Here in old Blighty it is quite common to put carpet on the floors of bathrooms, especially in student accomodation; our landlord, for example, is particularly fond of them. I’m not - I’m bloody not, in fact, and it is very uncomfortable having to always keep an eye out for water spills. As the carpet in our bathroom needs replacing, I am hoping to convince him to use something else this time, such as linoleum or tiles, that is more hygienic and possibly more enduring.
Can you give me some suggestion on how to convince him? Unfortunately “please” doesn’t work, and, even if he’s quite a good, approachable guy, he has a very definite idea on what to spend on his property, so saying “I really don’t like it” doesn’t work. Anything I can tell him? Hard facts on the lack of hygiene?
I agree with you, carpet in bathrooms is a dumb idea, especially around tubs and showers. Unfortunately, sometime during my youth (25-odd years ago) people discovered that if a house had a bad floor, it was cheaper to lay down carpet than it was to repair the floor. …Hardwood floors (in good condition) are still most-preferrable, in my opinion–even though fixing bad ones can cost a metric ton of money…
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I hate carpeting in the bathroom, too. But my husband likes it, as does his bizarre mother, so there it stays. It is more expensive, less durable, less easy to maintain, and downright weird, and you can tell the landlord I said so. Hope you win the battle!
Carpet (particularly in a room that by definition features water, humidity and frequent spills) is more likely to harbor mold and mildew, which can in some situations be a health hazard.
Plus, (and this is in the yucky-but-true category) if there’s going to be a nasty accident involving biologic spoilage of carpeting, the bathroom is the place I’d expect to find it. Tile is easier to sterilize than carpeting is.
Don’t know how it is for a renter across the pond, but where I live, it’s near impossible to get a landlord to make changes to a unit unless it’s absolutely required. An hygienic argument? Forget it. Your only leverage in negotiating is to threaten to vacate, and frankly, this is really your best chance to get a bathroom without carpets. Oh, another possibility is to offer to pay for the change yourself. That’s all I can think of.
The problem is that my landlord wants to rent his properties to students (easier profits and smaller maintenance, I guess) and, while some, like me, take care of their place, some would be capable of thrashing even tiles. Imagine having to regularly replace broken tiles! OK, there’s the deposit to cover for that, but shelling out money is always a bother for this kind of landlords.
You could tell him that if the carpet is allowed to stay wet for long periods of time it could rot out the wood subfloor if that is what is underneath the carpeting.