Ways to Get Rid of Your Old Carpet

Are you sick and tired of the old carpets that are in your home? Perhaps they are dingy and dirty, and no amount of shampooing and cleaning seems to get them as clean as you would like. Perhaps you are considering getting some new carpet for the home to give it that new, fresh look that you want. If you are considering new carpet, you will first have to get rid of the old. While some peoples’ first inclinations might be to simply throw the carpet into the landfill, this is not an ideal solution. Each year, billions of pounds of carpeting ends up in the landfill, and it is not a green and environmentally friendly solution. Fortunately, there are several ways to get rid of old carpet and to make sure that you are not damaging the environment.

SELL THE CARPET

If you believe that the carpet might still be in good enough shape that it is salvageable, and that someone else might want to buy it, then you can always consider selling it. You can offer it through an online advertising site, such as Craigslist, or you could try to sell it at a garage sale, for example. However, you will want to clean and wash the carpet first to see if it is really still in good enough shape that people might want to buy it.

REUSE THE CARPET

Even though you might not need to have this carpet in your main house, there may be some other places and ways that you can use it. If you have a basement that you would like to furnish, for example, or if you have an attic or a garage that you want to turn into a playroom or a work area, reusing your carpet could save you some money.

DONATE THE CARPET

If you do not feel that anyone would be willing to buy the carpet, and you do not have plans to reuse the carpet, it is always possible to donate it, as long as it is clean and does not have strange smells. Animal shelters and some charity organizations are willing to take old carpet in many cases.

RECYCLE THE CARPET

It is also possible to recycle the carpet, although not all towns and cities are going to have a recycling center that will accept carpet. CarpetRecovery.org, also known as CARE (Carpet America Recovery Effort) is a website that helps you find carpet reclamation centers that are located close to you. You can check out their site and see if you can find a recycling center that is located close enough to you that it would make sense to recycle the carpet.

As you can see, there are quite a few ways to get rid of your old carpet that do not merely involve tossing it into the trash. Look into these options and see what might work best for your needs and your situation.