Protect Your Floors From Scratches and Spills

In today's real estate market, hardwood floors are a highly desired feature in a house. Potential buyers are often turned off by homes with carpeted floors because it's almost impossible to keep them clean. Time is not on your side when it comes to maintaining nice-looking carpeted floors!

No matter how careful you are, sooner or later someone's going to knock over a glass of grape juice or wine -- and that's only the short list of accidents waiting to happen! While dogs and cats can be a wonderful addition to any family, they are not a friend of floors -- either carpeted or hardwood.

In theory, hardwood floors are easier to clean than carpeting because of the absorbency factor. If your carpeting hasn't been treated with a stain-resistant chemical, it will quickly absorb stains, spills, and pet accidents faster than you can clean them up! Although the latest carpeting materials are much more stain resistant than earlier versions, spills that are not noticed and cleaned up quickly may cause permanent damage.

Spills, water, and pet urine can also wreak havoc on hardwood floors, so a quick response is essential to preventing damage. Here are a few other tips for keeping your floors looking clean and beautiful.

• Door mats can be helpful in minimizing the amount of dirt and grit that gets tracked into your home. What homeowners and even housekeepers sometimes forget is that door mats need to be shaken out on a regular basis. If they're not, dirt, soil, and other debris will accumulate on the mats, causing them to create more of a problem than a solution! Door mats need to be replaced periodically, too, when they become too worn down or wet to be of any use.
• Shoe removal: This is a difficult policy to enforce, but it will make house cleaning and floor maintenance easier and more effective. Whether you're talking about carpeting or hardwood floors, shoes are invariably going to track in dirt, grime, water, mud, and other miscellaneous contaminants!
• The right cleaning methods: Although it's always a good idea to follow manufacturer recommendations when cleaning any type of flooring, hardwood floors often need to be treated with more care than their carpeted counterparts. Since there are a lot of ways to scratch, dent, or gouge hardwood floor surfaces, it's crucial to avoid trying to scrub away spills or stains with any abrasive material. To remove potentially damaging grit, floors should be regularly cleaned with a soft dust mop or broom with soft bristles. Ideally, your vacuum cleaner should also be padded on the bottom to avoid scratching the finish of your wood floors.