats (6 inches or so) as ours are 3 inches and underfoot we feel the grooves when barefoot. I was told we could have them sanded down, but we will live with them. We also just like the look of the wider slats. Easy as far as maintenance goes. A couple times a month I get down on my hands and knees with a bucket of water and vinegar or a mild soap (wring out the rag good) and wash them that way. Invest in rubber knee pads from the garden center if you do this...it will save your knees! I get mine at Lowe's. For quick cleans when I don't need to get my baseboards I use a Bona mop with a solution attachment. They clean up beautifully! My biggest piece of advice, if you can, is to walk on samples and see how they feel on your BARE feet. ETA: Ours are solid hardwood floors, also.

[SleeplessinSD]

Hi Iluvacop! That's great advice....I never would have given the size of the slats a thought, but that makes good sense to consider. I have bad knees and own a couple good knee pads as I love gardening and still do so on my knees. (-; we do plan on having some custom rugs made up too. Again, thank you for your help!

[Sunshine Kate]

We have solid wood downstairs and love it. Ours is distressed wood and wide slats. I love the distressed wood because if a light scratch occurs - well let's put it this way, every imperfection is hidden.

It's easy to clean even though it's dark wood. If you want wood floors that really hide dust/dirt, get distressed wood in a real light beige color.

[Gerdane]

Glad to offer you some helpful advice! :-)

[SleeplessinSD]

Sunshine Kate, that was another question I forgot to ask; light vs. dark wood. While I love the look of a darker wood, I can imagine dirt/dust would show more on dark. I'll definitely check out the distressed woods too. I really appreciate the advice. Thank you.

[pattypeep]

We ripped the carpet out of our home when we moved in and uncovered red oak floors. Had them refinished and love, love, love. I only have carpet in the bedrooms. I would never have carpet throughout again. We have two dogs and a cat and no problems whatsoever. In fact, it's nice having wood because cats have a way of upchucking occasionally and it's an easy cleanup. I steam clean the wood floors because they are solid wood. If you get Pergo or something like that, do NOT steam clean them. Good luck in your decision making. You will love having wood floors.

[SleeplessinSD]

Thank you twopeas.....you all have pretty much helped me make up my mind to switch to hardwood. I knew I'd love the look just wasn't sure how hard they'd be to care for. I vacuum daily, spot clean constantly and have them steam cleaned regularly. They're beige, so every spot shows too. Sounds like hardwood just might be easier!