Looking after your wooden floor in winter months is extremely important. Hardwood flooring is a natural product and can become damaged, scratched and dented if not cared for properly. As the weather turns colder and wetter heading into the winter months it is important to protect your flooring from the harsh outside elements.
During the winter, the main issues for your floor are water, dirt and debris which have been brought inside on shoes, boots and clothes. Small stones and grit easily stick to the soles of your shoes and inevitably get brought inside. These can easily cause dents and scratches on your floor. In addition to this, you have the risk of water from rain, snow or slush reaching your floor and soaking into the wood. This will eventually discolour your floor and could cause it to warp.
There are lots of things that you can do to avoid this damage to your floor. All you need to do is follow some simple winter maintenance.
Ask family and visitors to remove their outdoor footwear
This is probably the most important part of your maintenance routine. If all visitors and family remove their outdoor footwear, you are going to significantly reduce the amount of dirt and grit brought onto the surface of your flooring. If possible, try to keep dirty or wet footwear in a different room, or on a mat; never leave outdoor footwear on your wooden floor.
Put doormats in all entrances to your home
Doormats will help to catch any dirt from outdoors and dry off excess wetness. They are also great for leaving wet or dirty shoes on if you don’t have a porch area. In the wettest months you might want to have spare mats to hand.
Keep your wooden flooring clean and dry
This should be done anyway but is even more important during the winter months. Sweeping on a daily basis is essential, even more often if you are frequently in and out of your home. Cleaning should be done when needed, but we would strongly recommend doing this every few days as your floors become dull or dirty.
Quick tips for looking after wooden flooring in winter
Firstly, remove all outdoor footwear before walking on your wooden floor
• Use doormats to wipe away dirt and water from your shoes
• Never leave wet or dirty footwear on your hardwood floor
• Sweep away any dirt or grit as soon as you notice it
• Wipe away any water you see on your floor
• Cleaning your floor regularly will help to keep its brightness
• Be prepared for wet or snowy days. Have towels by the front door to wipe away any excess water or to clean dirty paws!
