[image credit: kubra kactioglu]
I’ll be installing my hardwood floor in a few weeks (it’s gorgeous!) and can’t wait to start some serious holiday entertaining. Yet with holiday entertaining comes a slew of foot traffic on my new floors. My friend Rob at BuildDirect happens to be an expert in flooring and all things building-related, so he’s here sharing with me (and you!) how to protect your floors for the holidays!:
Maybe you’ve just put in new floors in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Or maybe you’re pretty proud of how your floors look even if they’re not brand new. In either case, when it comes to the holidays, there’s one thing you can count on; more foot traffic! More specifically, you may also have the presence of visiting young children, or even visiting pets.
With this in mind you’re going to need a plan to help protect your floors from the onslaught of holiday visitors. And you’re also going to have to keep that in balance with making your home a warm and inviting place to be as well. After all, you want everyone to have a good time, even as you’re thinking about the state of your floors after everyone leaves.
As such, I thought I’d list a few strategies when approaching the business of caring for your flooring, whether it’s tile, carpet, or wood flooring, over the Thanksgiving holiday coming up. And here they are in no order.
[image credit: re-nest]
1. Invest in decorative mats at entrances
Two of the key enemies of all flooring is moisture, and grit that often are carried indoors on the soles of shoes. As such, keeping wet boots and shoes away from your flooring is something of an imperative. A lot of people have mud rooms attached to their front entranceways, which are designed to keep wet outerwear and footwear away from interior flooring surfaces. These areas are usually lined with porcelain tile that is impervious to moisture, and extremely hard-wearing, too.
But, for those who don’t have a mud room, decorative mats are a great alternative. Mats at entranceways will help absorb moisture, and capture gravel and fine glass fragments common to the great outdoors in urban and suburban areas. And the mats you can get these days can also prove to be something of a stylish contrast to your flooring as well. Just remember not to let wet mats sit on your wood flooring if moisture is likely to seep through; shake them out, and let them dry out once your guests have left.
2. Keep dry mops, and DIY eco-friendly stain removers on hand
To combat the forces of evil when it comes to healthy floors, you’re going to need the right equipment. A few weapons of choice may be a dry mop, to quickly and easily clear up spills on tile, and on wood floors too. Another may be a baking soda/club soda/ or other eco-friendly stain removal solutions on hand in case glasses of red wine have an illicit meeting with your carpeting. Poultices for stone tile might be a good investment to have on hand too. These products are designed to absorb stains easily and efficiently before they set.
[image credit: salva lopez]
3. Encourage a ‘no-shoes’ policy for your guests
This gets back to footwear again, although this time the problem may arise from the footwear itself. Dressing to the nines is a common choice over the holidays for many depending on the kind of event you’re hosting. This often involves the wearing of high-heels. Given that wood flooring in particular can be particularly vulnerable to this kind of footwear, an overall ‘no shoes’ policy may be prudent.
In the event that there are minor scratches due to footwear, you can invest in wax pencils that color-match your wood floors. This provides an easy way to cover scratches and offer moisture protection, too.
4. Lay down a dropsheet under “the kids’ table”
Kids are growing all of the time; don’t we know it! This means that their senses of balance and co-ordination are works in progress. This means spills. But, it doesn’t have to mean permanent damage to your flooring. And it doesn’t mean that clean-up has to be an involved affair. Take a look at using a dropsheet for the (in?)famous kid’s table.
This doesn’t have to be cold, clinical plastic sheeting necessarily. Try to come up with something fun along with it. Maybe before dinner, you can have the children decorate their dropsheet with stickers, or with crayons. It’s a great kids activity to welcome them into your home, keep them entertained, and serve to guard against long-lasting stains on your floors too.
[image credit: valeria lazareva]
5. Talk about pets
Some of your guests won’t want, or be able, to leave Rover or Fluffy at home over the holidays. So in the light of this, it’s a good idea to talk about how to accommodate pets with the pet owners in advance. Talk to them about your concerns surrounding staining due to (um) accidents, water and food dish spills, and scratching of wood floors via unclipped nails, just to name a few. Let them know about your ideas for pet-no-go zones, and get their perspectives on how everyone can enjoy their holidays, including the four-legged critters themselves.
And there you are. And as noted, the whole point of your holiday is to enjoy the company of the ones you love. You don’t want to spend the whole time fussing over your flooring, or really any other part of your space. But, these simple strategies will help you with your due diligence when it comes to preserving your flooring for the long term.
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Rob Jones spends a lot of time blogging, particularly on the BuildDirect blog. He also manages the content and discussion on the BuildDirect Facebook page, as well as the day-today interactions of BuildDirect on Twitter.
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