Flokati rug+pets=bad idea?
September 5, 2010 11:32 AM   Subscribe

Flokati rug + pets = bad idea?

I'm finally getting around to decorating my bedroom, and it has always been my dream to have a big, shaggy, white flokati rug. The rug I like is crazy expensive, and I know I'd just feel physically ill if my pets destroyed it or if it turned out to be a huge maintenance headache. I've read up on basic flokati rug care, but I'd like to hear some thoughts from actual flokati owners.

I have 4 cats and 2 dogs (all well housetrained). The house would get overwhelmed with hair quite easily if I didn't keep up with it. The pets aren't in my room during the day, but at night, the dogs sleep in my bed, and the cats wander in and out. Will pet hair get embedded in the rug to the point that I can't get it out?

If the rug is walked on or nested in by my kids or pets, will it lose its fluff and get all matted up?

Realistically, how often would I have to do the shake-fluff-brush routine to keep it nice?

My sister has a neurotic fat chihuahua that likes to pee in people's houses. When she brings him over, he is expressly forbidden to set even so much as a toenail upstairs, but it's happened before & could theoretically happen again. If the little pork chop takes a whiz on the rug, will it be ruined?

Flokati owners with or without pets: if you had it to do over, would you still get the rug?

Finally, if you advise against buying a flokati, is there something else that I might like just as much?
posted by SamanthaK to Home & Garden (13 answers total)
 
I haven't got a flokati rug, but if you have pets, you have to be prepared for stuff to get wrecked. I wouldn't spend a fortune on a rug if my heart would be broken if it got damaged. Even well-trained pets get sick.
posted by biscotti at 11:37 AM on September 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


It is possible for you to have a flokati rug and 6 pets, and for them not to ruin the rug.

The question is what is it worth in time, expense, and hassle keeping the pets off of it at all times--because they will have to never encounter it ever. biscotti makes the point that even well-trained pets get sick. I'm going to expand that to include you and all humans. Do you never bring coffee/tea/beverages into your room? Even when you have the flu?

You have to decide if it's worth the mental upkeep and worry to protect a white, fluffy rug in the life that you are living right now--not just the physical work or price of the rug itself or the expense of maintenance. How much will this rug cost you in worry?
posted by Uniformitarianism Now! at 11:52 AM on September 5, 2010


Best answer: Yesterday I spent 2 hours cleaning dog puke out of a flokati rug. Next time it needs cleaning, my method will involve a barrel, kerosine, and a match. Do not buy a flokati rug.
posted by juliapangolin at 12:20 PM on September 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


Oh dear, this question brings back terrible memories. I once had a beige flokati rug and three cats and I adored all four. I'm a total clean freak, but I kept that rug well past it's time because I loved it so much. But it was gross...totally gross. There is no way to keep a flokati rug clean with animals around. No way. Period. (Shudder).
posted by tzuzie at 12:22 PM on September 5, 2010


I had a similar rug and no pets, but it seemed like I had pets because the fucking rug shed more than 5 dogs. Awful.
posted by beerbajay at 12:25 PM on September 5, 2010


hmmm. Well, I have two flokatis and one dog — and she's the same color as the flokati. She's never puked on one, but my husband has... and it was really, really hard to clean that out. They are pretty sturdy if they are well-made, but little stuff does get trapped and has to be combed or brushed out, or picked out. I feel like they are easier than they look, but I wouldn't want to wrangle a large one. I have one on each side of the bed, so they are not too big to soak/shake/wash/brush out by hand — whatever I need to do.
posted by taz at 12:42 PM on September 5, 2010


You could just not get the crazy expensive one, and get one in the price range that you can comfortably consider disposable after X period of time. Kind of like a flokati with training wheels, because after that period comes and goes, you can then reassess whether an expensive one is still your dream rug style.
posted by sageleaf at 1:25 PM on September 5, 2010


We had an Ikea flokati-type rug in our living room and it lasted about a week I think. Maybe the expensive ones are better but this thing shed fluff everywhere. I had naively thought my daughter (who was just starting to crawl) would enjoy the softness, she just got bits stuck in her hands which she proceeded to attempt to eat. The fluff took weeks to clear. It now lives in the spare bedroom where it only gets disturbed by the occasional visitor. Even then, after a weekend visit, it has shed a metric ton of white goddam fluff around the room.
posted by dogsbody at 1:38 PM on September 5, 2010


Since it's coming up a lot, I'll just add that we don't have the rug shedding problem. When we brush them (outside) some does come out in the brush, which is expected, but these are expensive/authentic flokatis (we live in Greece), and it definitely makes a difference. Some info about grades here.
posted by taz at 1:54 PM on September 5, 2010


My parents used to have both a flokati and a dog. After a couple of years the rug was about 50% dog hair which had somehow woven itself into the rug and could not be removed.
posted by Wantok at 4:51 PM on September 5, 2010


As someone who had to rip up the carpet in my living room because of how gross it got, I would advise against any very light coloured rug - they are really hard to keep clean - and if you are at all fond of fuzzy things, like throw pillows or blankets, you'll find that the fuzzies from each will embed themselves in the other, and be almost impossible to extract. Best is not too light or dark, and if you can find a slightly mottled colour, you'll save yourself a lot of grief
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 8:14 PM on September 5, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks everyone - I'm feeling like I've dodged a bullet. Maybe I'll go with a nice beige berber...
posted by SamanthaK at 1:52 AM on September 6, 2010


You could make one for just a few dollars (and several hours).
posted by statolith at 9:59 AM on September 7, 2010


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