Q:We just got laminate flooring. It's tongue and grove and looks like shiny cherry wood. We have a 5x7 area rug in the middle of the floor, it's just a simple flat maroon area rug bought from Walmart. Is there anything I can place underneath the area rug that won't scratch the flooring and that will keep pet stains from seeping through to the laminate flooring. I have a 16 year old dog and he pees everywhere and for some reason he's fond of area rugs. I've pulled the carpet up to find that the pee has seeped through. Also because of the seepage I'm afraid of thoroughly cleaning the soiled area, such as with a carpet cleaner, because of the cleaners seeping down to the laminate.Thanks.

Hey Melissa, I am a flooring associate from The Home Depot, and I answered a post on here not too long ago about area rugs. I would say for your money and time the best things to get are buying a carpet (NOT rug) pad from your nearest home improvement center that has a moisture barrier. Almost all carpet pads and rug pads are not going to waterproof, but make sure to buy one with a moisture barrier. It looks like a red or blue film on the backside of the pad. At least with Home Depot, you can come in and we can cut it into a size that fits as close to your 5x7. That way, when your dog has an accident, the pad can capture that without ruining your new laminate flooring. To make sure the rug stays down, buy double sided rug traction tape, again found at your local home improvement store. Use it only in corner areas, since you may need to clean the pad periodically due to the dog. The traction tape ensures that the rug and pad won't slide around. Lastly, consider using spray Scotch-Guard on your area rug. It's a easy and great way to capture his messes before it soaks into the rug completely. Scotch-Guard just sprays on and it can be reapplied after several cleanings. Doing the moisture barrier carpet pad, traction tape, and Scotch-Guard will protect your rug and more importantly your laminate flooring. Hope this helps, aboveaveragejoe

Q:I'm taking on a rescue horse that my friend rescued. He has rainscald and I was wondering when turning him out should I put a rug on him? Because there so many diffrent answers also can you put louse powder on them? Also he ginger and I need a name really want it to be unqui :) thanks

He would be best with no rug on as long as the weather is dry. The bacteria that causes rain scald can only survive in moist conditions so it's best left open and dry. Wash him in hibiscrub occasionally and dry him off fully, hopefully the scabs will then come off. If he must go out in the rain then put a lightweight rug on. Why do you need to put louse powder on him anyway? He shouldn't need it. No offence but you sound very inexperienced with horses. Make sure this horse sees a vet, then find someone experienced to help you look after him. Looking after a horse is very hard work.

Q:We recently had a storm and I had water damage in my bedroom and the carpet was soaked. A company came out and extracted the water and steam cleaned the carpets but I can still smell that wet carpet smell. Any ideas on how to get rid of the stinch?

I think the only way to get that smell out is to air it out for days or weeks, any time your at home open the window in that room if you can , air the carpet out and keep spraying it lighty with something that smells good while airing.

Q:I have a new rug, 6 months old at this point, that constantly sheds. There's 'rug dust' all over the house. It sticks to my daughters feet and even ends up in her diapers. Does anyone have suggestions on how to minimize this problem. We love the rug and do not want to get rid of it.

I would take it to a rug cleaner and let them clean residual rug fuzzies out to their best ability. Some rugs will shed even after having this done, but this will eliminate a lot of the fuzzies. Vacuum frequently, daily for a while.

Q:I have blue walls with a gray blue carpet. That would make for ugly curtains. Do they really need to match?

We now have blinds or verticals on all of our windows (well, and a bit of a fabric swag over my blinds). But, we used to have curtains/drapes on most of our windows. And no, the curtains did not match the carpet. The curtains were kind of a drab off-white or beige color. We went through several different carpeting colors in the house during the time we had curtains, so obviously color matching wasn't an issue! *chuckle* I say, go with what YOU think looks pleasing and pretty, even if interior designers or magazines tell you otherwise!

Q:I need to replace my 45 year old carpet. It is showing it's age. But one thing that has never been done is having it re stretched. Not one wrinkle. It lays as flat and tight as the day it was put in. So this beings up the question. quot;Should a properly installed wall to wall carpet ever need to be re stretched?quot; I have noticed many carpets in newer homes that are all wrinkled. And many people I've talked with after installing carpet need to have it stretched again,sometimes more then twice. Is this an inherent problem with what the carpets are made of now days? By the way my carpet is wool.

Carpet restretching could be necessary from poor installation, the carpet not being stretched enough when it was installed, but it can also be caused by the carpet backing stretching. Carpet backing can stretch from being poorly made, or from humidity or temperature fluctuations. Sometimes even well made and properly installed carpet needs to be restretched. Sometimes poorly made and poorly installed carpet never needs to be restretched. Few carpets besides wool would last 45 years, congrats on keeping your carpet going for so long!

Q:I haven't vacuumed my carpet in over 2 months and its really dirty. I know its disgusting but I hate this flat so much and I rarely come here, just to sleep. My room mate has a vacuum but its a standing up one and I hate those which is why I hate doing it plus my room is small and has a lot of stuff in it (huge walldrobe, dressing table, chest of drawers, bedside table, 2 person sofa, storage boxes, 2 chairs). Anyway we have mice and I put down sticky pad things and I found what I think is silverfish on it so I REALLY want to clean it properly now. Should I buy a carpet cleaner? I heard using vinegar but I'm not sure how. How would you go about cleaning it? should I just vacuum it continuously for like 10 minutes lol? And yes I know its gross but I'm really lazy.... don't judge me =/

I would completely empty the room use a good vacuum to clean it out thoroughly you might want to go over it a few times, if it still seems dirty buy or rent a good carpet cleaner and remember to follow up with a plain water or a low concentrated vinegar solution after shampooing with soap so you do not leave soap residue in the carpet

Q:The lid wasn't screwed on all the way, and now there is a lump of it on the carpet..how can I get it out without ruining carpet!?

Nail polish remover won't work...it will just work the nail polish deeper into the carpet. However, you can usually remove spilled nail polish with scissors. Often nail polish on carpet is just on the very tips of the fibers. If this is the case you can just snip the polish off with sharp scissors. Just cut the very tips of the fibers. Work slowly. Don't cut a single millimeter more than you have to and pull up while cutting. This will help prevent divots in the carpet. Try your best to do just one or two fibers at a time...not a whole clump. And dissect the spills first by cutting them in half or thirds, so that you separate clumps. This will work unless you have already used nail polish remover and have worked the nail polish into the carpet. Also...cutting the nail polish works on shag or plush carpet, but not Berber or loopy carpet. Good luck. -

Q:we live in a rented apartment, we have carpet installed but we would prefer hard wood so much better. is there a way, inexpensive much preferred, to have hard wood over the carpet without damaging the carpet? hope to hear some interesting suggestions, thanks!!

Easy, simply build a new floor on top of the carpet but which does not apply pressure on the carpet. Imagine a thin sheet of plywood. Now, what you do is drive a bunch of nails through so they stick out about 1 on the other side. Space the nails an inch apart so the entire sheet of plywood will sit in top of the nails all of which are no further than an inch from an adjacent neighboring nail, as they go through the carpet to the hard subfloor. All you do is poke small holes in the carpet and padding. The same thing happens when a person lies on a bed of nails. The closely spaced, many nails spread the weight over a much larger area transferring the weight through the carpet rather than ON the carpet to the solid wood subfloor. Now, the problem is, how do you keep your weight from simply pushing the plywood down around the nails? Easy again, lay on another sheet of plywood and glue it together. The top sheet (with your hardwood veneer) will sit on top of the nail heads. Use wood screws to clamp the sheets together and you have a durable top floor surface which will sit on pinpoints that go through the carpet harmlessly. Build enough to cover the carpet. You will add 2 or so the the height of the flooring. You will STILL have a problem, avoiding damage to the carpet by water or anything else spilled which will work through the cracks between sheets and end up in the rug and pad. Somehow, you will have to seal the top sheets to each other and to the walls to keep anything and everything from getting to the carpet. And then, you would have to work around the edge where the 2 lip would be at the carpet edge. A lot of factories do this same kind of elevated flooring to hide electrical cables and piping in places like rooms of electronics. The difference is they simply build channels for things since they have no carpet to protect, and they do not care if dirt gets into the channels where the wires and pipes are located. It is going to be VERY expensive!

Q:How to prevent the carpet from mildew

So it can only dry: The carpet should be regularly placed in ventilation place to dry, this is one of the common methods used to mold the bug. Secondly, keep carpet dry and clean is also the proper method to mold the worms effectively.