Last updated: 28/9/2022
Summer is all about having fun and spending quality time with friends and family. For your floor it’s a different story. Unfortunately, all of this activity, “quality time” and change of season can really do a number on your floors. Fortunately, by following a few easy steps you can enjoy your floor through the summer months and for years to come without more threat or ugly wear & tear and rapid deterioration.
Here are some tips on best preserving your flooring this summer.
Door Mats at Entryways
You’ve swept, vacuumed, dusted, and have your home ready for company, but all of this hard work can easily come undone with a few muddy/dirty steps. The simple truth is, foot traffic can do a serious number on your floors.
Without even knowing, guests can track sand and dirt past the front door and onto your floors, which can scratch wood, laminate, and even some tile floors.
To help keep your floors free from damage this summer, start by placing mats at each of your home’s entryways. While you greet guests, the mats do the dirty work of soaking up water, mud, and dirt before getting tracked across your floors and your home.
If guests always tend to congregate in certain areas of your home, consider placing extra mats or throw rugs down in key areas to help protect your floors as well. Opt for bright summer-themed rugs to make the atmosphere even more festive.
Pay Particular Attention to Preventing Water Damage
In Australia’s hot climate, many homes have a pool or engage in water activities to keep cool. As a general rule, particularly with hardwood flooring, it’s very important to towel off properly before entering the house and to ensure wet clothing doesn’t sit on the floor. Wood and water just don’t mix. Mopping up any wet footprints and spills on a hardwood floor asap.
Note: Vacuuming the floor is better than sweeping. Carrying dust particles with a broom can damage it over time. By sucking them up straight away with a vacuum, you can reduce long-term wear and tear.
Encourage Guests to Wipe or Take Off Their Shoes
To keep sand, dirt, and other elements from damaging your floors, consider asking your guests to take off their shoes. Having a shoeless house is proven to have a host of benefits.
If you’re hosting sensibilities won’t allow you to be so blunt, at least ask guests to wipe their shoes on the mats you’ve placed down.
Don’t feel like asking? Try placing a fun homemade sign by the door to request they wipe their shoes on your behalf. It’s simple, subtle, and sure to get the point across.
Get a shoe rack
Sneakers, thongs, and other soft-soled shoes may not damage your floors, but heels and hard-soled shoes certainly will.
Rather than repairing damage after it occurs, be proactive and consider enacting a plan to protect your home’s vinyl, laminate, or hardwood floors this summer.
While you can simply have guests toss their shoes into a pile or slip them off in a row by the front door, a shoe rack will give them a dedicated place to put their shoes and keep the area clean and clutter-free. It will also result in a higher success rate.
So, invest in a quality shoe rack – one that’s stylish and large enough to hold the shoes of each guest. If guests often enter through a patio, deck door, garage, or another entryway, place a shoe rack there.
Another tip is to place a chair next to the shoe rack. Although flip-flops or heels may slide right on and off, boots and sneakers require unlacing, so a seat will definitely help.
If you’re hosting a large summer party or expecting lots of company, consider placing a few stools near the entryway instead. This will help avoid traffic jams near the entrance.
Be Aware of Humidity Levels
Wood is hygroscopic, meaning it will absorb and release moisture. As explained in detail in this blog post on acclimatising timber floors, both engineered and solid timber flooring are susceptible to expanding and contracting through the change of seasons in Australia due to loss and gain of moisture. However, this potential problem can be permanently mitigated.
Fundamentally what this means, a prior installation of such products needs two main things:
- You need to allow time for a product to sit and acclimatise to the environment prior to installation, so it has a chance to expand/contract
- When installing the product, you need to allow for big enough expansion gaps
After the flooring has long been installed, it’s also important to note, particularly in the summer months air conditioning can dry out the air causing a rapid change in humidity levels. Humidity levels as high as 80% can cause the flooring to develop mould after months of prolonged exposure. In this case, a dehumidifier can keep humidity under control. Inevitability, seasonal shrinking and expansion will happen; keeping this to a minimum 30-50% humidity is the recommended range inside your home. If you do notice cupping in your floors, it might be time to call a professional.
Keep Direct Exposure to Sunlight at a minimum
This can apply to all synthetic and natural flooring types, as described in this post. If decor is not UV-stabilised in synthetic flooring, it will deteriorate over time as the Australian sun has the ability to bleach and change colour dramatically.
No supplier will guarantee against fading so the next best step is to have good window coverings in place for those peak hours during the day, which will also help keep the inside of your home cooler. Keep curtains closed from 10 am to 2 pm when the sun is at it strongest. UV window tint also helps keep the home cooler and can reduce damage to flooring.
Sunlight, of course, also affects natural timbers, causing exposed areas to oxidise and change colour. However, this part of the aging process of hardwoods and the flooring will only oxidise to a certain point, with some areas taking longer than others. Rotating rugs and furniture can also help with this.
Place Felt Pads Under Your Furniture Legs
When hosting a summer gathering, your family and friends will need a comfortable place to sit, stay cool and relax.
While your tables, chairs, and the rest of your furniture may stay in their place the rest of the year, come time for summer festivities, they may need to be shifted around a bit.
Unfortunately, moving furniture around on vinyl or hardwood floors can cause some serious damage. Without a layer of protection between your floors and furniture, nicks and scratches can easily occur.
To keep this from happening, place soft felt pads underneath every table leg, chair leg, couch leg, and so on. Not only will they make moving your furniture to create conversation nooks and gathering spaces all the easier, but they will also protect your floors from scratches and other damage.
Put Out an Extra Bin or Two
You may love entertaining family and friends and having them over for summer BBQs, but no one likes cleaning up afterwards.
Tidying up might not worry you, but overflowing bins and spilled drinks can wreak havoc on your floors. Place an extra bin or two in high-traffic areas to protect your home’s floors from messes, spills, stains, and water damage.
Also, check them regularly throughout the party and put a fresh bag in if they start to fill up.
Summ(er)ing it Up
Regardless of what parties and festivities you’re planning this summer, don’t let all of the celebrating ruin your floors.
Whether you want to avoid wet footprints, elude damage from spills, prevent scratches from moving furniture around, or hopefully, all of the above, these simple tips will certainly help.
Be proactive this summer and keep your floors looking beautiful for many more summers to come.
