Isn’t it stupid and unsanitary to have wall to wall carpeting in a bathroom? It is impossible to sanitize and almost impossible to keep mildew from growing underneath it due to moisture.
Again, are their any official regulations regarding this? I live in Washington State.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Are you talking about a bathroom in a public building, a commercial building or a residence? There may be regulations on what can be installed in public buildings, and I have a hard time believing carpet would ever be installed in a commercial building’s bathroom, but as far as I know, you can cover your home’s bathroom floor with ermine pelts if you like.
Depends. IMO, it’s not a great idea. I’ve seen it in houses of some meticulously clean people that I know. (like Grandma) The carpet can be sanitized with steam, although not something you’re likely to do every day. Usually it’s a very low berber type carpet that doesn’t trap as much debri & dries out faster if wet. But still…
On the other hand, people who aren’t into cleaning regularly should steer clear of it. I wouldn’t dream of having carpet in bathrooms if kids were present. Really not a good idea.
I’ve been training as a real estate appraiser and have had the good fortune of getting to inspect some vacant foreclosures in my area. Imagine this stuff after stagnating for three months in the Texas heat. Ain’t pretty.
The people that lived here before us (they built the home) put it in the master bathroom and I hate it. It’s a very light beige and ALWAYS looks dirty.
Yuck, yuck, yuck.
its a residence, thanks for all replies!
Removing the carpet from the bathrooms was the second project we did when we bought our house. First was a fence for the dogs. I have no clue how they kept the carpet from getting mildew. I certainly couldn’t. Maybe they didn’t and just had it cleaned prior to putting it up for sale.
We have it in 2 of our baths and have never had any trouble. However, when the time comes, I doubt if we will replace it with carpeting.
In my master bathroom (in the D.C. metro area) we have a toilet behind a closed door, and a shower area, which are both tiled. We have carpet in the adjoining area with a bathtub and two sinks. Not a problem at all. It’s white carpet, doesn’t get mildewed, doesn’t look dirty, and it’s 6 years old. We bought the house as new construction so there is no building code issue with carpet in a bathroom. The bathtub doesn’t get used much, though. In front of the shower we use bath rugs and they don’t get wet if you dry off in the shower, so I don’t think carpet would be a problem there, not sure why the builder did it the way they did.
When I was a little girl, my parents put wall-to-wall carpeting in the bathroom while remodeling it. I’ll have to ask them why they did it. I don’t remember any mildew problems, but then again, it was Montana–YMMV in a more humid locale. It was warmer on your feet than tile.
I belong to a YMCA where they’ve carpeted the locker rooms. The shower area is tile, but the locker area is carpeted. This, IMHO, was a mistake. People come into the locker area wet from the showers or pool, and that wet carpet smells terrible! I’ve also picked up some rather nasty foot fungi there in the past. They had a bunch of signs imploring people to dry off in the tiled shower area–I don’t think it’s helped much.
I think its okay if you don’t take a lot of showers. Also, there are bathroom rugs to put on top
of it. I think it looks nice but its not for me.
I’ve never lived anywhere that didn’t have it - apart from when I was at university. In fact, the only ‘floor-covering related’ cleanliness problems I’ve encountered were there - mildew was terrible.
As for my bathroom now, short-pile carpet, regularly hoovered, no problems!
Carpeting designed for bathroom use has a rubber backing, so moisture (in theory) doesn’t get through, thereby eliminating the mildew problem.
We used to have it in one of our bathrooms, and while we never had a mildew problem, it didn’t wear as well as regular carpet, so eventually we took it out. Nicer than tile on the feet, though.
I lived in an apartment with carpeting in the bathroom.
Can you say “mushrooms”?
My landlady let me replace the carpet with vinyl at my own expense.
When I pulled up the old carpet, underneath I found … well … I don’t want to describe it here.
There is a TV series here in the UK called " House Doctor " in which a woman from California ( Anne Maurice I think she is called ) carries out a quick make-over on houses which are not selling so that the owners can get a quick sale. One of the things she critisizes about British houses is the use of carpets in bathrooms. She has said more than once " they do not do this in the US ". Judging from the above posts it looks as though she is wrong and it practice is just as common there as in the UK.
I wonder if any of those carpeted bathrooms that stayed clean had male users. As my wife says, “Men drip.” We use bathrugs that are replaced and washed every week. Warm and easy in these days of automatic washers. Cannot imagine anything else.
We had a house that had carpet in the bathroom - bright red throughout the house, in fact. We removed it, and I’d never have it again. Tile and throw rugs - that’s my preference.
We also had carpet in our bathroom. I was not a big fan of it, so I pulled it out and replaced it with tile. If you’re thinking of doing this, I’d be happy to offer some advice, as I’m sure would many others here.
I initally thought the tile would be cold, but it hasn’t turned out that way.
speaking as an architectural intern:
the Texas Accesibility Standard reads in part:
if carpet or carpet tile is used on a ground or ground surface, then it shall be securely attached, have a firm cushion, pad, or backing, or, no cushion or pad,and have a level loop, textured loop, level cut pile, or level cut/uncut pile textture. The maximum pile shall be 1/2".
No where I read was it against the law to have a carpet in the bathroom. Various city codes may state otherwise, but most will defer to the Accesibility code.
Public restrooms will not use carpet, obviously, because it is harder to maintain and needs to be replaced. But if they really wanted one, so long as its clean and not a hinderance to people with accesibility problems, they can do it.
your state may vary.
Our house has an open bathroom and half is carpeted. I CURSE the idiot who put it in.
Its not mildewy, but as it is light beige it shows all dirt.
Its not that we are unclean, but it seems that all messy products are in the bathroom: shampoo, make up, cleaners, hair dye, etc.
Having two dogs does nothing to help. I have to steam clean it ALL the time.
I much prefer carpet in the bathroom…gets rid of the cold, echo-ey tile. Never any problems with mildew either. Of course, I am one of those unusual 0.01% of the population that prefers carpet over hardwood floors.
I once saw a house with a carpeted kitchen…now that was unusual.