As you may know by following my blog, we are remodeling our home top to bottom. We have decided to put hard surfaces through the majority of our home for many reasons. We wanted to reduce the allergens in our home, hard floors are easier to keep clean, and we like the look and feel of the solid surfaces. Our flooring sponsor for 85% of our home is from Tarkett. We are using a variety of their products including laminate, vinyl tile, vinyl, fiberfloor, and floor in a flash.
There are 3 rooms that we have decided to carpet in our home remodel. Family Room, Master Bedroom, and Kids Play Room. I don’t want to get back into the same position of not knowing what allergens are stuck in my carpet, let alone how much dirt and who knows what from the woods.
HGTV’s Holmes on Homes on how to choose the best carpet for Kids with Allergies
I was pleased to read about what Mike Holmes’ from Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection from HGTV thinks about carpet. Mike Holmes has great ideas on how to shop for new carpeting, allergen reducing techniques, the best vacuums, and how to be green this Spring. The following tips and more can be found at http://holmesmagazine.com.
Select Synthetic fiber: Manmade fibers like nylon and polypropylene wear well and are easier to clean than many other fibers.
Go the natural route: If you find yourselves sneezing, organic options derived from cotton, grass and even coconut husks could be a wonderful solution to your allergies. I had no idea there was even an option for Organic Carpet!
Choose a shorter pile: Shorter fiber carpets are filled with less debris. At about ½ inch, it also takes less time and energy to clean then a shag.
Try carpet tiles: When the kids, guests, or even yourself have that clumsy moment and spill on your carpet, this will allow you to simply pull up the one or more squares and replace them if a deep cleaning fails to get rid of the stain. What a clever idea for families with messy kids and pets!
Air it out: When purchasing a new carpet make sure to have the installer unfurl it either in the warehouse or your garage, this way the quantity of carcinogens is greatly reduced. I hate the smell of new carpet, this is an excellent idea!
Vacuum weekly: Weekly vacuuming, especially with a HEPA filtered, rotating brush attachment, and beater bar vacuum, keeps pollutants from sinking into your carpet. Weekly? I vacuum way more often than that, mostly because of my hair ball dog that sheds 10 lbs of fur a week! ArghI would love to have an iRobot or the Mint automatic floor cleaner for my home for use with both my solid floor surfaces and carpet. Just think of the time that would be saved and how much cleaner your floors would be if all you had to do it tell the automatic floor cleaner to do it!
I want an iRobot Automatic Floor CleanerI want a Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner
Avoid antiques: Most antique carpets were made when dyes and chemicals were less scrutinized. For added assurance, look for the Green Carpet label on your next showroom trip.
How to choose the right carpet by Holmes on Homes
Do you have any tips on how to choose the right carpet? Tell us below!
Cindy is the top Akron Blogger with her own take on awesome brands for families, where to vacation for families, a beat on local activities and family fun, a knack for getting moms to share , and a house that is always 2 weeks away from a complete remodel!
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19 thoughts on “Best Carpet for Kids with Allergies – Mike Holmes from HGTV Secrets”
Donna B. says:
We went with hardwoods, a lot easier than carpet for allergies.
jody r says:
wow…wished i would’ve seen this before getting carpet in my son’s room.
Mary Gardner says:
i have 2 children with allergies and asthma so this was a very informative and helpful post. thanks!
Sarabeth says:
These are great tips! I actually have a lot of problems with allergies myself and I think that our carpet bothers me. This information is really helpful. Thanks!
Chelsea Roberts says:
Ooooh this is sweet, we need it!
Pam L says:
These are really good ideas, my criteria for buying carpet is durability. Luckily no one has allergies in my family but I do have 5 cats and I vacuum everyday so I can keep the cat hair down to a minimum. I will go and check his website out, Thanks
jennifer mosgrove says:
I love hard floors since they don’t stain & hold germs, dirt, etc but they are just not practical in all rooms when you have little kids so thanks for the info! I actually vaccuum daily even though I know it wears out the fibers faster, but I can’t stand the thought of dirt & dog hair sitting there for a week!
Jennifer Marie says:
I didn’t know you could go organic on carpet!!
Jennifer Hess says:
Great article. My youngest has bad allergies and we have yet to pinpoint the cause….she just turned 2 and it has been much less in the winter however she was tested for outdoor allergens and none of them flagged. Makes me think it is something in the house, but we haven’t figured it out. We are thinking about carpeting her room, so this is good advice. Thanks!
momznite says:
Thanks for the tips, like vacuuming the under side of the rug on a weekly basis. momznite_at_yahoo_daught_com
merudevi says:
Hi there – I found you by Googling “best carpet for allergies”. My 4yo son has asthma and allergies to dust mites (among other things), and we’re redoing floors in the main floor of our home. It’s a huge task to decide what to have installed! After researching extensively, I’ve not convinced that hard surfaces are necessarily better than carpet in preventing allergy triggers. From what I can tell it seems that if regularly vacuumed and cleaned carpets may even be better to deal with dust mites as they’re trapped (and sucked out a few times a week) rather than staying airborne on hard surfaces. Much more important to do, apparently, is get rid of upholstered furniture and encase mattresses and pillows since noses and mouths are flush against these dust mite havens. (Bleh! Check, check, and check. Healthier for all the family!) That said, we ARE putting a hard surface in my son’s room (Marmoleum) and re-carpeting the other rooms. I’m still at a crossroads about fiber choice, but short pile and tight, dense weaves seem to be the way to go. Thanks for posting this and helping other moms in their remodel decisions!
Rose Habart says:
My Mom has horrible allergies. Praying my girls don’t have the same problem!! but if so, this info will help 🙂
That would be an excellent giveaway, Karen! I agree! 🙂
Karen says:
First, I love Mike Holmes! Second, i love my hard floors, make cleanup much easier. One tip is go dark if you have a dog. We have the lighter cherry wood and you can see everything! And i too would love a auto floor cleaner. Maybe an up and coming giveaway…?
I didn’t know there were special types of carpet to buy or stay away from before now either, Alycia. It makes a lot of sense though! I am so glad we chose to remodel with hard solid surfaces for the majority of our home, even though allergies are not a HUGE medical problem in our home, it just makes sense.
Well, I’m more interested in this now that we have a child with allergies. We definitely did the wrong thing buying a bit of a shag style. I agree that limited carpet is the best route. Thanks for the info. I have learned a lot for the future.
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We went with hardwoods, a lot easier than carpet for allergies.
wow…wished i would’ve seen this before getting carpet in my son’s room.
i have 2 children with allergies and asthma so this was a very informative and helpful post. thanks!
These are great tips! I actually have a lot of problems with allergies myself and I think that our carpet bothers me. This information is really helpful. Thanks!
Ooooh this is sweet, we need it!
These are really good ideas, my criteria for buying carpet is durability. Luckily no one has allergies in my family but I do have 5 cats and I vacuum everyday so I can keep the cat hair down to a minimum. I will go and check his website out, Thanks
I love hard floors since they don’t stain & hold germs, dirt, etc but they are just not practical in all rooms when you have little kids so thanks for the info! I actually vaccuum daily even though I know it wears out the fibers faster, but I can’t stand the thought of dirt & dog hair sitting there for a week!
I didn’t know you could go organic on carpet!!
Great article. My youngest has bad allergies and we have yet to pinpoint the cause….she just turned 2 and it has been much less in the winter however she was tested for outdoor allergens and none of them flagged. Makes me think it is something in the house, but we haven’t figured it out. We are thinking about carpeting her room, so this is good advice. Thanks!
Thanks for the tips, like vacuuming the under side of the rug on a weekly basis.
momznite_at_yahoo_daught_com
Hi there – I found you by Googling “best carpet for allergies”. My 4yo son has asthma and allergies to dust mites (among other things), and we’re redoing floors in the main floor of our home. It’s a huge task to decide what to have installed! After researching extensively, I’ve not convinced that hard surfaces are necessarily better than carpet in preventing allergy triggers. From what I can tell it seems that if regularly vacuumed and cleaned carpets may even be better to deal with dust mites as they’re trapped (and sucked out a few times a week) rather than staying airborne on hard surfaces. Much more important to do, apparently, is get rid of upholstered furniture and encase mattresses and pillows since noses and mouths are flush against these dust mite havens. (Bleh! Check, check, and check. Healthier for all the family!) That said, we ARE putting a hard surface in my son’s room (Marmoleum) and re-carpeting the other rooms. I’m still at a crossroads about fiber choice, but short pile and tight, dense weaves seem to be the way to go. Thanks for posting this and helping other moms in their remodel decisions!
My Mom has horrible allergies. Praying my girls don’t have the same problem!! but if so, this info will help 🙂
That would be an excellent giveaway, Karen! I agree! 🙂
First, I love Mike Holmes! Second, i love my hard floors, make cleanup much easier. One tip is go dark if you have a dog. We have the lighter cherry wood and you can see everything!
And i too would love a auto floor cleaner. Maybe an up and coming giveaway…?
That is great news, Michelle! Any idea why?
great tips for how to reduce allergens in the home. And it seems what family doesn’t have problems with allergies anymore?
I didn’t know there were special types of carpet to buy or stay away from before now either, Alycia. It makes a lot of sense though! I am so glad we chose to remodel with hard solid surfaces for the majority of our home, even though allergies are not a HUGE medical problem in our home, it just makes sense.
Followed you from MBC, hope you will follow back.
http://www.MomsLifeMadeEasy.com
Well, I’m more interested in this now that we have a child with allergies. We definitely did the wrong thing buying a bit of a shag style. I agree that limited carpet is the best route. Thanks for the info. I have learned a lot for the future.