Which is better: carpet or linoleum

When starting renovation work in his own home, a person begins to think about purchasing floor coverings. Currently, there are a variety of options available in a wide range. But the most popular are still linoleum and carpet. They please with reasonable price and long service life.

What to choose: carpet or linoleum

But before purchasing, every person wants to find out which of the two is better. That is why we decided to talk about the pros and cons, and also figure out whether linoleum or carpet is worth buying for an apartment.

Pros and cons of carpet

Carpet is a rolled covering with a backing. Mostly it is used for residential premises.

There are three most striking advantages of the presented material.

1. Carpet is a fairly soft surface, so you don’t need to lay an additional rug on the floor. And this is very important for children's rooms, where kids often play on the floor.
2. Carpet does not need to be removed from the floor for cleaning, unlike carpet. Cleaning is possible on site, and will require the use of a washing vacuum cleaner or a regular brush and detergents.
3. Carpet brings softness and comfort to the interior. At the same time, there are a lot of color variations, which allows you to choose a coating that ideally matches the overall design idea.

But unfortunately there are some drawbacks, and their number is proportional to the number of advantages.

1. The presented coating is not suitable for rooms with high levels of humidity and high traffic. For example, in the hallway, carpet is not the best solution, because... in just a couple of years there will be a need to replace it.
2. It is quite difficult to remove greasy stains from carpet, because... they penetrate very deeply into the structure of the material.
3. Placing heavy furniture on the carpet leaves dents.

Pros and cons of linoleum

Among the main advantages are the following.

1. High moisture resistance. The coating can be easily washed with water, household chemicals, and brushes of any hardness level. You will not damage the surface in the process.
2. Ease of installation. Installation will not take much time. You just need to spread it on a flat surface, and then fix it with special glue.
3. Affordable price. Compared to carpeting, the price will be lower.

There are also certain disadvantages.

1. Limited mechanical strength. The coating can be damaged by any object. For example, if you drop a knife or fork on linoleum, you can be sure that a dent or cut will remain on it.
2. In rooms with high traffic, it is necessary to lay linoleum, which represents an expensive price segment, due to its increased wear resistance.
3. In addition to the above, linoleum is very afraid of hot objects and strong solvents.

Reference! You can even lay linoleum on carpet. But in such a situation, it will be necessary to fix the coating around the perimeter to avoid the floating effect.

Conclusion: what to choose and why

Carpet fills the room with warmth and creates a comfortable and cozy atmosphere in it.But linoleum is a material that is extremely easy to care for. It should be understood that carpets are more susceptible to contamination, and therefore can become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. But linoleum will create a feeling of synthetics and cold in the apartment, especially in the winter season. And if price is the determining factor for you, then it is better to choose linoleum, and in situations where comfort and coziness come first - give preference to carpet!