HELP!! I have a dilemma on what to do with the old carpet in my house. Any ideas?

Question

We bought a cabin that was the original owners summer cabin. The carpet is a sculptured brown hideous site. I am laying new floor in about a week and don't know what to do with it. It definately is not someting I would want to give away and I hate to see it dumped in a landfill somewhere. AND, yes the new floor I am laying is eco-friendly!!

Answer 1

I don't know what to do with the carpet.

How can a floor be 'eco friendly'?  Isn't the house built on land, destroying the natural ecosystem there?

Answer 2

I'd use old carpet of any style if I had kids.   Am looking for some anyway.   New carpet emits formaldehyde fumes for years after installation and can cause allergic reactions and other health problems for kids crawling around on it or anyone who spends much time around it.     The house I bought had just been redone in some hideous style; you never know what some people would like or dislike.    Try the freecycle site.

Answer 3

You could have it cleaned, cut it into smaller rugs, and call

your local daycare center and see if they could use some

mats for their children to take their naps on.

Answer 4

new carpet over old

Answer 5

Take the shortest route to the nearest solid waste disposal station, and dump it.

Spending anymore time or energy trying to salvage something out of it, is just creating more waste.

You were not consulted when the carpet was purchased or installed, so don't feel guilty about disposal.

Answer 6

Is it actual wall-to-wall carpet or is it a room-sized area rug?  If carpeting, you're going to mess it up a little tearing it up.  Either way...if it's in good shape, not too worn, and clean, you might think about checking out freecycle.org in your area.  It's a site where people give away useful things, or if you're lucky, find something you're looking for.  (They're all about recycling and keeping useful things out of the landfills.)

Check 'em out!  http://www.freecycle.org/

Answer 7

what about asking a nearby animal shelter if they could use it?

Answer 8

Roll it up in long strips and dig a trench the lenght of the the roll.  The trench should be half the depth of the roll.  Place it in the hole and call it a haven for all the little critters in your area that may have lost habitat somewhere due to deforestation.  Maybe use it as a garden border.  No other ideas.  It will rot faster that way as well with the help of the rain and sun.