Expert Tips For Taking Care Of Your Flooring

It is not uncommon to have a variety of flooring throughout your home. This is because no one-floor type is suitable for all home uses. This can make it a little confusing trying to figure out how to clean your floors. Here we look at three common flooring Calgary types and how to care for them properly.

1. Hardwood Flooring

We’ll start with hardwood as it is the most popular flooring choice today. Whether your hardwood is old, or you just had it installed follow these tips:

• Add felt pads to all your furniture feet to avoid scratches. Keep an eye on the pads to look for signs they need replacement.
• Ask people to remove their shoes when they enter your home, especially if they are wearing stilettos!
• Once a week carefully sweep your floor, preferably with a soft cloth sweeper to remove debris, then follow up with a slightly damp mop to remove debris. Never use a damp mop before sweeping or you can scratch the finish with the tiny pieces of dirt.
• Once a month inspect your floor for signs of damage. If you notice things are looking dull, speak to your Calgary hardwood flooring expert to ask what product you can use to bring back the luster. As well, check your wood flooring for signs of separation between the planks. If you do find excessive gaps, consider using a humidifier to keep the environment moist so your floors don’t shrink so much during the drier times of the year.
• Every three to five years, consider a professional wood floor deep cleaning and a fresh finish coat. This will protect your floors and keep them looking beautiful for decades.
• Never slide furniture across your hardwood flooring or you increase the risk for deep scrapes. This includes even if you have your felt pads in place. Always lift and move.

If your floors are really looking worse for wear you can consider a complete sanding and refinishing. The beauty of this step is you can stain them to match your sense of style. Seriously damaged floors might need replacing.

2. Laminate Flooring

Affordable laminate comes in a close second when it comes to popular flooring choices. Here’s how you can keep your laminate flooring looking brand new:

• As with wood flooring, you should apply felt pads to your furniture feet and check them regularly in case they need to be replaced.
• While your laminate isn’t as sensitive to shoes as hardwood, it still shows scruffs and footprints left behind, so a no-shoes policy is best.
• Depending on the room, laminate floors might need sweeping (or vacuuming) as often as every day, but at least once a week.
• At least once a week, you’ll also want to give them a good wash following your sweeping to remove the buildup of messes. This is especially important in kitchens. However, only a damp mop and mild cleaning solutions can be used on laminate to avoid them getting too wet. This also reduces the risk of removing the protective coating.
• Spills must be wiped up immediately, as the under part of the floor is not water-resistant.
• As with hardwood avoid dragging heavy items across the laminate flooring as it causes scratches. Unlike hardwood, you really can’t sand them and repair scratches. Instead, you’ll have to replace the plank.

Check your laminate regularly for signs of shifting or loose planks. This can happen with DIY jobs if the flooring wasn’t laid properly.

3. Carpet Flooring

Carpeting offers warmth underfoot while creating a cohesive look to your home. To keep them fresh and clean follow these tips:

• Once a week vacuum your carpeting to remove the debris that gets embedded in the fibers. In higher traffic areas, or if you have pets you might need to vacuum twice a week.
• Choose the right setting on your vacuum to avoid damaging your carpet.
• Even if you have a stain guard on your carpet, always mop up spills right away so the liquid can’t penetrate the fibers and stain. Scooping and blotting is the best way to get up big spills, and then you can use a bit of water to blot the rest of the stain away.
• Avoid using stain removers in obvious areas of the carpet unless you have tested it in a hidden area first. This will reduce the risk of bleaching or discoloring your carpet.
• Never scrub a carpet, as this will cause the fibers to become tattered on the ends, ruining the consistent look of your carpet’s texture.
• If you notice snags in your carpet, never pull at them. Instead, clip them with sharp scissors so the thread is the same length as the rest of the carpet.
• Use carpet protectors on the feet of furniture to avoid having dents in your carpet.

Once a year arrange for professional carpet cleaners to do a thorough steam cleaning to keep your carpets fresh and clean.

These tips will keep the flooring in your home clean and looking its best.