As you’re getting your home ready for the holidays, don’t forget about your hardwood floors. They can take a beating, but there are ways to protect them. Here are several hardwood floor maintenance tips to keep your floors looking pristine through the holiday season:
● Place felt pads under all of your furniture legs
The holidays can mean rearranging your furniture, both to decorate and to make room for all of your added guests. An easy way to make sure your chairs, couches, and tables don’t scratch your wood floors is to place felt pads under furniture legs. This will help protect against scratches and also make it easier to move your furniture around.
These furniture pads will help protect your floors year-round.
● Have enough tables
Having more furniture in your home that could scratch your floors may seem counterproductive if you’re trying to protect your hardwood floors. But hear us out—when you’re having a holiday party, people are going to be sitting throughout your house. If there aren’t convenient tables for them to set down their beverages, they’ll probably resort to putting them on the floor, where they can be easily knocked over.
Cleaning up the spill quickly will help prevent any moisture damage to your wood floor, but it’s smart to avoid the situation altogether by making sure there are enough elevated places for people to place their beverages. Just make sure you put felt pads under all the table legs.
● Protect your wood floors from your Christmas tree
If you’re partial to having a real Christmas tree up during the holidays, it’s crucial that you water it frequently to keep it alive during the holidays. But because water can warp your hardwood floors, it’s important to play a little defense against any water that may spill around the tree stand.
Before you put up your tree, place a plastic bag underneath the tree stand to catch any water you may spill as you crouch down to water the tree. Your tree skirt will cover the plastic bag, and the plastic bag will help protect your floors.
Watering your tree is also important to help keep it from losing all of its needles. Tree needles can cause small scratches in your hardwood floors and can get caught in between the boards. When you bring your tree inside, put a plastic tarp around the tree to prevent the needles from getting everywhere. When your tree is up, the tree skirt will catch most of the needles that fall. And then when you go to remove your tree at the end of the holiday season, wrap it up in that tarp again to help most of the needles.
When needles do fall on your floor, clean them up quickly to avoid any damage.
● Have enough rugs
Placing rugs in the high-traffic areas of your home can help protect your hardwood floors, especially when you’re having a party. It’s also smart to place rugs under the areas where you’re serving food and drinks.
Just remember to thoroughly clean the area where you’re placing the rug or runner prior to putting it down, and be sure to regularly sweep under and clean the rugs and runners to prevent any damage to your wood floors. That’s because rugs and runners can collect debris that can eventually scratch your beautiful hardwood floors you’re trying to protect.
And while you’re at it, be sure to have plenty of places for people to put their wet, salty shoes when they come inside your home. The salt, sand, and moisture can damage your hardwood floors, so having a plastic tray that catches any melting snow will help protect them.
● Clean and wax your wood floors
If it’s been awhile since you’ve waxed your hardwood floors, it may be time. Not only will waxing your wood floors make them look great, but it also protects them. The wax creates a protective surface that repels dust and resists scratches.
The more you clean and wax your floors, the better they’ll be protected. Just be sure to you’re using the products that are specifically designed for the type of flooring that’s in your home.
If your wood floors get damaged, contact us!
No matter how well you protect your hardwood floors, they still may get scratched or damaged during the holidays. But don’t worry, wood floors can be refinished. At UB Hardwoods in Plymouth, we’ll work with you to find the best ways to take care of and repair your hardwood floors. Contact us today at 763-807-4500.
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