Carpet, or not?

[new2wood]

Hi everyone, I am putting in a wood stove in the bedroom but am going back and forth on whether I want carpet or not. If I keep the carpet, I'll install everything correctly within fire safety code.

My concern is the ash. Do any of you have carpet in the same room as your stove and do you have trouble keeping the carpet clean?

I really like getting out of bed and feeling that soft flooring and not the hard, cold floor without the carpet.
Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks
Lynn

 

[BrotherBart]

Millions of wood burners have carpet in the room with the stove. What you won't find is any jurisdiction that allows a solid fuel burning appliance in a sleeping room. Or stove manufacturer that doesn't say to not install it in a sleeping area. Recliners in the family room excluded.

 

[BrotherBart]

Cute with the "anywhere" location. Just go ahead and say Southern California.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

We have carpet. And golden retrievers.and live in the forest. we vacuum every day.

 

[Dustin92]

I agree- not a good idea to put it in the bedroom. We do have carpet in our stove room (basement family room), and it does get dirty fast- We have 2 dogs and 2 cats, so vacuuming every day is normal anyway. I have a braided cotton rug in front of the stove (fireplace insert), not so much for dirt as protection for the carpet under it. We had old carpet in the room last winter, and accidentally knocked some coals out of the stove. It's amazing how fast carpet melts, and stinks terrible in the process. The braided rug is far better in that respect, have dropped embers on it and waited a few seconds to see what would happen, never more than a slightly browned spot. The rug is now protection for new carpet installed this summer. The carpet didn't really need any more than a regular vacuuming until we got a bit careless while cleaning the chimney- now there are a couple dark smudges, which should come out just fine when I steam clean it.

 

[DougA]

Same here, carpet in the living room. The only problem we have is stepping on ash on the ceramic tile, then tracking that onto the carpet but it does vacuum easily. Our entire room gets a lot dustier when the wood stove is on. Tough to prevent that with loading and cleaning the stove constantly.

 

[Beer Belly]

Why can't you have a woodstove in the bedroom ???......how about an open fireplace ???

 

[Bobbin]

Not a fan of carpet, personally. We have multiple pets (see signature) and aiming a vacuum cleaner is low on my list of domestic priorities. Besides, carpet wears out and looks "dated" in pretty short order (color, nap, wear, etc.). We live on painted sub-floor, opting for oriental rugs and floor cloths to cover the rather mean flooring substrate in our home. There was a time when we were really keen to install hardwood, but we really like the painted floors and saw no need to "fork over pork" for hardwood when we were already happy with the painted aesthetic.

As for stoves in the boudoir... . Not at all certain about this, but I believe the taboo has to do with carbon monoxide and smoke issues... things that can readily overwhelm a slumbering homeowner. I don't know how historic homes with bedroom fireplaces sidestep this recent code issue. Anyone else know?

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I have carpet and hate it.

 

[bsruther]

I had carpet and hated it, really, really hated it. Pulled it all up and exposed the hardwood floors and it's so much nicer. I'll be sanding and refinishing them next Tuesday, when the weather breaks.

 

[Trktrd]

My carpet is coming out this year and hard wood going in. Carpet is just a dirt magnet. I'm sure most have seen the mess under an old carpet when removed. Besides that, the area near the stove is getting a bit "crunchy" after 4 years of burning.

 

[begreen]

We had high, quality, tough low-pile carpet in the house when we moved in. Color wasn't bad and it was in good condition so we left it until 2006 when we remodeled. White oak flooring went it and we love it. It was also an excuse to get some beautiful Persian area carpets that we treasure.

 

[Bobbin]

The beauty of nice rugs is that you can move them around and you can roll them up and take them with you when you move! Nothing stands the test of time better than wool. It dyes well, cleans well, and it's warm. And rugs are just plain beautiful. Big fan of Karastan and Couristan who offer machine woven rugs (no child labor) in very traditional patterns and color ways, at affordable prices.

However, I will say that the polypropylene rugs are about as bullet-proof as a rug can get. We have a couple of cheapies in the entry hall and I routinely scrub them with detergent and blast them with the garden hose sprayer to rinse them. They dry in no time flat and look none the worse for wear. Dog -hit/puke, cat puke? doesn't matter... impervious. Colors and detail in pattern aren't great for a discerning eye, but for an entry hall? I don't care that much... the "idea" of an oriental carpet is more than adequate (and fools nearly everyone who doesn't look too closely).

There is carpet in a home my brother an I now own. Very nice stuff (wool!). I plan to have it cut down and bound in more useful "area rug" sizes when it's removed. The color is "dated" for an entire room, but for area rugs? it will work beautifully.

 

[begreen]

Yes, we love them. We were very fortunate to meet up with a fellow who had lived years in Iran. He had to leave after the Iranian revolution and was gradually selling off his huge collection (a garage full) of rugs that he had personally selected over the years. These are not machine made carpets. They are one of a kind. Each one tells a story of the tribal identities of the region. They are full of symbolism which makes them quite special as well as beautiful.

 

[Bobbin]

Iranian carpets are the best of the best! After the revolution there was a huge loss in the quality of the herds of sheep that provided the wool for later rugs. Quality plummeted and the embargo on Iranian carpets strangled the industry. Very, very sad! The dearth of supply lead to the increase in child labor in countries looking for western exposure. Which is why we now focus on the machine loomed rugs in quality fibres and traditional styles. We have some antique rugs, but not the wherewithal to purchase the older, "real" Iranian (Persian) rugs.

 

[Johnpolk]

Seeing how much junk ends up on our wood floors around the stove, I couldn't imagine having carpet. We vacuum almost every day. The only good part of carpet is that you may not really see how dirty it is

 

[DougA]

The only good part of carpet is that you may not really see how dirty it is

EXACTLY!

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Seeing how much junk ends up on our wood floors around the stove, I couldn't imagine having carpet. We vacuum almost every day. The only good part of carpet is that you may not really see how dirty it is

I told my wife when we get new carpet, we are getting it in exactly the color of dirt these goldens drag in every day.

 

[lopiliberty]

I have carpet and I like it a lot more than hardwood. I vacuum everyday and when I dump the vacuum water its never anymore than just slightly cloudy. I come from a family of insane clean freaks. I have an old vacuum right by the stove and every time I load wood I give the stove area a good sweeping. That's the only draw back with wood heat is all the dirt

 

[Dix]

Hardwood for the PE, ceramic over a cement slab for the 13.

I hate wall to wall. I'll never forget pulling up the last carpet in the living room and seeing the mess of dust & soot (previously had coal stoves in the house, talk about dusty !!). I said never again.

You can always use area rugs.

That being said, I believe most bedrooms do not conform to a solid fuel burning appliance.

Welcome to the forums !

 

[red oak]

No opinion on the carpet, but the woodstove in the bedroom sounds like HEAVEN!

 

[lightecho]

Have carpet now, hate it. No matter how much cleaning, you know the dust and dirt is still in there. I'd love to switch to (heated?) stone tile with plush area rugs where we walk. That's the plan for the new house. You can switch area rugs when they get dirty or you want a design change... its a lot harder to switch out carpet!

We have had our Lopi stove in the bedroom for 7 years, mostly because the upstairs remodel was put on hold and we couldn't move the bedroom upstairs yet. The current bedroom will eventually be the livingroom, which is why the stove was put there. It's been great. Carbon Monoxide and fire alarms there have never gone off, and this old house has no problem with pulling enough O2 to supply everything/everyone.

 

[begreen]

No opinion on the carpet, but the woodstove in the bedroom sounds like HEAVEN!

And if a woodstove, illegal under most circumstances.

 

[Woody Stover]

Carpet at MIL's was nothing special, but after opening the door of the Buck on some Mulberry a couple of times, it now looks like the surface of the moon.
We have a few of the braided rugs here, one in front of the stove....which is a side-loader.

 

[new2wood]

Thanks everyone! I love this forum!