Reasons To Choose Carpeting For Your Elderly Relatives' Homes
Posted on: 28 March 2016
Do you have elderly parents or grandparents? Do they live on their own and you're worried about their welfare? If you're like most children or grandchildren, you're concerned about how your parents or grandparents can maintain their independent lifestyle. Surprisingly, one thing that can help in this area is having carpeting installed in their home. Here are some reasons why this can be a good idea:
Better traction: If your elderly relatives use a cane or a walker to get around, tile or wood flooring may no longer be safe for them to use. A carpet with a very short pile can provide much more traction, preventing potentially dangerous falls. It also won't impede the progress of their mobility aid, allowing them to continue to move freely within their home. If your relatives object to having carpet installed in most of their home, you should at least install carpet runners on any stairs in the home. This can help to prevent them from slipping on the stairs and receiving a possibly fatal injury in the process.
Less cleaning: If not swept and mopped frequently, a tile or hardwood floor can become a slippery and unsightly magnet for balls of dust and hair. When your parents or grandparents use a cane or walker to get around, this can seem like a monumental task. Carpet, on the other hand, doesn't need to be cleaned that often. Instead of your elderly relatives cleaning their floors every day or every other day, you can hire a carpet cleaning service to take care of the whole house once a month or once every few months. When at the carpet store, look for a carpet that is stain resistant and that only needs infrequent cleaning. Certain colors or carpet pile lengths may be better for this purpose, so make sure to ask the employees at the carpet store for their suggestions.
More color options: Wood flooring is, of course, limited to shades of tan and brown. Tile flooring may not have that many more choices, depending on your budget. However, carpet comes in almost any color imaginable. While this may seem like a relatively unimportant detail when you're concerned about the safety and well-being of your elderly relatives, it's actually quite important. Different colors can play an important role in mental health, enhancing moods and promoting a feeling of happiness. While many people may focus entirely on the colors of the walls, a bright and colorful carpet can make the difference between a cheerful room and a gloomy one.
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