Do you ever stop and think about the cleanliness of your flooring? Did you know carpets can hold approximately four times their weight in dirt or even more?! The build-up of dirt, sand, dust and other bacteria will ruin the general aesthetic of your property.
Regularly maintaining your flooring and ensuring it is in top condition can significantly reduce the potential for structural damage and even improve the value of your property.
There is no one size fits all approach to properly maintaining your flooring, as every property will have its specific type of flooring whether that be carpets or even luxury vinyl flooring, but our tips will ensure an all-encompassing guide to ensure your floors are in tip-top shape!
Here are Allfloors’ top tips for maintaining your flooring!
Focus on high traffic flooring areas
In today’s world, we all live busy lives, and often mundane tasks like cleaning your floors can be overlooked, so when we do get round to our chores, we need to ensure we are as efficient as possible.
So, if you are short on time, we recommend cleaning high-traffic areas as they will have the highest amount of bacteria and dirt build-up than any other part of your property.
Remove footwear before walking on flooring
While it may seem straightforward, we are all guilty of walking on our floors with dirty shoes from time to time. But the hard truth of the matter is that this can be extremely detrimental to your flooring.
Simply removing your shoes before stepping on your floors will significantly reduce different forms of harmful bacteria and chemicals from entering your property and causing potential damage to your floors whether that be through stains from dirt or other materials.
Even by just simply putting down a mat at every entrance of your property will give an incentive for people to wipe their feet, or even better yet take their shoes off when they come inside.
Sweep away dust and dirt daily
We all know that sweeping away dust and dirt is beneficial for the overall look of our properties but sometimes life just gets in the way, and we do not get round to simple chores.
But creating good habits and keeping on top of dust and dirt from building up can save your flooring from potential damage and will just make your property far more visually appealing.
Be wary of wet mopping your flooring
While wet mopping can be used to clean most flooring types such as porcelain tile or luxury vinyl tile, other types such as hardwood flooring or laminate can be negatively affected by wet mopping. Standing water has the potential to cause discoloration or even dull the finish of your flooring.
Clean up spills immediately
Cleaning up spillages as quickly as possible will go a long way in ensuring your flooring does not sustain water damage or become stained.
When it comes to stains on carpeted floors, make sure to absorb the spill with a dry white cloth or a paper towel and ensure you blot the area with a small amount of carpet cleaner.
Finally, do not scrub the spill, this can cause severe damage or even fray the fibers of your carpet. Once the stain has been thoroughly cleaned, blot the area to remove any carpet cleaner residue.
Be wary of sun exposure
Prolonged sun exposure can cause damage to your carpet and luxury vinyl tiles, harsh UV rays have the potential to cause discoloration and breakdown to some of the most popular brands.
Especially in commercial settings, sun damage to carpets may be a problem as dyed fibers of carpets are exposed to ultraviolet rays causing them to fade out.
Prolonged sun exposure can affect the integrity of carpet fibers, turning an originally soft carpet into a stiff surface that can be difficult to properly repair.
Avoid harsh chemicals
Make sure you are aware of the effect heavy-duty cleaning products can have on your flooring.
Products such as bleach, ammonia, or other potent chemicals can severely damage most floors.
Most manufacturers will sell their brand of cleaning products for their specific type of flooring whether that be vinyl, laminate, or hardwood.
If you are unsure of what cleaning product to use on your flooring, please contact our flooring experts and we’ll be more than happy to give advice.
Minimise humidity
Most property owners are aware of the effects of spillage on their flooring, but many do not consider the effects of humidity on their flooring.
Wood flooring is the most common type of flooring affected by high humidity as each board expands as it absorbs moisture from the air resulting in the wood expanding which pushes the flooring upward creating a bounce.
Simple steps such as using a dehumidifier will remove excess moisture from the air which will reduce the amount of moisture that your wood flooring can absorb.
Other steps such as not drying your clothes indoors and making sure your windows are open as much as possible will all reduce the humidity within your property.
Carefully move furniture
Scratches can easily be avoided by lifting and carrying your furniture over your floors, so make sure you do not make the mistake of dragging your furniture.
For heavier pieces of furniture that might pose a problem in terms of lifting, floor protectors will ensure they do not make direct contact with the floor significantly reducing the potential for scrapes to occur.
Seeking further information on protecting your flooring from potential damage? Do not hesitate to contact our flooring experts and we will be more than happy to help!
