Our carpet needs to be replaced on stairs and upstairs. I hate carpet. We looked into remodeling the staircase into wood treads, but the cost is just too much since it really is a complete rebuilding of curved stairs, open stringers, new bannisters, posts, etc. So we are back to the plan of just remove and replace all carpet. The type of carpet we have is kind of a shaggy multi-dot-colored thing, I’d say a medium pile. It held up pretty well in the bedrooms, and I was able to clean it, but on the stairs it’s absolutely gross and ratty looking. It’s really difficult to clean well on the stairs. We’ve got constant up and down foot traffic, and dogs who love to hang out on the stairs all day long.

What is a better option than the type of carpet DH calls “fuzzy?” Would a lower pile type such as Berber hold up better? Is that type good for bedrooms also? I can hardly stand to go to the carpet stores, they give me the creeps, but I think carpet is the only affordable option for us. Thoughts?