LESLIE: Leo in Florida has a question about carpeting. What can we do for you?
LEO: Yes, the other day I heard you all had a program on and it was about a guy that wanted to put – lay down carpet in a dry basement and you all just told him that that was not a good idea and all because of the algae or fungus or something. And I was wondering, couldn’t you put an algaecide or a fungicide in the paint and then paint the floor and then possibly throw some powder down, too, before you glue the carpet down?
TOM: You can and that might work for a little while but the bottom line is that, you know, mold is a very, very common occurrence in basements because they’re below-grade spaces. And why would you want to lay mold food down on top of that moist environment?
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) In a moisture-ridden space.
TOM: Yeah, exactly. So we don’t like putting carpets in basements. There are a lot of fine flooring products out there that are much better choices than carpet. Now, if you want to have carpet, use an area rug on top of something like a laminate floor or an engineered hardware floor.
LEO: (overlapping voices) Right, right.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Or tile.
TOM: Use an area rug that can be taken out and cleaned occasionally. But don’t put in wall-to-wall carpet on top of a jute backing; just a bad idea.
LEO: OK, thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome, Leo. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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