I know that some people think wood stairs are just as slippery.
Carpet vs wood on stairs.
You can use any thickness of engineered or solid wood on the stairs.
I am tempted for looks and safety to rip up the carpet on the stairs.
Carpeting on stairs is automatically going to accumulate more dust and dirt than hardwood.
Although a wooden staircase can be attractive on its own carpeted stairs simply look inviting.
By contrast wooden stairs can be cleaned with a whisk broom and dustpan.
Carpeted stairs require regular vacuuming and an occasional cleaning to keep them in top shape.
Hardwood stairs are easy to clean and maintain with a broom and a mop.
Slippery carpet stairs are however not as dangerous as hardwood floors since they provide a soft landing thus the fall will hurt a little less.
Having carpet on the stairs doesn t necessarily prevent falls but it helps to provide traction compared to hardwood.
Wood is louder than carpet.
A staircase rug is also soft to the feet.
I would go with hardwood and a runner.
Unfortunately it seems the carpet s just not very high quality.
The very edge of the stair tread is exposed to extreme wear action.
Carpet also won t last as long as hardwood and will need to be replaced frequently.
With carpeted stairs you will never be able to adequately clean that angle where tread and riser meet.
Although people choose to carpet stairs for various reasons the most common are centered around beauty comfort durability and noise reduction.
In addition should a fall ever occur carpet offers a much softer landing spot than wood flooring which could help reduce the likelihood of injury.
Cleaning carpeted stairs mean using a handheld vacuum and you will never be able to get them perfectly clean.
Still the runner has to be very durable.
Having a carpet that is too thick may cause one to trip over especially if there are active children in the house.
Carpet has to be super super durable to do well on stairs.
Engineered wood is 3 8 quot 5 8 quot.
Yes generally speaking carpeted stairs can be safer for older adults than solid wood or stone or any other slippery type of material.
But this does depend on the type of carpeting that is on the staircase and it also depends on the physical condition of the senior person in question.
You ll have to get out the vacuum and give carpeted stairs a good deep cleaning about once a week.
Carpeted stairs will obviously accumulate more dust and dirt than hardwood.