When you move into a new home with fantastic flooring or take the time to install a stunning new floor of your own, you should be able to enjoy it for as long as possible. To do this, you need to take steps to protect your floors. In this article, we are going to highlight some simple but effective DIY tips that you can do in your home.
Different types of floors have different characteristics, durability and require different types of care. For example, hardwood floors can be sanded and filled relatively easily if they are stained or damaged. The same isn’t true of laminate floorboards so you need to be more careful not to cause damage in the first place. Read about how to care for your laminate flooring and how to maintain parquet floors here.
Homemade Furniture Foot Covers
One of the most common times your floor can be damaged is when moving furniture. While you may not be rearranging the furniture in your home every month, most people will make some changes each year at some point. Some furniture, like dining chairs, are moved several times a day so damage can build up quite quickly. With Christmas fast approaching, and with it the moving of furniture to make room for Christmas trees, extra seating and dining tables, this could be when you move furniture around most frequently.
It is always advisable to lift rather than drag your furniture when moving it. While some floors such as stone and vinyl flooring are highly durable, others are more susceptible to scratching from furniture feet.
One way to avoid this is to create some fabric pads to place on the feet of sofas or chairs. This way, when you move furniture, your floors are protected.
There are lots of ways you can create fabric covers for your furniture’s feet, and one of the most straightforward ways is to get an old pair of socks and place them over the ends of the table and chair legs. This is a great way to protect your floors for one off furniture rearranging as it requires no special materials, time or skill.
If you need permanent protection then you want something that is invisible. A simple solution is to buy felt pads or re-purpose some old fabric. Use a pen to draw around the furniture feet directly on the fabric/felt. Carefully cut out the shape and glue the pad to the base of the furniture’s feet. If you can crochet or knit then you can make perfectly fitting cute furniture socks that will look great all year round.
Make sure furniture legs are even
If you have furniture with wooden legs, there is a possibility that over time the legs can become rough and uneven. This is problematic as it means the person sitting in the chair is not having their weight distributed evenly through all 4 legs. By increasing the pressure on three of the legs, the floor underneath is more likely to be damaged by pressure dents.
Use sandpaper to smooth and even up the legs on a chair. Depending on the extent that the legs are uneven you may even consider replacing one of the legs, so they are all the same length.
Carefully placed rugs
Rugs make a sensible addition to your home for many reasons. Not only do they look fantastic, but they can be really practical! Along with providing sound suppression benefits, rugs help protect your floors.
There are a variety of places around your home that can really benefit from a rug. In the entrance to your home, it is common to have a mat or rug of some kind to stop dirt from being brought in, which could damage your floors.
Similarly, rugs can work really well in dining areas. Not only do they protect your floor from table and chair legs which could dent or scratch your floor, but they can stop food or liquid from being dropped onto the floor, which may stain some materials. There are now rugs that are machine washable, and these are ideal for use under a dining table, perhaps if you have a young family, as it doesn’t matter if food falls on the rug.
Keep pet’s nails trimmed
For so many of us our pets bring a huge amount of joy to our lives. However, some pets can pose a risk to your floors and furniture. By keeping your pet’s nails clipped mean you won’t have to worry about your floors being scratch by dogs or cats running around your home. This is particularly important if you have real wood floors which can scratch more easily than other materials.
Long dog nails can easily cause damage over time. In general cats are not heavy enough to cause damage but if some like to sharpen their nails on your furniture. You can reduce the damage they cause by shortening their nails.
Buy high-quality clippers or grinders and replace them when they lose their sharpness. This will help speed up the clipping process and make it less uncomfortable for your pet. Pets often don’t like to have their nails clipped so make sure you treat them, reassure them, and don’t do too much in one go.
There are blood vessels and nerves in some parts of the nail of both cats and dogs. You need to ensure that you don’t cut into this part of the nail as it will be very painful for your pet and bloody! This video provides a comprehensive overview of why you need to cut your dog’s nails and how to do it properly without hurting your furry friend (a detailed article covering trimming cats’ claws can be found here).
Catch Christmas tree needles
With Christmas coming up it felt only right to include a seasonal tip. If you have a real Christmas tree in your home, you will know about the problems which can come from needles dropping off the tree. These needles can be sticky and leave a residue on your floor or stick to your carpet. If they get stuck to shoes or furniture they can cause physical damage to floors as well as making a mess.
A Christmas tree skirt can help provide a solution to catching these needles and protecting your floor. This also makes it significantly easier to clean around your tree.
There are skirts which come all the way out past the branches, but if you don’t want something as obvious, you can use a skirt which will cover the base of your tree and still catch some of the needles.
While there are these tips along with many others to protect your floor, it is always important to remember that choosing the most appropriate floor for each room is the first step in protecting your floor. No matter how much you may like a flooring material, you have to accept that some materials are not suitable for some locations, and no number of protective measures will change that.
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