A great home is made up of great flooring which you have so lovingly and painstakingly chosen. It is also one of the most significant and costly structures in your home. Keeping floors clean is one thing, but winters are a totally different ball game. A clean floor means a healthy and classy looking home but winters are a huge challenge.
Winters bring their own challenges, slush, ice, chemicals, debris and not to forget humidity and moisture. All of these can wreak havoc on your precious floor. As they say, prevention is better and definitely cheaper than cure. Let’s look at preventive and cleaning options for your floors during the cold winters.
Here are our top expert tips to keep your floors looking like new and clean during and after winters.
- Ice melt is great for melting ice in your driveway however, the ice melt chemicals can harm your precious flooring. There is very little that can be done to prevent the chemicals from entering the house, you could keep a few good mats at the door, probably two of them to help reduce the chemicals and salt and grime entering your home.
- Clean your pet’s paws. Pets might bring in moisture as well as grime on their feet. Not only would that damage the flooring, but it might also harm their paws too. Use a mat or the best option is to wipe their paws with a towel before allowing them inside.
- Mats might become damp over time and not only will they become less effective, but they might also become a reason for foul odor inside your house. It might not be possible to dry the mats so use a wet vacuum if you could get one, or keep replacements to replace them often.
- The best way to keep the floors clean and the debris, ice melt, and moisture away is to mop and vacuum more often. Winters are harsh and demand a little extra care.
- In case you have hardwood floors, then you need to keep one more aspect in mind, humidity, and heat. Hardwood floors are prone to expansion and contraction due to heat and humidity. Uneven heating of the room or humidity can ensure that gaps increases between panels. Ensure that your room is evenly heated and you use a humidifier or dehumidifier as the case might be.
Bonus tips for facilities and businesses
- In case you are a business or facility, then the foot traffic is huge. Design a walkway with a large rug. This will help you keep the ice melt, salts, chemicals, and moisture away from your flooring.
We hope the above tips will help you keep your floors looking like new and reduce your floor revamp costs in the long run.