Bathroom Carpet
Normally we’re strong advocates for installing carpet just about everywhere. When people gush about how wonderful hard flooring is and about how everyone’s got it so it must be the best thing on earth, we just shake our heads sadly. I’ve always preferred walking barefoot across a soft plush carpet than upon cold hard tile, especially in the bedroom!
But there are a couple places where in my mind hard flooring is an absolute must. Those two places are the kitchen and the bathroom. Amazingly I have seen carpet installed in kitchens. Not only is it not particularly safe considering hot oil or sparks could jump down onto the carpet, I just can’t imagine how you’d be able to keep it clean.
As far as the bathroom, although it’s more common to see carpet there than in the kitchen, it’s still not something you’ll come across every day. It’s easy to understand why. Lets just say that it’s much easier to clean various liquids that have missed their intended target from tile than it is to remove them from carpet. How’s that for being subtle yet conjuring up a fairly grotesque image? Carpet also has a strong tendency to retain moisture which can lead to the development of mold. Add this to the fact that carpet retains odors quite easily and you can see why I’d never install carpet in my bathroom.
I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would ever install carpet in their bathroom, but if you’re determined to do so then here are a few pointers. First of all you don’t want wool! Wool carpet is the least stain resistant material you can purchase. Install wool carpet in your bathroom and you’ll be very sorry very soon, believe me.
I’d recommend that you purchase specially made bathroom carpet that has been treated to be both moisture and mold resistant. If installing a pad I’d make sure that it has a double moisture barrier as well. Normally I don’t advocate installing pads with moisture barriers as it tends to trap moisture between the subfloor and the carpet, but in this case it is a must.
The very best advice that we can offer regarding installing bathroom carpet is very simple. And that is to install tile instead. Just say “NO” to stinky, moldy bathroom carpet!