G5052 Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I think I've found a house that will meet our needs for a rental. It has a decent kitchen, but there's a passthrough to the carpeted dining room. The carpet is a year old, but looks to be in good condition. It's BEIGE though. So how do i manage this? Buy a dark rug so that I can keep the carpet nice? Unfortunately we're messy eaters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I would buy a rug to go underneath your dining table. You might also want to use tablecloths - at the end of a meal, folding up the edges and carrying the tablecloth out of the carpeted room can prevent a lot of bits from hitting the floor and being ground into the rug/carpet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 We had carpet in our dining room when our kids were little. When they were really little and very messy I put a big towel under their chairs. Otherwise, it was fine. Agree with Seasider that a tablecloth will be better than placemats. Keep a good carpet stain remover on hand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 We had carpet in our dining room when our kids were little. When they were really little and very messy I put a big towel under their chairs. Otherwise, it was fine. Agree with Seasider that a tablecloth will be better than placemats. Keep a good carpet stain remover on hand. LOL I had a cheap shower curtain for the floor when I had twins in high chairs! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 We have a white/beige carpet rug in our dining room. We carefully pick up dropped food at the end of meals and immediately clean up spills. We have had some impressive spills! We vacuum it at least weekly. The rug was actually a carpet scrap we had bound and I’ve been amazed that it still looks good after 5 years with three kids, two different dogs, and two cats. It wasn’t my first choice in the dining room but rugs are pricey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted February 11, 2018 Author Share Posted February 11, 2018 Thankfully just a college kid and I. My oldest is at Army Basic Training, but will be back this summer. We actually had beige carpet in the dining room when they were babies, but we primarily ate in the kitchen, so this will be different for us. I hate having to buy a rug, but it sounds like the best option if we go with that house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Thankfully just a college kid and I. My oldest is at Army Basic Training, but will be back this summer. We actually had beige carpet in the dining room when they were babies, but we primarily ate in the kitchen, so this will be different for us. I hate having to buy a rug, but it sounds like the best option if we go with that house. If you have an IKEA in your area, they often have some great prices on rugs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I would buy a rug to go underneath your dining table. You might also want to use tablecloths - at the end of a meal, folding up the edges and carrying the tablecloth out of the carpeted room can prevent a lot of bits from hitting the floor and being ground into the rug/carpet. This is what we did with toddlers and a brand new white carpet. It worked fine because the rug was a thick wool carpet and stopped everything. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevergiveup Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Well, I would go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a big canvas painter's drop cloth. They are usually beige and very cheap. I would put it under the table and chairs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 My sister put an indoor/outdoor rug under the table. When it's bad she takes it outside and hoses it off, plus it saves the carpet in her dining room. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Thankfully just a college kid and I. My oldest is at Army Basic Training, but will be back this summer. We actually had beige carpet in the dining room when they were babies, but we primarily ate in the kitchen, so this will be different for us. I hate having to buy a rug, but it sounds like the best option if we go with that house. With two adults in the home, having a rug in a dining area should not be a huge deal due to dining issues. I can see where the "pass through" aspect will cause some wear and tear, but that is normal and a landlord should expect that. If, for some reason, you don't anticipate being able to keep food on the table (do you have a pet that steals from you?), then I suggest buying an inexpensive area rug that you don't mind discarding when you move from the home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted February 11, 2018 Author Share Posted February 11, 2018 If you have an IKEA in your area, they often have some great prices on rugs. Oh, that's a great idea. I'm hoping we can buy down the road again, but that would get us by. Two adults, but somehow it's always messy under the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 You can get an indoor/outdoor rug to put under your table. Those are easy to clean . . . hose off if you need to, although that would work best in the summer I suppose. They are pretty affordable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I think I've found a house that will meet our needs for a rental. It has a decent kitchen, but there's a passthrough to the carpeted dining room. The carpet is a year old, but looks to be in good condition. It's BEIGE though. So how do i manage this? Buy a dark rug so that I can keep the carpet nice? Unfortunately we're messy eaters. I had a clear mat underneath the dining room table when I rented a home with a carpeted dining area. Two toddlers at once, single parent, it was fine. Like this: https://www.overstock.com/Office-Supplies/Chairmats/22527/subcat.html?featuredproduct=10313707&featuredoption=15723599&cid=209797&fp=F&track=cseshopzilla&utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=shopzilla&countrycode=US But smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwalker Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Dogs help, as they are the best at cleaning up kid floor meal mess. :) And I agree with the rug under the table, I would do an easily washable one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 (edited) I'd go with the drop cloth, too. They are easier to wash that rugs, and if you can find one more or less the same color as the carpet, it will be visually unobtrusive, OR you can get one to mostly fill the room and stencil designs around the edge and it will look all artsy AND be functional. I don't know what the laws are like where you are, but here in CA, cleaning is the responsibility of the tenant moving out. If something cannot be cleaned because the tenant stained it, and has to be replaced, that is at the tenant's expense unless they live there throughout the wear life of the carpet, in which case the landlord would be responsible to replace it as 'normal wear and tear' which is not the economic responsibility of the tenant. One wild card--I looked at carpet last summer, and was amazed to find stain resistant carpets that are guaranteed cleanable for some crazy amount of time, like 25 years or something, assuming they are cleaned properly and annually or something along those lines. I would suggest checking where the carpet came from, and talking with the store owner about whatever guarantees are on it and what the maintenance requirement is. If this is that kind of carpet, you don't have to worry about staining it because it pretty much won't stain. The new products are quite remarkable now. Edited February 12, 2018 by Carol in Cal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 I have never lived in a house without carpet in the dining room. My mom even had carpet installed in her dining room while she was raising 5 kids. If you teach the kids to eat over the table, it isn't really any different than having hard floor under it. I don't think it is a big deal at all but since I haven't lived any other way, that probably distorts my view. LOL We don't give the kids purple grape juice or kool aid type drinks so really anything drink spill cleans up pretty easy. We have a carpet cleaner, but really only use it a couple times per year. My oldest daughter liked cups with lids older than most kids and she was the one most likely to spill so it worked out fine. Spilled drinks were pretty much water, so no problem. If I had a baby going through the dropsy phase in a high chair, food was removed from the tray. And they were told to stop and hand fed until the realized they liked feeding themselves better than sitting there without any food. The biggest mess had nothing to do with the dining room, it was when dd19 (maybe 16 or so at the time) tripped and spilled an entire glass of smoothie in that room. It started on the floor and spread all the way to the ceiling. LOL She got to shampoo the carpets that night after that one. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Get rid of it asap. I had a carpeted dining room and hated it every day it was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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