Keeping your home’s floors or carpet protected is an all-year-round job. The elements of snow, mud and ice melting can end up making your floors and house a mess. Not to mention the damage that can happen to your flooring over time. In the summer you could be dealing with beach-type sand and/ or garden dirt so you can never really win.
A well taken care of floor can mean a healthier home. Especially with infants and toddlers you never know what they pick up off the floor. One of the best ways to make sure your home stays healthy and happy is to set some rules.
Taking Care of Hardwood Flooring
The best techniques to take care of your hardwood floors at home at any time of year.
No shoes in the house
Having a no-shoe policy is going to be hard for most households or some getting used to. But it does help with the tracking of dirt and grime all over the house. One thing that you can do for a reminder is put a shoe rack by the front door or the garage door entrance. It may not work all the time but hey it can be a start to something new. A basket also works. Also, look at getting some pet booties. I bet amazon.com has a wide selection for those types of things.
You can keep a bench or chair to make it easier for people to sit and take off their shoes when entering your home. Shoes and dress shoes alike can really dent up a hardwood floor and I bet you don’t want that happening when you try so hard to keep the house clean.
Use a front door mat inside and out
You can also use a boot scrapper at the front door to encourage people to use it. They’re is like $8 if you look online. They can also help reduce the tracking of mud across the whole house.
Use a doormat so that people and other guests can wipe their shoes off when they get inside. You can use one for both inside and out. Doormats can be inviting and decorative for homes. It’s just one more layer of protection for the flooring I personally dislike floor mats and rugs in homes.
Place a mat in front of the sink in the kitchen and stove. This can also help with the wear of foot traffic on the wood finishes. One word of advice is to get mats that have cushions on the backside so they don’t move around and are easier on the flooring.
Sweep and vacuum your hardwood floors
You can sweep and vacuum on the regular or have a cleaning service nearby come out once a week to clean areas of your home. If it’s a nervous feeling of cleaning hardwood floors yourself cleaning services are trained with the best techniques.
It’s important to sweep and vacuum your home’s flooring if you are dealing with a ton of sand around the house. Sand can ruin a floor very quickly if you don’t know how to take care of it. You can find vacuums that are best suited for hardwood floor cleaning and we highly recommend reading the reviews of your favorite vacuums online.
Protecting your hardwood flooring
You can clean your flooring with products at least two times a year to add an extra coat of protection to the flooring or you can have a professional cleaning service or hardwood flooring or carpet cleaning service near you come out and coat the floor for you. You can use a liquid wax that is made for flooring. Just don’t use products that aren’t made for hardwood floors and you should be safe. We don’t want you to do any damage to your flooring over time it could mean more repairs.
Invest in a humidifier with hardwood floors, dryness can shrink the floorboards and that could mean repair or whole new flooring. When picking a humidifier you want to go by the room size.
Overall, if you need help with taking care of your hardwood floors we have you covered with local flooring experts that are available.