Real wood flooring comes in different varieties including both solid wood and engineered wood flooring. It’s at this time of year that you’ll notice even more sharply all the benefits of engineered wood flooring. It’s more resistant to changing heat and moisture conditions, making it more resilient when it comes to the extra stress on your floor at Christmas. If you’re looking for a new wood floor, then why not check out our engineered collection, or even view our wood flooring sale!
Our Festive Floor Tips
Protection from Scrapes and Scuffs
It’s possible to repair damaged floors, but this can require a lot of time and effort. The very best way to care for your floor at Christmas is to prevent scratches and scuffs from occurring to begin with.
Lots of People!
Lots of people means increased levels of foot traffic. This puts extra strain on your floor which ultimately could cause it to lose its colour, shine and texture.
Invest in a good doormat so guests can wipe their shoes. This prevents sand, dirt and other grit from being carried in and damaging your floor with all the extra running around. You could even encourage your guests to take their shoes off -- socks and slippers are a lot more floor friendly than hard-soled shoes. If you have underfloor heating, this is an even more inviting option!
Engineered wood flooring is the only variety of real wood flooring that can be paired with underfloor heating without becoming damaged.
Pets
Christmas visitors doesn’t necessarily just include people. If your friends and family have pets, they might pay a visit too. While cats have retractable claws, dogs claws are always out and can lead to scratches and scuffs on your floor.
There are lots of ways you can protect your floor from pets. You could keep dogs out of the living room, kitchen or dining room -- or wherever you have a wooden floor -- but this seems a little sad for the dog! Instead, you could put out some extra rugs which help to protect the floor from excited pets.
If you notice any scuffs and scrapes, both engineered and real wood flooring can be resurfaced multiple times during their lifetimes. This gets rid of those odd scrapes and scratches and makes the floor look new again!
Scraping Chairs
We’ve all been there; hunting the house for every stool and chair that you own in order to accommodate the guests. With all the extra furniture, it’s important to protect your solid or engineered wood floor from scrapes. Put soft pads underneath chair legs and table legs. This will prevent scratches occuring during all the moving around.
Dust, Dirt and Pine Needles
Dust, dirt and pine needles on the floor can cause scratches if they’re walked on. It’s important, especially at Christmas, to sweep regularly. A real Christmas tree will shed a lot of needles so clean these up every day, or every couple of days, to protect your floor as much as possible.
Water Damage
Water damage can be a real problem at Christmas. Extra children in the house (as well as tipsy grown ups!) can lead to lots of spilled drinks. Solid wood flooring can easily be damaged from liquids as the wood material expands when it comes into contact with water. This can lead to permanent warping on the wood. Engineered wood flooring is more stable than solid wood, due to its layers of wood, but it can still be damaged from spills.
Again, putting down additional rugs can be a great way to give your floor a bit of extra protection around Christmas time. Rugs are usually much easier to clean than water damage is to repair! If your rug gets wet, blot the moisture away from it. If the rug is damp all the way through to the floor below, pick it up and hang it somewhere so the damp isn’t in contact with the floor for a long period of time.
If your floor does get wet, it’s important to clean up the liquid as soon as possible. The longer it is in contact with the wood, the more likely it is to cause lasting damage. The same goes for leaving wet items on the floor. Pick up wet clothes, cloths and towels as soon as they’re dropped to minimise damage.
Asking guests to wipe their shoes after being outside in the snow or rain, or asking them to take their shoes off, can be really helpful to protect your floor against water damage.
Christmas Trees
If you have a real Christmas tree, water damage can be a problem. The pots can leak or you can have spills when you’re watering them. Put a tray of some kind underneath the plant pot to catch excess water. You could also put it on a table as well to lift it away from the floor, depending on the size of your tree!
If you want more advice about how to look after your floor this Christmas, or want to get a brand new floor this season, then get in touch with Flooring 365 or explore our website.
