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How to Keep Your Floors Cleaner and Better Protected When Bad Weather Strikes
28th August 2018
Bad weather, no matter how predictable, can take a toll on the flooring in your home. Wet or muddy foot and paw prints can drive dirt and moisture deep into your carpeting, or vulnerable areas of your floor surface. Below are a few tips on how to keep your flooring safe and protected from the potential damage of moisture from foul weather events.
How Rain, Snow, and Ice Affect Your Flooring
Whether you are dragging in rain, snow, or ice, it all ends up as pooled water or tracks on your flooring. Unless you have a complete water-repellent surface, the potential for damage exists when bad weather strikes. The damage is not always about the water, but a mix of chemicals and mud that can stick to shoes and are then tracked into your home. Dirt and grime can get ground down into the carpet and increase the wear-and-tear of the fabric. Moisture can do real damage quickly to wood flooring. Optimal flooring protection will involve limiting contact between moisture and the surfaces of your floor.
Floor Sealants and Carpet Protection Sprays
If your flooring is constantly hammered by heavy foot traffic during inclement weather, take the time to explore the options in seal coating products and carpet protective sprays. Taking this extra step is one way to keep damage from happening over a long period of time. No matter how well prepared you might feel, occasionally water and dirt are tracked through the home and deposited into and on the floor surfaces. Most of these products are designed to last for two or three years after application.
Improve Drainage Outside
Incorrect placement or ineffective drainage outside your doors and along your sidewalk can encourage dragging water and mud into your home. When water pools up, it can seem nearly impossible to avoid walking through. Have a professional in gutters and downspouts check out the problem and help resolve the issues. Better drainage will help in every situation, barring the natural disaster of a flood.
Add Pea-Gravel and Stone Pavers Over Muddy Areas
No one knows our yard better than you. Areas that are prone to flooding and stay muddy are prime spots to add a pea-gravel base and stone pavers. It provides an affordable surface that you can walk over to avoid contact with mud and muck. It offers the perfect solution for front entrances, back entrances, spaces between homes and garages, homes and patios, and more.
Create a Mudroom
A mudroom is an area just inside a doorway that provides space to hang up wet coats and should offer comfortable seating to change shoes, socks and anything else needed to keep from dripping water and spreading mud into the open area of the home. It can be remarkably inexpensive to create a mudroom and requires very little in the way of materials. One part should have either a coat rack or adjustable rod to hang coats. You can add plastic shelving to place shoes and boots that need to dry. Keep all of your indoor shoes and slippers handy in this same area. You can even add a box of clean, dry socks of all necessary sizes.
Maintain Entry and Exit Through One Door During Bad Weather
During predictable times of bad weather, you should limit foot traffic through one door of the home. Choose the one that offers your flooring the best protection. It is easier to maintain one area over two or three. Most backdoors tend to offer entry into a utility-type room or kitchen. Most flooring in these areas is easy to clean and avoid damage by quickly wiping up excess water.
Keep Towels and Disposable Wipes Near the Doors
One problem that escapes the planning is taking your dog out for a walk, or allowing them outside time when it is raining, or there is snow on the ground. Stop them inside the door when they are through and grab a towel to dry them off. Keep disposable wipes handy to clean paws that are coated with mud. You can strategically place these items near the door seasonally for best use.
The Benefits of Rugs
Rugs are beneficial to keep in place both inside and outside the entrances and exits. You can find quality rubber rugs for the space outside the door that allows you the opportunity to scrape off dirt, mud, leaves, and grass. Indoor rugs are available that are designed to pull excess water from shoes and feet. Using a combination can make it that much easier to keep up with foul weather footprints.
Our professional team at On the Spot Floors is ready to tackle any of your floor repair and cleaning needs. Call us at 804-897-1620 to schedule an appointment right away. Stop by our showroom in Powhatan and take a look at our wide selection of flooring products if you are looking for a more contemporary look to your home. We provide expert flooring sales, service, installation, and cleaning everywhere in the Richmond and surrounding area. To schedule an appointment call (804) 897-1620 or send us a message.