The wife and I pulled up our carpeting also . Our floors are rough pine and she wanted to paint them ( got the idea from Better Homes and Gardens) and they turned out great . Cleanup is easy , and I do not have worry about spilling water when I change my aquariums water . The only problem with that is when my dogs come running through the house , they try to stop and slide into the walls . Well , actually , that is pretty funny .I live in a very old home and I have this same problem. I will try the cheesecloth trick and will have to save up for the air purifiers, though. I got rid of the wall to wall carpeting as it's easier for me to keep the wood floors clean as opposed to the carpets.