When building your dream house, your choice of flooring is one of the most important considerations. The color, style, and material of your floors do not just dictate the overall aesthetics of your home. Whichever flooring you choose also affects the durability of your flooring, so you should pay attention to your floor’s ability to withstand wear and tear through its constant use.
The tough thing about floors is that you cannot precisely give them “rest” for a day or two to make sure they stay spick and span. Every day, there is furniture occupying your floors and people in your household walking on them.
How, then, can you keep your floors looking good as new for a longer period? The answer depends on what kind of flooring you have at home.
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Protecting Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are a wildly popular flooring option for many homeowners. Engineered hardwood flooring products are high quality and come in various shades, which make them easy to match with the design of any home. The wood texture also adds a homey feel to the interiors.
But hardwood flooring also requires proper care to keep looking clean for the coming years down the road. These are easy ways to ensure that your hardwood flooring gets the appropriate care.
Limit contact with sharp materials
Hardwood is vulnerable to scratches and scrapes due to sharp items that come in contact with it. One of the most common causes for this is moving around heavy furniture since the legs of your tables and couches can accidentally hit the floor and leave permanent marks.
This is also why you should be careful of bringing shoes inside the house. Aside from the sanitation concerns, shoes can carry small pebbles or debris that can cause tiny scratches on the floor that will make it look worn.
Be careful of the toys kids play with at home, too. Make sure to lay out mats before playtime to keep children from accidentally marking or scratching floors.
Avoid getting the floor wet
Hardwood floors can also get damaged because of humidity and moisture. When water mixes with wood, it becomes an easy road to decay. Even if the surface of your wood floors is sealed, liquids can still seep through the spaces between.
That is why it is best to leave the installation of your hardwood floors to the experts. They will use the proper techniques to minimize the risks for moisture to go through and offer the best tips to keep your floors safe.
Protecting Vinyl Floors
Vinyl is another popular flooring option for homes. It is cheaper than many other choices, but it also offers durability. They come in a great range of styles, too, even mimicking the look of hardwood floors for less work on the installation.
Avoid too much sun exposure
While it is near impossible to keep your floors from being exposed to sunlight, it is best to minimize direct sunlight exposure. The stress can make the vinyl fade, affecting the overall appearance of your floors. Take advantage of your curtains and blinds on hotter days to shield your vinyl floors from fading.
Use mats or rugs with no adhesives and mild cleaners
Vinyl easily gets damaged from stains and sticky materials, so avoid using rugs and mats that stick to the floor with the use of rubber and latex. Choose rugs that have no stoppers to avoid making marks on the floor.
When cleaning the floors, use mild cleaning materials to remove stains and dirt. Harsh chemicals from solvent cleaners can compromise the quality of your vinyl, so dry cleaning methods such as sweeping and vacuuming are enough for daily tidying up. A baking soda and water mixture works to remove stains.
Protecting Carpeted Floors
Caring for carpeted floors is not as hard as it seems. However, it does require regular cleaning to stay in good shape. To keep dust, dirt, and debris from getting stuck in your carpet, make sure to vacuum regularly.Oncea week will usually be enough to keep it clean.
Should spills occur, give it immediate attention because stains are harder to remove the longer they are left unattended. When in doubt, do not hesitate to seek the help of carpet cleaning professionals as they are sure to have the safest methods to clean up the carpet.
Keeping floors looking their best for longer involves giving them regular cleaning and proper maintenance, depending on the kind of flooring you have. Regardless of your flooring, being prompt about cleaning and repairing usually does the trick.