Winter is upon us, and winter comes with a lot of hazards for our flooring. Christmas trees, salt, slush, mud, moisture, and grit all get tracked into the home all winter long without proper preparation. Keeping all of these unwanted things out of the house seems impossible. Whether you have hardwood, laminate, tile, vinyl, or all of the above, precautions should be taken to keep the winter muck out of your home and off of your floors. We have prepared some recommendations to keep your floors and the rest of your home immaculate all winter long!

Doormats and Rugs

The first line of defense for protecting your beautiful floors is at the front door. Without a good doormat, everything is going to get tracked into your home. If anyone in the family is often outdoors for work or sport, boots are the worst when it is muddy, and special boot doormats will allow you to remove the majority of the mud from them before entering the home. Next, a rug to catch moisture and dirt as soon as you enter your home is needed to further protect your floors. Be sure to do this in all entryways.

Mudrooms and No Shoes Inside

An even better solution is a mud room. Having a small room at the front door for removing and storing footwear and coats is the absolute best way to keep winter outside, where it belongs. In addition to protecting your floor, wet coats will be confined to the mud room as well. If you already have a mud room, just be sure to enforce a no-shoes in the house policy and you will be in good shape. If you do not have a mud room, we would love to help you build one and create a buffer between your flooring and the winter slush. 

Cleaning Your Pet’s Paws in Winter

The same precautions must be taken for pets. After you have taken your dog for a walk, at the very least, wipe down their paws with an old towel. However, adding a pet washing station to your mud room is the best line of defense for preventing salty, slushy, muddy paw prints across the floors of your home. If you are considering installing a pet washing station, we went over it in more detail here. 

Refinish Your Floor

A great way to protect your hardwood floor from winter is by refinishing them with some fresh sealant. This way, even if someone breaks your no-shoes rule, the wood is safe and sound from the gritty slush under several coats of sealant.

Clean

It may not be fun to read, but frequent cleaning is one of the best defenses against Winter wear on your floors. Keeping a regular cleaning schedule will keep dust, dirt, and grit from damaging your floors. If you don’t have time to keep a tight cleaning schedule, there are plenty of professional cleaning services that will take that job off of your hands.