subject: Wood Flooring Tips: How To Protect Your Floors During The Holidays [print this page] With all the excitement and joy that comes along with the holiday season, the last thing you want to do is be a holiday downer and feel grumpy about the potential damage your floor will endure from the increase of activity and people scampering across it. It's true that the holiday season will bring more opportunities for your beautiful wood flooring to acquire scratches, scuff marks and other damages, but there are ways around this issue.
Take a look at the following tips on how to maintain and protect your real hardwood flooring from the dangers of the holiday season (nasty weather, multitudes of guests, foliage decorations, etc.), as well as keep it looking fantastic. This way you can spend your time and money gifts and festivities instead of getting in touch with your hardwood flooring contractor in order to repair or replace your wood flooring.
Under the Christmas Tree
A traditional, fresh-cut Christmas tree is a wonderful holiday addition to your home. Before you set up that Noble or Douglas fir on your real hardwood flooring, however, make sure to shake it well in order to remove the loose pine needles. These can be quite a nuisance once inside and can get stuck in the thin crevices of your wood flooring.
Another tip to protect your hardwood flooring from the Christmas tree is to put a plastic mat under the tree skirt so when you water the tree, the mat will prevent water spills from coming in contact with your floor. Sometimes pets are inclined to mark the base of the tree, as well, so the mat comes in handy for preventing pet damage to your hardwood flooring.
Dreaming of a White Christmas
Snow is absolutely magical during Christmas time - when it stays outside. Unfortunately, wood flooring can sustain water damage (which will look like small, dark brown spots on your wood flooring) from melted snow that is tracked inside by family and guests. Sometimes people distribute rock salt on their driveways and front walkways to avoid stumbles and falls in the snow and ice; this rock salt can get stuck in people's shoes and scratch up your floor.
To prevent such damages from occurring to your real hardwood flooring, it may be a good idea to enforce a "no shoes" policy. You can do this by placing a rug near your entrance door and provide a shoe storage bin where guests and household members can store their shoes before entering.
A Christmas Party Hop
Rugs don't need to be placed solely at the front door in order to protect your wood flooring; you can distribute extra rugs and mats around the house where the most foot traffic occurs.
Every festive party full of food and drinks is not without some kind of spillage. For cleaning up these spills on your wood flooring, it's best to use dry or slightly damp cloths. Exposing your floor to too much moisture from overly wet cloths may cause your floor to warp or stain. It's also a good idea to personally clean up the mess so it is done to your satisfaction.
As your hardwood flooring retailer will tell you, there is no need to fret and stress about the safety of your floors over the holidays as long as you follow the proper protection procedures. Follow the tips above, and your floors will stay beautiful and unharmed over the holiday season.
by: Anita Ferguson
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