How to Take Care of Floors in the Winter

Winter weather is wet weather. In Western Washington that can be anything from rain, to snow, to a mix. This wet and harsh weather gets tracked in on the floor from the bottom of shoes creating a nice mess that will make you feel like you spend much too much time cleaning the floors.

Follow these winter floor care tips to help take the stress out of keeping your floors clean during the wet and stormy season.

Mats

Most of the stuff on our floors comes from the sole of our shoes after we have been outside. Mats are very instrumental in removing a large amount of dirt from the bottom of shoes. Every exterior door in your home should have two mats, one on each side of the door. The outside mat should be high quality, the same width as the door it is next to, and made of a scrubbing brush-like material. The inside mat should also be the width of the door, long enough to take two or three steps into the door, and a softer material to wipe away what the outer mat did not catch.

Tip: Don’t forget the garage door if you have an attached garage.

Create a Place for Muddy and Wet Shoes

Having a space to keep wet messy shoes will help to keep the mess in one area and not all over the floors. Shoe trays or an extra mat to store messy shoes help to reduce the dripping mess on the floor.

Old towels for Puddles

When puddles happen it is good to have a strategy for wiping them up as soon as possible. For this, keep a few old towels on hand near the door and ready to sop up any extra water. You don’t want to leave water standing on your floors for very long, especially hardwood floors. Standing water can permanently damage hardwood.

Clean Salt

When it gets icy or snowy many places will put down salt on their walkways and sidewalks. This salt is great for melting ice, but also can do a number on the finish of your floor. To clean up salt from your floor, mix up a solution of warm water and vinegar and apply to the salt to clean it from the floor. For tougher salt messes leave the vinegar to do its work for a few minutes and follow with a solution of dishwashing liquid and water.

Professional Cleaning

The harsh winter months are a great time to have a professional cleaning done. A professional cleaner can get your floors looking like new again and apply a protective stain guard to help make routine in-home cleanings much easier.