How To Tip: Maintain Your New Home's Hardwood Floors

You no longer have a landlord to go running to when something breaks so now you've become your own Schneider. Okay is that 70's TV show reference to One Day at a Time over your head? Then you may really need some helpful tips to keep your new home in tip-top shape. We'll explore, in the next several posts, ideas to help you maintain, clean, fix and enjoy various aspects of your new home. When picking your options and building your new home, hardwood floors were on your must have list. Now you've got them. How are you going to keep them looking good? Floor mats in your entryways are your new best friend. Tiny dirt particles can have the same effect as a fine grade sand paper causing small scratches in your nice new finished hardwood floors. Use floor mats to dislodge as many of these abrasive guests as possible and your floors will look better for the effort. Runners are also a good idea in high traffic areas like hallways and stairs, and area This is especially helpful if there are a lot of kids or pets running through that could add the scratch factor to your floors. Area rugs can be helpful under major furniture items like dining room tables and kitchen tables. These will act as shock absorbers and shield your floors from other possible scratching from shifting chairs. Protect high splash zones in front of kitchen and bathroom sinks with rugs. This will reduce the possibility of water stains, warping and discoloration. But remember rubber backed non-ventilated rugs can damage your floors. Make sure your rug of choice is good with hardwoods. Take a tip from Asia. Don't be afraid to ask people to take their shoes off when they walk into your home. After all people are required to remove their shoes in airports, so why not in a setting as intimate as your new home? It's a common practice in many countries in Asia to keep the outside dirt from entering in, and in general it keeps the floors much cleaner and less likely to be damaged. If you like keep a basket with some visitor slippers there for guests. Keep them clean and free from dirt. Invest in a soft high quality broom to sweep dust and dirt without scratching up your floors. Use a vacuum (But make sure not to scratch the floors with it) to clean hard to reach areas such as corners, between boards, and beside shoe molding. For any more in-depth cleaning follow the installation directions for your particular type of flooring and look to the recommended products by specific manufactures. These are just a few ways to protect your investment and enjoy your hardwood floors for years to come. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks to maintain your new home. Image source: ©PhotoXpress.com