If you have wood floors in your home, it’s time to prepare them for fall! While keeping your floors in good condition is important year round, colder weather brings a particular set of challenges including more scratches and gaps between boards. To help you prepare, follow these tips from the experts at SVB Wood Floors:

1. Vacuum Regularly

Vacuuming your wood floors is an essential part of their maintenance and upkeep. Debris can build up, causing scratches or rough patches to form on the wood when it gets stepped on and dragged across the floor. Vacuuming helps keep the floor free from debris and also gives your wood floors a clean, shiny look that will brighten up your whole home.

 

2. Keep a Mop Handy & Don’t Forget Door Mats

Cold weather often comes with moisture, whether it be rain or snow. When guests enter your home, they often track that water and dirt along with them. Water and other debris can have a harmful effect on your floors, and it’s important to get any puddles cleaned up quickly before they cause wood floor boards to warp or gap.

By keeping a mop or rag in a handy location near the entrances of your home, you can make clean up a much quicker task. A more convenient option may be placing door mats wherever guests may enter your home. This reduces the amount of water and dirt on your wood floors, plus you can choose a welcome mat that will enhance your decor.

3. Always Monitor Humidity

Colder weather often means drier air in your home which can cause your wood floors to shrink slightly, creating gaps between the planks. To avoid this, you must monitor the humidity in your home. The easiest way to do this is with a hydrometer which can be purchased at your local home improvement store. The ideal indoor humidity levels are between 35 and 50 percent. If you find that your home’s levels are too low, consider running a humidifier to bring them up.

4. Put Felt Pads on the Bottom of Furniture

Many times, around the holiday season, families rearrange furniture to accommodate guests. Scraping the furniture across your wood floor can leave scratches or other marks. To avoid this, lift up your furniture, and place felt on any surface that comes in contact with the floor. Felt will help the furniture slide easier when being moved and will not scratch the wood.

 

5. Make Sure Indoor Plants Have Bases to Catch Water

If you move plants inside for the colder months, make sure that each pot has a base underneath it to catch any excess water. Water can be damaging to your wood floors, and it may go unnoticed under a plant with no base. Better to take precautions early.

6. Close and Lock Windows

The summer months mean windows open to the warm breeze, but it’s important to remember to close and lock your windows when fall approaches. If windows aren’t properly secured, rain and snow can leak through and damage wood floors. In addition, the air that can also enter through these gaps can lower the temperature of your home and increase your utility bills.