5 ways to protect your floors from the holidays

As the old song says, “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”
Unless you live in a box, you’ve seen the signs: the holiday lights on all the houses, Christmas trees on top of cars and trucks, and a full blanket of snow from Jefferson to Watertown to Fond du Lac and every Wisconsin town in between (and north). While the signs of the holiday are beautiful, they also wreak havoc on your floors. So how do you protect your floors from the joys of the holidays?

1. If you’re getting a real tree, buy floor protection. Believe it or not, it’s not expensive to protect your carpet, wood floor or laminate from the watering that comes with a real tree. Buy a round, plastic protector from any hardware store so the water doesn’t damage your flooring.

2. Rugs, rugs, and more rugs…and towels. If you have a laminate or wood floor, water from melting snow is the enemy. Keep rugs by all exterior doors for your guests and family to clean off their feet, and keep a towel handy to clean up any stray snow spills. If you have a dog, clean off paws before they enter the house.

3. Carpet clean after the holidays. Get rid of the stains from Grandma’s wine and all your holiday parties as soon as possible so the stains don’t set in permanently. Don’t just rent a carpet cleaner from the local store—use a professional service that can get those deep stains out. If another family member is hosting the holidays, give them a thank you gift for all their work: a professional carpet cleaning.

4. Protect your wood floors from scratches when moving furniture, tree and decorations. This is one of the cheapest, and most important, ways to protect your laminate and wood floors: felt pads. Make sure you have felt pads on the bottom of your chairs and furniture when shifting things around. Use caution when moving anything around to prevent scratches.

4. Vacuum and dry mop regularly. Keep your carpet in shape with regular maintenance. Dry mop your hard floors, and sweep to keep the dirt and grime at bay.

If you can, ask your guests and family to take off their shoes at the door so snow and dirt doesn’t get tracked through the house. If you have any questions about protecting your floors, or about new flooring to replace damage, contact Y’s Way for assistance. Just remember: a little bit of prevention goes a long way toward keeping your flooring gorgeous through the holidays and into the New Year.