Looking After Your Floors in a Family Home
If you’re the proud owner of hardwood floors, you’ll know just how much of an impact they can make in your family home, adding a wow factor to your rooms, as well as making things easier when it comes to maintaining cleanliness in a house full of children. It can be hard for your home to remain your haven when little ones and pets are running around, especially when you’re working from home and homeschooling all at the same time. If your floors are kept shiny and your surroundings are calm and peaceful, however, the impact on your whole family’s mood can be very significant.
We’ve rounded up the tips you need to keep your hardwood or vinyl flooring shiny and in good condition all year round below.
Mop up spillages quickly
Especially if your floors are in the kitchen or bathroom when water is often splashed around, it’s useful to keep materials to mop up spills quickly close to hand. To protect your floors from any lasting damage, you’ll need to wipe up any liquids on the surface of your floors as soon as possible before any moisture is absorbed by the wood.
When a spillage happens, it can be tempting to clear up the damage with more liquid. With hardwood floors, though, this can make the problem worse over time. Excess liquid on the surface of your floors soaks into your high-quality flooring and can even make your floorboards bloat or buckle over the years. Instead, mop up messes with a microfibre cloth that removes any water straight away.
Take your shoes off
In areas like hallways and landings that get a lot of foot traffic, you might notice your floors become scuffed or scratched quite quickly. One of the easiest ways to stop your floor taking the hit of your family running in and out all day is to keep a shoe rack right by the front door, so muddy or wet shoes never make it past your welcome mat.
It’s easy to leave your shoes on if you’re in the middle of the morning rush, or you need to run back into the house to pick up something the kids have forgotten, but regular stress on your floors from heeled boots or even dirt being tracked in and out can make a big difference to the appearance of your floors over time. As well as this, keeping your shoes on in the home can also let harmful bacteria into your home. If your children are still small, slipping out of your shoes as soon as you get inside your home can have very positive effects for both your health and your flooring.
Invest in felt pads
One of the biggest problems your wooden flooring has to face is the weight of furniture sitting on it each day. If your furniture moves around, it can cause scratches or dents on your flooring too that can be difficult – and expensive – to remove. One easy way around this is to invest in micro felt pads that fit on the legs of your furniture. This softens the everyday impact your tables, chairs and sofas have on your flooring, and helps you easily move them around without damaging your floors. So, you can refresh your interiors and enjoy your space even more, without the worry of lifting your furniture every time you want to mix things up.
Refreshing your wooden floors
While hardwood floors are one of the most durable flooring types to have in your family home, constant traction and movement can cause your floorboards to look worn over time. To keep your floors clean, bright and polished, sanding removes the top layer of dirt, grit and stained wood from your boards, without affecting the overall quality of them or damaging their longevity. To sand your floorboard yourself, you’ll need to buy or rent a heavy-duty sanding machine, alongside a sweeping brush and protective eyewear to make sure the dust and sand from your efforts don’t irritate your eyes or spread throughout the rest of your house with the help of little feet.
If you don’t want to face the hassle of renovating your flooring yourself, you could consider enlisting the help of a professional to sand and polish your wooden floorboards. Going down this route means you’ll also reap the benefits of a professional seal and polish, that will keep your wooden floors shiny, looking new and free from damage as your family continues to grow. Specialists in wooden flooring, Quicksand Flooring provide sanding, fitting and floor restoration services to help you make the most of your hardwood and vinyl floors for many years to come. Looking after your floors properly means you and your family can enjoy your home as safely as possible.
